Interesting 'Croppie" fly!

[BradFromPotter]

Interesting 'Croppie" fly! I think I'll have to tie one!

Croppie - from Orvis plates c. 1892
No. 1 Mustad Sproat

Purported by D.C. Estes to be the only fly that “croppies” would take—fished with a “swan shot on the snell near the head of the fly.” Shown here with a c. 1910 Sweet Caporal cigarette card featuring the “Calico Bass” as they were often called in those days.

 

[redietz]

I knew them as calico bass long before I'd ever heard the word "crappie."

 

[GoldenRfly]

I knew them as calico bass long before I'd ever heard the word "crappie."

My love for fishing was born as a kid when visiting my grandparents who had a cottage on Chautauqua Lake. My grandfather and his neighbors referred to them as “Calicos.” So did the people in the local bait shop.

A cousin who grew up outside of NYC used to call them “Crappies.” My grandfather didn’t like that word and was fast to correct him: “Calicos!”

They sold the place when I was 18, so, it’s been 45 years since I’ve been there. I have no idea what the local dialect for that fish is now. I agree with the OP…that is a beautiful fly.

 

[nfrechet]

I knew them as calico bass long before I'd ever heard the word "crappie."

i think we call them "calico bass" here in connecticut

 

[Bamboozle]

Crappies where I come from.

 

[TimMurphy]

I think crappies have more common names than any other fish, and most names are dependent on where you live. When I was in the USAF in NW Florida fishing with friends we would all catch crappies but some of them called them calicos, strawberry bass, specks, not to be confused with saltwater specks, but the best name was the Cajun name sacalait.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[jifigz]

Papermouths, calico bass, speckled bass, crappie. I love the dang things.

 

[RLeep2]

It's "crappie" here in NW PA or at least that is what I grew up with.

An interesting aside: Supposedly the vast majority of places that call them crappie use the "croppie" pronunciation as opposed to the short "a" sound of crappie.

Speaking of crappie, I just put 4 more messes in the freezer about an hour ago. I now have enough stockpiled to last me (at one mess every 10 days or so) until I start stockpiling yellow and white perch from September until freeze up.

Erie and Crawford Counties aren't even close to being PA's trout Mecca, but we've got the crappie however you choose to pronounce it.

 

[Bamboozle]

I should have been more specific in my previous post:

"Crappies" with a short A where I came from, which was Delco where even if it was spelled c-r-o-p-p-i-e, we would have pronounced it "crappie..."

I always heard it pronounced "croppie" by Jerry McKinnis on "The Fishin' Hole." Back then, I probably didn't think it was the same fish. Same goes with "bream," pronounced "brim."

I was fishing with a buddy from Virginia in Virginia and I caught a "sunnie" that he a called a "brim." I asked him if that was the same as a "b-r-e-a-m," his reply was...

"You Yankees complicate everything!"

 

[redietz]

An interesting aside: Supposedly the vast majority of places that call them crappie use the "croppie" pronunciation as opposed to the short "a" sound of crappie.

That's actually close to the original pronunciation. It's an Anglicized spelling of "crapet" (pronounced CRAH-pay) the French Canadian word for sunfish.

 

[Bamboozle]

That's actually close to the original pronunciation. It's an Anglicized spelling of "crapet" (pronounced CRAH-pay) the French Canadian word for sunfish.

Crapet Noir, eh? 🇨🇦

In Quebec they also call white crappie Marigane (MA-ri-gayn) Blanche and the black crappie Marigane Noire or Noir while in Louisiana the Creole speaking folks call crappie Sacàlait (SACK-uh-lay).

Talk about Yankees complicating everything, we have nothing compared to North American French speaking folks...

I'll stick with crăppie... 😉