---
title: "Minnesota Angler Breaks His Own State Record With 17.5-Inch Crappie"
description: "Nolan Sprengeler caught the state-record black crappie in April, then replaced that catch with a second, bigger fish just a month later."
date: "2024-07-01"
modified: "2024-07-01"
authors:
  - name: "Natalie Krebs"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/natalie-krebs/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/minnesota-record-black-crappie/"
categories:
  - "Crappie Fishing"
  - "Fishing"
  - "Freshwater"
  - "Panfish Fishing"
  - "Record Fish"
tags:
  - "News"
---

# Minnesota Angler Breaks His Own State Record With 17.5-Inch Crappie

![Minnesota state record black crappie.](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/minnesota_record_black_crappie.jpg>)
*Sprengeler with his record black crappie caught in April (left) and the new record, caught in May (right). Photos courtesy of MDNR*

A Minnesota man broke the state’s record for the largest black crappie ever caught and confirmed not once, but twice this spring. Nolan Sprengeler landed a 17.5-inch black crappie in May that was certified at 3 pounds 8.9 ounces, breaking the record he’d set only a month before.

Details on the catch are scarce since Sprengeler has declined an interview, but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources [announced Friday](<https://www.facebook.com/mnfishwildlife/posts/pfbid05wd8cYAjoTTP5NXjqNeu2Y4fBBMM9YS9YAzQV7XZAmCrDf1446rmCeDkG5giVBZQl>) that he’d broken his own record. That first fish was a 16.25-inch black crappie caught in April. Sprengeler, who lives in a Minneapolis suburb, did not appear to submit the fish’s girth for the record books. Nor does Minnesota include catch locations in its [modern fishing records](<https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/staterecords.html>), though [Minnesota’s New Country](<https://minnesotasnewcountry.com/minnesota-man-smashes-state-fishing-record-twice-in-two-months/>) claims the record crappie was caught in Rice County.

![A record black crappie on a certified scale.](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/black_crappie_scale.jpg>)
*A certified scale reads 3 pounds 8.9 ounces. Norsk Lithium, via Facebook*

Minnesota tracks three types of state fishing records: certified weight fishing records, catch-and-release records, and historical weight records prior to 1980, when the DNR started requiring certification for records. Sprengler’s fish falls into the first category of certified weight, [which requires](<https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/certified-weight.html#rules>) weighing the fish on a certified scale, a witness signature, and two DNR fisheries biologists to positively identify the species in person (among other requirements).

**Related:** [The Best Crappie Rods, Tested and Reviewed](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/best-crappie-rods/>)

![Nolan Sprengeler with a black crappie.](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/may_record_crappie.jpg>)
*The latest record black crappie, caught in May. Photo courtesy of MDNR*

The biggest black crappie ever caught in the state is an unconfirmed catch from 1940. That fish, caught from the Vermillion River, weighed 5 pounds (no ounces reported) and measured 21 inches long.

**Read Next:** [How to Catch Crappie](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/how-to-catch-crappie/>)

In addition to his back-to-back black crappie records, Sprengeler also holds the state record for the largest muskie ever caught and certified in the state. [That muskie,](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/minnesota-angler-catches-potential-state-record-muskie/>) caught in November 2021, weighed 55 pounds 14.8 ounces and broke a record that had stood for 64 years.

## Author
Natalie Krebs is the Executive Editor of *Outdoor Life*, where she tackles everything from reporting digital features to producing podcast episodes. Originally from Missouri, she currently lives in northwest Arkansas with her bird dog, Hatchet.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://instagram.com/krebfish>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliekrebs/>)