02-11-2024, 09:59 PM
(02-11-2024, 08:59 PM)TubeDude Wrote: Just wondering...has anybody done a "CSI" post-catch exam on their fish...to see what they have been eating and how much? As we have observed with other species in other waters...like Walleyes in Willard...when the fish are full of easily obtained food they are less likely to bite whatever anglers are showing them. It's baby shad in Willard but the crappies in Pineview are prone to slurping vast quantities of zooplankton when that is all that's available.
I have a theory that with all the new water and nutrients in the lake this year that there is probably a bumper crop of the invertebrates for them to eat. I know in the past...night fishing...it was possible to see the clouds of the bitty bite critters coming up out of the mud after dark and then seeing the crappies move in on them...and to start catching the crappies while they were feeding. But if they are feeding effectively throughout the day and are already full up when anglers show up then they will not be as active.
As we know, there is no big population of small minnows for the fish in Pineview, so the predators have to make a living on what is available. There are young of the year perch and crappies for a few months, but during the winter they are back to living on "soup".
I have only went out once on Pineview this year at Browning point. I managed two crappie about 10 inchers. Pat I think your knowledge may be right on. A few years back I managed to find a nice mess of perch at Pineview. They were spitting up baby crappie about two inches long or so. I had small plastics that were relatively the same size so I presented them and did really well.
Gabe