02-05-2016, 05:36 PM
[#0000FF]It's a food chain thing. Zooplankton and daphnia (water fleas) emerge from the bottom mud and debris after dark. They form dense clouds visible on sonar. Crappies don't have sonar but they have no trouble locating the "soup" and move in to dine.
When the invertebrates go back into the mud or otherwise disperse, so do the fish that feed on them. Crappies may move into much deeper water...or even suspend at mid depth and remain inactive until "soup" is served again after dark.
Since the colonies of invertebrates inhabit the same mud layers continuously, the crappies return to those same areas to feed. Although the "blooms" may be greater in one area than another...attracting more feeders.
When there are good populations of baby perch or baby crappies...for the bigger fish to feed on...those little ones are feeding on the invertebrates and the bigger fish are there to target the little ones. At that time you will catch more of the larger fish by using larger lures.
We might ask K2Muskie to post the short video she sent to me. Besides some excellent footage of a beer can on the bottom it shows one of those little water fleas rising and falling just above the bottom during the daytime. At night they really get thick, and show up as a line on sonar.
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When the invertebrates go back into the mud or otherwise disperse, so do the fish that feed on them. Crappies may move into much deeper water...or even suspend at mid depth and remain inactive until "soup" is served again after dark.
Since the colonies of invertebrates inhabit the same mud layers continuously, the crappies return to those same areas to feed. Although the "blooms" may be greater in one area than another...attracting more feeders.
When there are good populations of baby perch or baby crappies...for the bigger fish to feed on...those little ones are feeding on the invertebrates and the bigger fish are there to target the little ones. At that time you will catch more of the larger fish by using larger lures.
We might ask K2Muskie to post the short video she sent to me. Besides some excellent footage of a beer can on the bottom it shows one of those little water fleas rising and falling just above the bottom during the daytime. At night they really get thick, and show up as a line on sonar.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]