how big are the minnows., usually this time of year, around 3 inches?
So your saying a 3 inch goldfish and 2 to 4 three inch minnows in one short feeding?
So within around one minute, one 3 inch gold fish, and 2 to 4 minnows....
Heck, if its that fast, I bet you could video that?
Do you have minnows in the tank all the time for them to eat, or do you take the minnows out after they feed?

Just for the heck of it, will you video them eating the 3 to 5 baitfish in a minute or so and post it here? Im sure many would enjoy seeing it?

ps if you want to withold food for a couple days, its fine.. I just want to see if it is really possible for them to eat that much, all that fast/
I had one pound crappie. So maybe I learn something here.

Gee wizzzzz. All of this just to see how much a crappie eats.

I will say that 57 -59 temp is a good range that I see crappie in their spawning locations.

Not scientific, just what I have observed on the lakes I fish.
If an individual thinks it's 52 degrees or whatever, who really cares, not me.
I fish about 150-200 days a year. That's enough time to figure out a pattern.

You might find crappie on the lakes you fish in spawning areas at 52 degrees, but I won't be fishing shallow spawning area's until temps are around 55 and it is after Feb. 22nd.

I already know other patterns that work better for ME when surface temps are 52.

Don't be so fast to discredit what others have observed if you weren't there.

I don't know if your capable of catching a 2 pound crappie or not. If so catch a 2 pounder, put in your tank and feed it yourself. That way there is no way for me to rig the video.

It is now up to you to catch a 2 pounder.

I will wait on your report and check back with you in about a week, betting you can't even catch one.

Steve (lp), this thread wasn't started for the sake of argument. People have different observations and opinions and there's no right or wrong to any of it. My statement was that winter may be when crappie feed the heaviest and eat a lot of shad. No one mentioned a dozen or dozens of shad in a crappie belly at one time; except you.

Perhaps if you stated your observations as just that, observations, rather than as an argument against any opinion you disagree with, your opinion might be better received.

Had several people tell me over a period of about 15 years I suppose that if there is a 'drawdown' and let out of water the fish will be in a 'negative' mood. May explain them being stacked with no luck. I have heard that fish closer to the dam react by shutting down completely.

Wished I knew that answer Tommy. Not sure why flooding causes that problem, but guessing it has something to do with the nutrients in the water. Used to hear about fish not biting right after big rises on lakes and people would say the fish are sick for a day or two. I thought it was because the fish scattered and relocated. Maybe lots of fresh water does something to their system and they have to adjust. Maybe all the debris in the water does something to the oxygen level and they lose their appetite.

In winter I notice the same type bite and my unscientific (WAG) opinion is the bait is more concentrated and crappie can feed easily. With food readily available, the imitation might not be as attractive as the real McCoy. Therefore the little nips and bites are taste testing. Winter may be when we need that scent the most. I've found that putting a piece of minnow or shad on the jig hook makes the bite much better at times. I've even taken minnows and filleted the side and put that piece on the jig hook. Seems to help get a better hook up sometimes as the fish inhale the bait more often.

Well 4 pages and have we really learned anything .Surely with all the computer gurus someone can get some answers from a biologist with some hard data.Surely Mr Crappie knows somebody to help us with these questions.I looked on the Tx Fresh Water Fishery page but did not find a page to ask questions.Oh well I am going to get some slowwwwww gold fish and fish from 1 to 40 ft and see what happens.Ok I'm through.Darrell

"plz dont type in red indicating your angry", No anger here. Just highlighting your hypocrisy. Preach one thing and practice another. One is all it takes when you said never. LOL
Really doesn't matter either way, it is just your know it all attitude.
Tight lines

"Are the light bites due to the fish mouthing a bait making sure it's actually food? "
Tommy, if this is the case, would using a scent on the jig help to have the fish hold on longer?

I didn't know they slowed down, they still thumping the fire out of the Purple Passion.

I don't even know if they were mouthing it. It's those ever so light ticks. You know me I throw everything but a minnow at them. Even contemplated that in the past just to see but can't make myself get back into old habbits. Nothing wrong with minnows as everyone has different goals.

The only time this really occurs is when I can see lots of debris on top and in the water column on my electronics. Just thought I'd see if anyone else has thought about it. Thank god it doesn't happen often.

I have to agree with SheCrappieKilla. The high water has not effected the bite for me, and the bite has been solid THUMPS on the purple passion. Two trips at the dam on Fork has produced, even after the bulk of the rain and they were letting as much water as possible out. So, was I lucky or did I just find really hungry crappie? Was it the color being used? I am interested in what you guys think, because most of you spend way more time on the water than I do! I just consider myself an OK catcherman! Could it just be the conditions of the days I fished?

I dunno. I've fished twice in the last few weeks and it was a lake that was 13+ high. Sounds like Fork has been producing well cause everyone is going there. I don't think I've been back since the G2G. High water conditions can be overcame. I was wondering about right after a flood and debris in the water column.

The signs and symptoms you have described is an indication of using the wrong colors.

It is truly no different than fishing in bright sunny sky's vs dark cloudy conditions, you must fish the most effective colors for the conditions that day.

That is your tips and tricks for the day.

Everyone gets humbled from time to time. We tend to think about the daily conditions to TRY to figure out why. It could be any one of various reasons. We just don't hear much about these situations due the the personal perception issue. These humbling days are the best to talk about as that is how we learn.

Most have found ways to catch under flood conditions and the debris settle but I've found it very difficult to buy a bite right after a flood stops and the lake is still full of unsettled particles.

There are a number of things that work and have been discussed to the point they are rules of thumb. Like water clarity during high water conditions and the bait colors that work the best. I'd say the guys I prefer to get info out of stick with black and chartreuse in low visibility conditions.�

What I've been pondering is what to do when I've planned a fishing adventure and it rains off and on all week to the point the creeks are pushing tons of debris in the water. I sure would like to fish a big productive lake to find some bigger fish, but I've found those conditions to be more than tough.

So this is what I've done and shared with a few that'll probably call me shortly. When it started flooding last spring I was not going to sit around. I decided to pull up maps and find lakes that had steady water levels, lakes that didn't get a lot of run off. For instance Lake Holbrook has some nice black crappie, has published brush piles on TPWL site and little movement in water levels. This proved to be fun for a couple of trips but wasn't challenging. There are lots of lakes like this just a search away on the net.