good tip Mark. you know I noticed that too, getting that first one to bite is hardest.
I started using the crappie nibbles with sparkles on them after I discovered something watching my pet crappie in a fish tank years ago. when the crappie would eat a minnow, when he had it in his mouth, the scales would come off of the minnow, float upward, and create kind of a glitter effect. I dont know if the scales come off due to the crappie working the minnow down his throat or what, but this descaling of the minnow happened every time. I started buy the silver bullet crappie nibbles covered in the silver glitter, and they help get the fish biting sometimes.
white bass regurgitate partially digested food for fresh live food, but im not sure if crappie do that as well. something definitely triggers the feed mechasnism though, just as you can put a pinch of goldfish food in an aquarium, and all of the fish seem to go crazy in an instant,after the first fish finds it, fighting over the crumbs.
I have also heard the theory that crappie feed in mini cycles, and its just a matter of waiting them out, or just luck of the draw, to get there during a feed cycle. lots of things to ponder.