For me the question of big bait versus small baits as being effective has been settled after seeing 4+" shad floating in my live well the crappie had spit up. It's still a day to day process of trying to determine whether it's a big bait day or a smaller bait. It frequently amazes me at how small a crappie will hit a bait larger than it is. Just part of the enjoyment of crappie fishing I guess.
“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.” Ayn Rand