Abundant top water bait yet crappie stay down

[BigEdCT]

The past couple weeks I have been fishing the docks on our lake. There has been a recent explosion of baby fish and fry all over breaking the surface. The area is in a cove and there is great cover between the docks, rocks, weeds and with warmer shallow water its a great place for fish. There are times they are just cruising around and times when they are obviously trying to escape becoming a snack to other fish. Sometimes I will cast near them and usually find white or yellow perch chasing them. What is odd is I have never been able to pull crappie from anywhere near the bait fish, only off the bottom, but still never in the same area as the bait. This has happened in anywhere from 3 to 20 feet of water and they are never suspended only taken within a foot or so off the bottom. Even swimming live shiners 24" under a bobber won't bring them up. I find it odd that with so much food available to them the crappie are not aggressively chasing these abundant small baitfish. Could it be the crappie have so much food available they don't bother chasing the top water bite?

[skeetbum]

I have no definite answer. I can say that crappie have been caught in the jumps when fish are scattering for their life. LMB,SMB white bass and hybrids were also caught in the same area with the same methods that morning. All this near a bridge and a launch ramp. Some days things just work. And no, it wasn't me capitalizing on this, wish it was.

[BoarBuster]

FISH ON

[river scum]

minnows on top here too. lots of chunks floating around too. with our temps im thinking "fall turnover". the bite has been weak to say the least.