defined ........ any number of small fish or fry, of various families/species.Originally Posted by willsjwills
SO ... what you were seeing were Shad "minnows". And, generally speaking, they're what are the most likely of the minnow (baitfish) species to be drawn by the lights. Brook Silversides are another. They're the pencil shaped, pointy nosed little critters, that swim right on/below the surface. They are also one of, if not the best, Crappie bait "minnow" that swims !!
The lights draw the "planktons" to them ... Shad, Brook Silversides, and other phytoplankton eaters will come to feed on them .... then the predator fish, sensing the schooling/feeding "minnows", will come to dine on them.
"Minnows", as in the kind you buy at a bait shop, and those indigenous to the waters you're fishing .... generally don't come to the lighted area. And, there's really no need for them to, as long as the Shad & Brook Silversides are there.
I could be wrong, so .... someone with more experience/knowledge, please correct me, if I am. But, this is IMHO ... correct & viable information.
Visibility of 3ft isn't "good" .... I'm thinking visibility of > 1ft is "good" :p so 3ft would be some seriously "clear" water, to me !! It's been my (limited) experience, that Crappie like to stay 6-8ft below the "visibility" depth .... even at night. And, I've never had much luck, catching Crappie at night, when the larger Shad are schooling heavily under the lights. They tend to draw the larger predators, like Hybrid Stripers - Stripers - White Bass - Catfish - and toothy critters (if you have them) ... which tends to send the Crappie into hiding I've even moved, several times during a night, just to get away from schools of the larger Shad. They can be 3 inches LONG ... but, I don't care for the 3 inch WIDE (body depth) size (when targeting Crappie).
...... cp