Originally Posted by
esoxesox
Question Craig:
I have a question that intrigues me. General overview;
a) When I keep crappie for the knife, I pack them in layers on ice in a cooler. In the winter, I use the snow. I usually fish till dark and when I get home, unloading the boat and getting to the LazyBoy are top priorities.
b) I clean the fish in the morning with a fresh pot of joe. Fish are always just fine and there is no question up to this point.
c) Dec, Jan and now Feb, I notice a distinct variation in the white vs black crappie that I handle in the morning. The cooler usually has a mix ratio of about 5 whites to 1 black. I'm usually cleaning 14-20 crappie so there are always a few blacks in the bunch. The white crappie are quite firm but not frozen in the moring while the blacks are limp as though they just came out of the water.
d) This the case in every single instance. I have kept enough coolers of fish that the probability that the blacks didn't get "iced" quite the same is not a factor. When I say enough, I'm saying that since December, I have had probably 20, if not more coolers of fish to clean in the morning.
My interest is that there has to be a biological variation in the species that causes this specific difference. Have you ever heard of this? Do you have any idea as to the biological answer to this quandry? It is absolutely not a random chance occurance as I have been interested in this question going through far too many coolers of crappie.
If you don't have any ideas about this question, can you send along an email of an AFS (American Fisheries Society) member either at the state or national level that can help with the question.
Thanks