crappie won't go down to hit a bait?

[Tracker123]

I have cleaned plenty of crappie down here with crawfish in their bellies. Can't blame them. Phooey on theories.

[Eager Beaver]

If you drop a jig or a minnow down past the nose of a suspended Crappie he will go down after it. See it all the time while ice fishing. If a Crappie comes up to your jig and just looks at it then drop it and they will go after it.
Also if the Crappie are feeding crawfish the flavor of the meat will taste different! EB

[crappielimits]

I keep hearing that , never found one in a Crappie here ?

I agree. I have cleaned thousands and fished most of the southeastern states and never found a crawfish. Now they eat a lot of grass shrimp.

[Cmj]

Well if the fish are on the bottom already there is no way that they can feed lower. They will strike what they see in front of them. If they only feed on what is above or in front of them is a myth why is it that I cannot just fish on bottom all the time and catch crappie? Why do fishermen ask what depth water the crappie are biting in? Why is it that I can catch crappie at say 3' and not 4' deep at times if this is was a myth? I am just saying that it looks like this old saying that crappie only feed upward is more truth than untruth or everyone needs to just fish on the bottom.

Search You tube for videos of feeding Crappie. Sorry, but the belief that Crappie dont feed down is BS. Regardless of whether they are feeding up or down, Crappie like to relate to certain depths based on temps and oxygen levels. The clarity of the water and the activeness of the fish will dictate just how large that strike zone will be, depth-wise. If they are lethargic, you will have to put it on their nose to get bit. If they are feeding aggressively, and they can see it, they will eat it, up or down. In really dingy water where the visibility is very low, I can see how the "feeding down" theory would apply because by the time the bait was close enough for the fish to see it, it would be almost directly below them. With the upward-facing mouth/head of a Crappie, especially Black Crappie, there would need to be some distance between the fish and the bait for him to see it if it was below him. So, taking that into consideration, it makes sense to try to keep the bait above them to improve your chances, but it is not absolutely necessary if the conditions are right.

[Crappiegirl1]

Maybe they were bedding on the bottom, not unusual

[Hanr3]

Crappie will eat if the opportunity presents itself. There eyes are on top of their heads, so it is easier to look up for food, however that doesn't mean they can't rotate to look down and eat below them.

[TowboatTroller]

I fish within 2ft of bottom trolling all the time no manner depth of water.

[cpd21]

Crappie are gonna do what they wanna do when they wanna do it.....nuff said..lol....caught them today right on the bottom double dippin jigs

[crappieseeker]

I think what is being missed here is the feeding up or down part verses where and how they see a food source. From what I have read on biologist studies is that crappies eyes are on top and therefore they feed up because it is difficult for them to see what is below them. There are so many things that can take place that go unseen under the water. I do believe for the most part that when you catch fish on the bottom that they are already on the bottom. Someone mentioned in ice fishing that a crappie will look at a bait and then when you drop it they will get it. I think this is a form of reaction striking, thinking the bait is going to get away, so they go down and get it. Simply meaning they know where it went so they go down to find it. I think if you were casting and casted beyond the fish that were suspended and then ran the bait underneath them that they would never know the bait was there to be able to go down after it, however if it was slightly above them they would see it and go get it. I do not think the issue is about feeding up or down, it is about knowing where the food source is, and then getting it.

[LowePro]

I have caught crappie using the small green yum salty-crawls. And some on live crawfish too out of my reservoir. I have found that crappie will put their fins on the bottom sometimes and stage there. When they are there it seems they will bite what comes crawling by. My best luck for this "it seems to me" is right after a front. If they are in 20 fow and suspended down 10ft, im not gonna say you wont catch one fishing beneath them, but....you most like wont be doing as good as you could be. But when they are already on the bottom, they eat on the bottom.