Bottom feeders

[CrappiePappy]

You suppose they swim upside down

... but they will "stand on their heads" (as it were), as I've seen them do that chasing minnows swimming underneath them in my aquarium.

The idea that they don't "feed down" because their eyes are high on their head is looking at it from a biological sense and from the idea that they're not primarily looking for bottom dwelling critters for food. But, they will & do eat worms & crustaceans (which are primarily found on the bottom) so they're not totally opposed to the idea of "bottom feeding".

I'm reminded of a tourney I was in, down in Tenn, during some "unpleasant" weather conditions .... and the winning team said they had to drag their Road Runners along the bottom to get bit. I mostly remember that because I was thinking that dragging a RR along the bottom took the spinning blade flash out of the equation (which went against my idea of what the Road Runner was intended to imitate) ... and only gave the "bottom feeding" factor a mental shoulder shrug. Since then, however, I have personally caught Crappie when my bait was on the bottom or being dragged along the bottom. It's only been a couple of times that's happened to me, but it has happened, so I never say that Crappie "never feed down".

[ET Fish]

Whichever way they feed, you got a bunch of em!

[franklin fisher]

Great post with some good information. This is what makes Crappie fishing such a great sport. When they do something that all the "experts" say they never do. Also it is what drives us all crazy at times trying to figure it out and gives us such a good feeling when we finally do figure it out. Great cooler of fish you have there. Keep up the good work.

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[Ketchn]

Being a predator means predating in whatever scenario presents itself . And for sure crappie can turn sideways to look down because I have seen them do it before . Crawdads are an example of a food source they won’t likely find off the bottom in most cases and they for sure won’t pass on a crawdad .
Just remember the golden rule of crappie ketchn .....there ain’t one ...

[ad1974]

Good writeup,nice catch.

[patrapper]

Here in Pa, when I ice fish, I use a method that is called dead sticking. We are allowed 5 rods when we ice fish. The rods are put on buckets with rod holders and the bait is dropped down the hole and left to set waiting for a bite. I fish minnows 2 or 3 cranks off the bottom with great success. Crappies hug the bottom alot in winter.

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[DRFISHDUCK]

Crappie are a great aquarium fish if you can keep the water cold. And I watched them feed off the bottom like catfish.

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[Redge]

Very timely information! Thanks for the post.

[Cane Pole]

ima bottom feeder. i live off crums.

[Ketchn]

ima bottom feeder. i live off crums.

I feed off crumb cakes so I can relate ...the cinnamon ones are quite nice ….warm with a slice a butter ...