Some nice replies here. Thanks for sharing. I'm a saltwater fisherman, and don't know much about crappie fishing. I just kind of stumble across them.
I haven't seen any shrimp in this lake, but Claytor lake is full of them, but strangely, you never catch crappie there. Maybe their bellies are too full of shrimp! I'll have to remember that.
What are jet fleas?
I'll have to get him to make some clear ones and see how they work
Our gates close at dusk also, so I'm forced to drive to the other side of the lake and pay $10 to stay past dusk.
Your observations are dead on. At the dock, the striper zoom through the lights, but the crappie are always on the perimeter. I don't think they want to get in front of those striper when they are feeding. The striper leave after an hour or so, and then the crappie start getting higher in the water column.
But under the bridge is different, maybe because the water is so deep, and there are pilings to hang around. There, the crappie don't seem as afraid, and you can see them swimming around right under the light. Usually, they are only 8-10' down. Fish deeper and you will get chomped on by catfish and sometimes a bunch of white perch. Have not caught any striper under the bridge, for some reason.
It's always interesting trying something new.