They very easily could be misidentify. When I said a body like a crappie I meant their head is kind of pointed like a crappie head then the body gets rounder with the upper and lower fins were both the same size (maybe 1 1/2") wide going back close to the tail. What stood out the most was the large yellow almost orange eyes with a black center.
What they are I have no idea but the pictures of the flier panfish looks like what I caught. I take tons of pic's with my phone but forgot it at home that day.
I did catch some small 4 to 5 inch crappie and they did not look alike.
