For Dave Willis:
Do you think that the crappie's apparent ability to feed on zooplankton could explain why they seem to proliferate in the extreem? (It might be part of the cause of thier apparent "curse" status in regard to the small pond environment...
I think the results of your crappie feeding/stomach survey make sense when you consider that crappies in large impoundments tend to school and suspend in open water for large periods of time during the year. I wouldn't expect minnows and other forage fish species to do the same because they would probably be decimated by the crappies, as well as walleyes, Pike, and a whole host of other "open water" preadators. The crappies don't seem to be as aggressive when the suspend deep (although they will take a minnow if you can get one down to them).
This has beeb a very interesting thread. Thanks for letting us in on your information.
