What were they eating?

[tjoutdoors]

About a month ago I caught some crappies on a central MN lake. When I was cleaning them one had a full stomach of something so I opened it up. It was full of little fish about an inch long that looked just like little sunfish. Of course, there should be no 1 inch long sunfish in a lake during the month of March. Any idea what they might have been?

[monstermoose78]

they could have been little sunfish. I have seen about inch sunfish when some ponds froze out.

[jentz]

I trap my own minnows in spring Crayfish also. I catch 1000s of crappie and sunnies 1-1 1/2 inch long.When some read and say use big minnows spring time cause the small minnows from last yeat have grown.I get a chuckle out of that,Where do crappie minnows come from?? There are tons of tiny fish out there year round.Those 1 inch sunnies are last years fry that were 1/4 to 1/2 inch minnows

[erikwells]

I caught shallow walleyes in December this winter and some of them had as many as a dozen little tiny bluegills and crappies in them. Thats what makes determining fish year classes less than a science. Maybe they get bored and spawn again. Mother nature is crazy.

[mainbutter]

I've caught tiny sunfish about an inch to two inches long in spring before the spawn, and can only assume they were hatched the previous year. This is out of a lake where I've never caught sunfish larger than 6'' and gets regular shore fishing pressure from people who keep lots of fish.