Whitefish question

[whateverisbiting]

My buddy was on a dusk / night crappie bite so I joined him for a couple days of fun.  He has been getting increasingly good with a smoker and said he has caught a few whitefish in past years and would love to catch a few for the smoker.  Ironically, on the second day I saw a fish on the Markum a few feet under the ice and I recognized this from other catches as a potential white fish.  I brought it up an nabbed a nice one.  This got me thinking.  Anyone know why white fish cruise so close to the top of the ice?  Do minnows also cruise up high or is this a plankton thing?  Or both?  The crappies were either at 10' or on the bottom at 20'.  We did catch one crappie also at 5' but in two nights of fishing that was the only two fish marking that high.

[eyeguy 54]

Smoke the crappies! Mmm

[monstermoose78]

The feed on plankton and other little creatures.

[whateverisbiting]

28 minutes ago, eyeguy 54 said:

Smoke the crappies! Mmm

Ok will give it a try!

[Rick G]

they are feeding on zooplankton, scuds and the small minnows feeding on the small insect life high in the water colon.  like anything else, they are where the food is, weather it be suspended or close to the bottom

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, Rick G said:

they are feeding on zooplankton, scuds and the small minnows feeding on the small insect life high in the water colon.  like anything else, they are where the food is, weather it be suspended or close to the bottom

Are they health to eat if they feed high in the water colon

[monstermoose78]

3 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Are they health to eat if they feed high in the water colon

The higher they are better they smoke