Crappies a foot under the ice.

I know this is not too unusual but I though it happened on lakes that are o2 starved or had water rushing into holes. This lake never has a oxygen problem and I did catch fish close to the bottom & the ice was dry.Makes me wonder if this happens throughout the year. Ideas?
I had my F. Fooler out and small stuff gave me false flags, reeled it way up just to not be bothered and started catching nice fish. Had it 1.5’down and got nothing 6” to 1′ was the sweet spot. Last icy trip for me this season.

Many times there are small plankton that floats up under the ice especially since longer days and more sunlight..

Early in the year last spring I was fishing a popular bay on Tonka in open water. It was a sunny warm day, but the water temp was still quite cold. Right at dusk, the fish seemed to disappear. Scanning around with Livescope, I saw where they went. Virtually every crappie was right on the surface, presumably to remain in the warmest water available. So, yes, they do go high in the water column at other times of the year besides under the ice and probably for various reasons at different times.

How about crappies 0 feet deep?
Early 70s on Tonka. Crappies were feeding on something on the surface. They would swim slowly with their mouths open skimming the surface. It was dead calm so you could see them easily. Cast right into them and game on. The school would spook, regroup and resurface a short distance away. It was my dad, my older brother and me in a rowboat hauled in the pickup box. A great memory. I don’t know how many we caught but we kept a legal limit of 45. My large family ate a lot of fish in those days.

Tom P. wrote:

Many times there are small plankton that floats up under the ice especially since longer days and more sunlight..

What this guy said.

For the last couple weeks this has been the pattern for us on the ice too. Its a fun bite because your flasher is almost useless. You’re just jigging under the ice and then your rod bends over! Woohoo!

I’ve fished a small farm lake that has this general crappie pattern. The pattern can even happen in Jan. The lake is very tannic stained and only supports weed growth in less than 6′ of water.

Some great insights, thanks.