The KDFW says that the crappie are getting fewer and fewer. They say that the spawns have been low in the past few years and netting results show less and less fish. Well, from what I've seen this winter and from yesterday (yes, it was a tad bit windy but you can't catch them at home on the couch) I have been having to wade through five 7 to 9 inch fish to get one keeper 10 inch. Some beds were full of fish on the depthfinder but when i put a hook in them, all that was there was small ones. This leads me to believe that either the KDFW is netting in places where the fish aren't or something has changed. Now, I have seen them (KDFW) in Big Bear before and they where netting near the bank mostly or in the shallower bays. There had also been a cold front pass through a couple days before so I know that the fish had pulled back off the banks so I'm thinking, "These guys aren't gonna find many fish in there". Also, in Big Bear, the bay has made some changes over the past 5 years. It used to have good color but now the bay is mostly clear. We know (and they know) that white crappie do not like clear water and even when they are in clear water they spook very easily making them harder to catch. I've said that to say this...I have learned that you have to fish for whites and blacks differently. Granted, you will catch both in the same place but to target the species, white crappie seem to prefer a slow moving bait where as blacks like a quicker moving bait. If I troll, I catch mostly blacks. When I vertical jig or spider rig, I catch mostly whites. The only exception to this is in the early spring when the blacks are preparing for the spawn and move in before the whites and I catch them vertical jigging. They are very aggressive at this time of the year and will hit anything moving or not. We as crappie fisherman have had to change our tactics to keep up with the changes in water conditions but has the KDFW? I would like some others input on this.