They Do spawn in the spring....but egg development proceeds right through the winter.....the eggs you are looking at are immature......same thing with the giant musky from last Saturday....guaranteed full of eggs/underdeveloped. A few years ago I caught a 7 lb. class walleye off of Chapel Island and when I opened her up there where at least 8-10 baby crappies in her about the size of a half dollar.....a lot of times when you are battling the fish up, their stomachs do have contents but are automatically vomited out. Even over the summer at night, rarely is there anything in the stomach. In fact I've had them upchuck bait in my livewell while still alive....it's an automatic response to stress I guess.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Dave
