The only place I have really crappie fished is Pickwick lake. So I can only tell you what worked for us there.
We use 5' to 6' light or ultra light rods with 4 to 6 pound line. Get yourself a couple good rods. The more sensitive the better. Many times when we are crappie fishing the fish will very lightly bump our bait. With a sensitive rod you may be able to feel that bump. I cant tell you the times that I would be fishing and feel a slight bump in the handle of the rod. I'll ask myself was that a bump or am I just imagining things. I'll jerk the rod up/set the hook after feeling that slight bump and many times will have a crappie on the line. We fish rock banks, stumps, submerged trees, ledges and creek channels.
We fish with tube baits, twister tail baits and from time to time we will use minnows. Chartreuse(green) and combinations of chartreuse have always worked well. Green/black, green/red and white tube jigs have worked well in the past. The tube baits 1" long work well at Pickwick. We use 1 to 2 inch twister tails in various colors. The weedless lead head hooks work well when fishing around structure. We use as small a lead head as possible.
