Interestingly Black Crappie prefer the dark shadows of docks more often than the White Crappie do. Even though Whites are caught regularly from docks, the majority of them congregate in open water and on brush piles. This is where it pays to know which species is dominate on the waters where you fish. A lake which is Black Crappie dominate would be a much better dock shooting lake over one that is White Crappie dominate.