RS ... whenever I've fished a river for Crappie, I've always looked for current breaks, eddy pools, or bridge pillars. The greater the current, the bigger the current break needs to be ... whether it's a large tree trunk or stump, or wing dam. And I always fish on the down current side (the side opposite the direction the water is coming from).

I haven't done a whole lot of "river fishing" for Crappie, but when I did I caught most of them on the down current side of bridge pillars ... especially if the pillar has trapped some "wood" cover. Even those times it was during low flow (mild current).

One particular method that's worked well for me around bridge pillars has been what I call Vertical Casting. My article explains it : Crappie Pappy Article

Hope some of this helps !!

... cp