Welcome FarmGyy.

Banner is a good place, but can be tough to fish.
I recommend minnows for Crappies. Crappie seem to prefer minnows over worms. As for shore fishing, Evergreen is a great place. I hear Eureka lake was excellent, however they had trouble a couples years ago and had to drain the lake. Not sure if it has recovered yet or not. Snake Den Hollow out by Victoria can be good and fairly accessible from shore. Lake Storey in Galesburg is decent for bank fishing.

Oddly enough, there is another guy in our area (Redbird86) that is looking to get out more and I believe he has a boat. Maybe you too could meet up and work something out? I have a HOI Crappie Club meeting at Presley's Outdoor in Bartonville next Thursday, April 6th. Meeting starts at 6.30pm. If you want to join us we can recommend some places to fish, bring maps so we can put an x on them.