I love Jenko crankbaits since they are a Kentucky company, buy local. Great color selection too, and great pricing especially if you can get in on a holiday sale (check their Facebook page for sale codes). I also order blanks from wLure, the UPC 733 specifically, and paint my own colors which adds an additional element of fun when you have your own special colors that no one else does.

As for depth, it depends a lot on trolling speed, line diameter, how high the rod tip is above the water, etc. The more you troll the more you'll learn and get a feel for what depth you're at (especially after you hit bottom a few times to confirm).

I use these three rods on each side of the boat:
1. Southern Crappie Rods, which are Kevlar, the SCR 143T, about a $50 rod, I use it also for spider rigging
2. BnM Trolling Rod, PST 102N, about a $30 rod, works well
3. Regular 7 ft crankbait rod, the Berkley Cherrywood casting rod MR DUX recommends is a great value, about $25

Line counter reels are a must, both the Shakespeare and Okuma brands are low-budget starter reels and work fine but wear quickly, Daiwa has a few that are a little better; if you really get into it you might eventually upgrade after 3 or 4 years to something a little nicer once the gears start wearing out (where I'm currently at). A few large catfish and large drum over the past few seasons have put a hurting on some of my cheap Shakespeare ATS line counters. The Shakespeare ATS also is bad about line getting in between the spool and frame if you use any mono line size smaller than 15 lb.

MR DUX has gotten a lot of people started on trolling for crappie, I had always trolled for white bass and after attending a few of MR DUX's seminars I was able to figure out how to troll for crappie. It's fun and my kids love reeling them in! Thanks MR DUX for all that you do to help educate people on the ways of trolling!