Slab,
I verticle jig (love to feel that thump) and I only use plastics. I give up on minners a long time ago. There are days i know they would be better but I just don't like messin' with them. Plus with all the different colors available now in plastics I can usually find a color they want. As far as catchin' this time of year, I just hit different spots at different depths and once I find them, I go and fish the other beds we got in that particular depth. Most people tend to think that all the crappie go deep during the winter but as you can see, we found them in 6'-8' of water. When you get them warm spells with some sun in the winter , the fish go back to shallower water chasing after the shad and the shad seem to like the flats better than the drops when this happens.