I use a 7 foot custom-built rod with 4 pound test I use a wide variety of plastic baits and jigs depending on what the fish are hitting on that day . we fish in anywhere from 7 foot of water to 35 feet of water most the time I like my temperature around 65° in the water. the main color that I use is chartreuse with the variety of gray also Brown's. if the fish are not hitting we try to present the plastic made for jig in different ways these you probably know crappie are very finicky on certain days sometimes they want a real slow moving bait sometimes no action at all will trigger them. and sometimes they want a little bit faster presentation 99% of the time it is presentation to the fish . so if you are finding fish on your fishfinder and they are not hitting most likely is the way that you're presenting to them. I found sometimes different sizes of jigs or plastic baits makes a big difference I have dropped down to 1/64oz. or 1/80oz. to get them to strike in have gone down in plastic baits to very small. please keep in mind that on hand-tied jigs it may be the material for the tail will trigger them what I'm trying to say is that may be a marabou or living rubber or hair will be different to them because of the action so if you are using hand-tied jigs carry a wide variety. I hope that this little bit of information will help you guys out I have over 55 years of experience and I've been tying hand-tied jigs for over 45 years and making plastic baits for the last six years.