O.K., here's my standard Bandit setup that seems to work on Sardis. I'm using 7' rods, any old casting reel with 10# line. I tried 8#, but catfish or stripes can break you off. I built a rod holder for the back deck that will hold (1) rod horizontally out either side, and (2) rods vertically in the middle. I just cast the Bandits a reasonable distance behind the boat, and pull them about 1.5 MPH with my trolling motor. I use a GPS to keep the boat speed fairly constant. If the action is good, or I'm making a lot of turns to go back thru fish, I am usually down to the (2) horizontal rods to prevent tangles.
The Bandits are 300 series with the metal ball in the bill. Best colors seem to be pearl, red/orange craw, chartruese, black, and a special Sardis color, pink!
When you start, just experiment with colors until you find what they want that day. It will vary with sun, clouds, water, etc.
I usually troll around timber in 18'-20' of water, but other folks troll in open water that is over 40' deep. Obviously some crappie suspend at the same depth all over Sardis lake. I think the Bandits are running about 10'-12' deep. Let me know if the technique works other than in N. MS lakes.