I reported, and heard reports ...
We found the fish at Watts Bar Lake, in East Tenn, to be holding at around 18 feet deep in 20-22ft of water. I've heard reports of people finding them just a couple of feet off the bottom, in some other lakes. This is generally true and normal for White Crappie ... as they tend to stay deep from late Summer thru the Winter months. Black Crappie, on the other hand, do tend to make a return to the major creeks ... generally following the Shad, on their Fall migration route. But, while the Black Crappie may be found shallower than their White Crappie cousins, they still tend to stay in deep water ... they're just usually not suspended just off the bottom, but are more likely found in the top 1/3-1/2 of the water depth column. But, this is just from my observations, and isn't always the case (as evidenced by my trip report).
When I used to fish Taylorsville regularly ... I found November Crappie to be suspended in tree tops, usually no more than 8-10ft deep, even in tops that were standing in 20-30ft of water depth. (which bears out what ekySlabber mentioned ... it depends on the body of water, water temps/conditions ;) )
Fall is a transition period, so it can be bust or boom. Your best bet is to concentrate on where the baitfish are, how deep they are, and factor in where the Crappie should be located in order to intercept them, as they make their way into and out of the creeks/bays.
... cp :cool: