looking for that slab

Hello everyone! I am brand new to this forum, and i am thrilled to have found it.
I am a transplant from Calif.(no boos please) and have had some awesome crappie fishing in my time,with my son who resides in Tacoma at the moment. I now live in Yakima co., and am finally going to try and find some decent crappie fishing someplace. I have been reading the posts and have come to the conclusion that potholes is probably my best shot at monster crappies. My son just landed a job in Pasco and is moving back home untill he finds a place to live. mom is happy to have him back, and my fishing partner is back!
Being from Calif. really spoiled me, as there was no limit on crappie where i fished, and when there was,the crappie were very large(12-15"). We could also use minnows for bait, but no one has said anything about minnows for bait here in Wa. I am a big fan of night time fishing from docks, as the crappie come in from the lake at night and school there untill daylight.
The older the dock the better, as long as it is safe to walk on. So if someone can shed some light on potholes i sure would really like to haer from you.
Thanks, Black crappie