i can't

[panfishman13]

the lake i fish on has a small population of crappie that were illegally stocked 3-4 years ago. so they're relatively new to the lake, i can usually catch one or two during the summer but i can't catch any during the winter, there is a high population of bluegill, some bass, a large number of perch, and a good-sized population of trout.
this is the lake's shape if that helps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=preston+idaho&sll=42.423457,-109.874268&sspn=3.868041,9.711914&ie=UTF8&ll=42.190691,-111.971283&spn=0.030334,0.075874&t=h&z=14

[iluvcrappie]

that looks like a hard lake to try and fish...............wha t is the max. depth of the lake and is there and structure..........

[panfishman13]

around 30' or so with scattered weeds around the shallows and sometimes deeper, marl and sand all the way through with some light gravel by the dam.

[iluvcrappie]

the best piece of advise I can give you is to drill a lot of holes around the area of the lake where there is a transition in the bottom.........from hard to soft.........or from sand to mud..........whatever the bottom may be...........the deeper parts of the lake may be holding fish this time of year as the ice gets thicker and more snow cover the fish usually head for deeper water................. ..the dam area also looks like it may be a good producer of fish..............just be careful since that is moving water...............th e ice around moving water is not near as safe as any other parts of the lake.................. .....I hope this helps you out............if you have any other questions please feel free to send me a pm

[panfishman13]

the "dam" is just a rock dam as this reservoir is used for irrigation of nearby farms, i don't think the dam is quite the best place because we went there at the end of December and caught only large rainbows, if you think otherwise, let me know i'm here for input.

[iluvcrappie]

try to find the transition in the bottom crappies dont like the hard bottom you have to find the soft muddy parts of the lake or as I said the transitions........... .......crappies are a very hard fish to target as they move a lot............last winter I had to drill I bet 5000 holes on my honey hole to finally find the fish and I did find them.............a good hand help GPS is the key once you do find them..........I have all my spots marked from last year and I have been fishing them this year with great success............... ......

[rboot]

I wouldn't forget about the points.  A lot of the times crappie will stack up on a point that extends out into deep water.  Try drilling holes from shallow to deep and find the fish.  If you have electronics you might be able to find some structure they are hanging out over.

[fiesty]

drill, drill, drill....you'll find em...