Little confused here. I thought winter took the fish to deeper stable tempatures but I've been reading posts about creek fishing. Any help appreciated.

Basically it comes down to fish following their food source. Shad run up the creeks in the winter and crappie and sandbass follow them. Not all crappie in the lake does this but some do. In the winter youll find the crappie deep on the lake and mainly in the deeper parts of the creek. But on warmer days and towards evening a lot of times the creek crappie will suspend.
hope it helps

As Mark was saying you can catch crappie both places. Creek fishing allows easy wind blocked access by foot to some prime crappie waters. Every winter for years people here on the forum talk about the good creek bite they find. You just have to explore your area and try to find them. These fish are there for the winter and will stay there.
Out on the main lake you can also find fish in there deep water hang outs. The water is more stable and thats where there food is at.
Good Luck

Crappie are fairly active year round, but fall and spring offer the hottest fishing. The warming spring water temperatures triggers a feed-a-thon amongst fish. Crappie spawn when the water temperature reaches about 52-60 degrees. Just before spawning (when the water hits about 48-51 degrees), they move into shallower water and feed aggressively. This is known as the pre-spawn period. Most crappie move into shoreline cover such as fallen trees and shallow coves during this time. The females will then lay their eggs and move to slightly deeper water while the males stay in the shallows and guard the nest. If you catch several smaller fish in shallow water, try moving to the nearest dropoff and you may find the larger females feeding. These pre-spawn and spawn periods of spring often offer the best fishing of the year. The cooling water of the fall also offers good crappie fishing. When the warm summer waters begin to cool down, the fish begin feeding aggressively in order to fatten up for the winter. Schools of big slabs can be caught easily during this "fall feed-up". Crappie are fish that love structure, so key in on ares with prominent cover. Rock piles, shallow coves, stumps, points, fallen trees, and submerged brush are all favorites. Many anglers sink Christmas trees, old bushes, tires, and even wooden pallettes to create homes for big fish. Vertical jigging is a good method to fish submerged cover. A 1/32 or 1/16 oz. jig dropped into brush and twitched will produce many fish if the conditions are right. Try swimming a small spinner through stump fields or along fallen trees to locate the slabs. When you identify the depth at which most of the fish are holding, try suspending a jig or minnow at that depth under a small bobber. This is an effective way to keep your bait in the desired depth for a much longer period of time.

Thanks for all the tips, really appreciated.