Here in Ark. where I live lots of bays and lakes, but lots of them usually have a current, mostly tied to the white river. Does anyone know anything about crappie fishing with a current, or are they not anywhere in the current?

We get wind driven water currents here on our large reserviors. When we do get your kind of current we catch them in areas with less current. They are not known for there strong swimming abilities and will normally hide in an eddy with less current.
Good Luck

Thank you, that's what we thought, but this is new water to me and my husband is more of a hunter than a fisherman. I so miss the Cedar Creek docks!!

Used to fish the White as a kid...look deeper water, or for slack water areas with stumps or brush piles...If you are on the upper end of the white where the drift boaters chase trout...go south to the deeper muddy water, just North of Texarkana...you can get into loads of crappie...follow the boats that look like crappie fishermen, avoid the cat fishermen....they will show you the way to the holes...be nice and they will give you a few good places to start....later

we are actually in central Ark., in the delta, that's good information, thanks.

What lakes are you close to...

The lakes on the refuge which is buck lake, swan lake, moon lake and many many more, we are one mile from the White River, there are so many bayous and lakes.

i used to fish in the lewisville lake spillway for crappie in the spring along with sandbass ....
the crappie always held in the backflow water right behind any obstruction
they also stacked up right where it turns from rock and widens to sand in the real still water created by the circling current
it was 40 years ago , but i think that same basic pattern will apply anywhere there is a steady current and crappie
come spring i bet you ketch em like wildfire over there ....
i used to hunt out of el dorado ,,,,man there lots of water over there ....

them bayous will be full a crappie up shallow come spring for sure

We used to catch crappie in the bayou's in the spring...just pick one and start fishing...

I am not familiar with the lakes you mentioned...and starting over on lakes you don't know can be daunting at times.

I usually just drive around a lake or river and see where everyone is hanging out and go from there. Talk to a biologist on the state website...they usually are a good starting point....millwood used to be a good crappie (and bream and catfish) lake. find the logjams (if any remain)

Logjams are abundant. If I was back in Texas I would know where to fish for crappie almost year round, but like I told my husband yesterday, this is like starting all over again. Natural lakes, bayous, rivers, hard to figure them out. I saw lots of trolling for crappie last year.

I never really liked trolling for them...personally, that is my last resort on crappie...if you are in a boat, look for brush piles that are up against the banks near the creek channels...or fish the stumps along the old roadbeds and creek channels. Also, we used to drive the roads looking for the creeks that had a rail road tressel just off the road...if there are cars there fish the pools under the railroad tressels...they are usually deeper than the creek and the crappie will stack up in them; hence, the cars...just remember, this is Arkansas...crappie are everywhere....get out and mingle, and in a couple years time you will be slaying the crappie for sure in some really go to type places....

We scouted the refuge today, there are lots of creek channels that are filling the lakes from the overflow from the white river, I'm going to try some of them next week. I'm cooking for the youth hunt this weekend at a duck lodge that I work at so I will try next week. I'm so ready to catch some crappie. Tried out a bridge the other day and caught a grinnell, that was fun.

Sounds like you are getting a start...sometimes, you can check out the picture board in the bait shop or sporting goods store, or a marina...use the pictures to strike up a conversation...man, I have found some really good fishing spots doing that....the first time I caught a grinnell i was 10 years old...I drug that thing around for a week showing it to anyone who would look...ended up tossing it back in the lake, cause I was not about to eat that thing when crappie were on the menu... I cut my teeth duck hunting...never did figure out a way to cook them so that they tasted good...although I tried.

Hey I would bet if you could go upWaters Bayou a little the fish will be in there if not now the week after valentines the piling under the bridge woul hold some pretty good fish. If you are in St Charles Ark right up Hwy 1 plenty of good fish.