I have fished for crappie all over the country from Virgina (3 pounders back there) to Missouri and into Colorado. We almost always used live minnows and crappie love 'em. Problem is you can't fish live minnows in Oregon, and the crappie must be thanking the state for that!
But I was fishing with a friend of mine in a res. just outside of Denver some years ago. We were fishing around some stumps (cover is good when fishing for crappie) and right around the dam. We were using live minnows and jigs and not doing well at all. But just down the way was an old man and his grandson, and they were murdering the crappie like it was it was downtown Chicago and Buggsy Malone! Well, I might not know everything there is to know about fishing, but I know when to pay attention. I walked down there to see what they were using for bait (as they hauled 2 more nice ones out of the water). Shammi -like ya use to wipe down a car. Pieces cut in a small triangle about 1/2" wide at the top and about 3/4" long and nothing else on the hook! Try it. Stuff tends to flutter as it drifts down below a spit shot. Works when even live minnows don't. Well, at least, it did in Colorado!
Chief Jim