Since I was quite young, I've always fished for Crappie through the ice after dark. We'd get set up on the ice about an hour before sunset and catch a few bluegills on waxworms, then as soon as it was dark we'd light our Coleman lanterns, tip our jigs with minnows and slam the crappie!

I've tried to catch crappie through the ice during daylight hours but have never had a lot of luck - any suggestions? 

In late winter as oxogen levels drop in the lake you can usually find crappie suspended in the deeper areas of the lake , small jigs tipped with waxes or meal worm

Thanks Rod Tender, this might be a good time of year to pick up a Vexilar to help narrow down the search.