Im new to the Sac area also. Dont know about good crappie spots. I know there are crappie at collins ans the sloughs at the delta. Other than that no idea. Some of the bypasses probably have them. I fished one lake up here for them but few and far between. As for gear that all depends. I have fishind places the crappie lived in murky water and were seldom more than 4-6' deep in the spring and others where 13-20 was the norm. I normally use bnm poles 7-10' a small reel and 4# test but to many breakoffs and moving to 6#. In shallow water i love the thill mini stealth, use the MS-2 alot w 1/32oz jig.
Id say a 2500 series reel is to big, got to temember the lighter the setup the better your feel. I caught my biggest crappie wen it was really windy and i switched to a 30" ice rod with a spring bobber on the leeward side of the boat to see the bites. Let me know if you find anything. Been working on my boat today but will be heading out for sturgeon and bass and striper before crappie.
"Some days im Basstastic other days im crapptacular"