How much time do you spend scouting for crappie?

[dowhatta]

Whenever I hit the water, I feel like I'm wasting time if I'm not flailing the water with lures. But I know folks that fish offshore structure spend a lot of time scouting for ridges and drops identified in maps or old charts. How much time does everyone spend cruising with the big motor and looking for cover, structure or fish compared to time with a rod in your hand? Also, are there any tips you all have in shortening the time spent cruising a new lake looking for potential hot spots?

[Cmj]

I have Navionics on my phone, as well as on my computer. If I am planning on fishing a new lake, I will spend some time on Navionics(if available for that lake,) and put together a game plan. I will drop pins on several spots that look good for that time of year, ie. points, channel drops, shallow flats, etc. Then when I get on the lake I cruise those spots and use my electronics to find shad, brush, and most importantly, fish! Once I am confident that I have found a productive spot, THEN I will break out the poles. Having a good map and knowing what to look for during the different seasons is a must when fishing new water.

[Crappie Buster]

I'm with Cmj. I rarely just cruise the lake aimlessly. I use the Navionics app on my phone to pin point locations to try. I do this on my home lake and any new lake I fish. It flattens the old learning curve out quite a bit.

[Dutch]

I also use Navionics to "scout" prior to fishing a new (or a known) lake, also all the lakes I fish regularly most are within a 2 hour drive of the house at the most. So what is working on one lake (location, jig colors, etc.) is working on the other lakes as well. I use these patterns to find fish in new water...is it 100%...no, but I would say 60% of the time it will put me on fish.

[Hanr3]

I spend time with a HotSpot map or other maps I can find on the lake. I also use Google Maps, especially useful when the water levels are down.
Couple of things to keep in mind.
The topography you can see next to the water is generally the same under the water. If its a steep bank, more than likely its steep under water as well.
If there is a point, it will be a point under water too.
Look for Crappie highways, creek channels between cover/flats/etc.
Watch the weather patterns, bait fish get pushed into coves by the wind, Crappie will be close behind.
At night the Crappie will push the bait up on flats, swim up and feed and drop back to the deep water.
Ask anglers getting off the water what species they were after, how they did, what depth they caught fish, and what baits they used. Not one of those questions is about their "secret spot". All that information puts together a pattern, repeat that pattern on ever location on the lake you can find. Read the map to find related spots.

How much time on the water do I spend looking for other spots, all day long. Every time I move from one spot to another I watch the depth finder and look for changes in countour. I look for road beds, creek channels, fish cribs, etc. If something looks good Ill spin around and take a second look.

I also spend time trying new techniques.