I'd say the most consistent productive way to fish the pre-spawn is with a cork. The fish are just moving up but the water is still cold, so letting the bait sit will make for an easier meal. The fish aren't to willing to chase when the water is high 40's to low 50's. Look for shallow brush or secondary points leading into a spawning cove. I also like corking the front of docks (by front I mean between the dock and bank) that have big rock. Last year I thought the crappie would be on the bank bc the water was in the mid 60's. Turned out they were still pre-spawn out in the middle of a creek chasing shad. Anytime I see that on my graph it's time to troll cranks, and I loaded up pretty good.