New crappie enthusiast here who is getting back into the game for the first time in ten years courtesy of uncle Sam. I'll be kayak fishing around central VA in a pretty low tech rig without a fish finder.

Since it's the dead of winter and everything's deep, is it a waste of time to try to target crappie this early? I have a few spots identified that I'm hoping will be easier to fish effectively once they get into a pre spawn mode, but most of the success I see in the depths of winter come from spider rig setups with livescopes versus a guy estimating depth and casting from a yak.

Thanks in advance for any input!