Take care to not provoke lakeshore owners by snagging their pontoon's upholstery or dock posts, but remember too that your state's waterways are public domain. River backwaters are common panfish lairs. Look for high water pools formed behind stretches of shoreline timber. Most of these spots will be bone dry in another couple of weeks. Beds of dead reeds and rushes, shoreline oriented or a freestanding island, also host early spring panfish.
Big beds get noticed, so do smaller ones.
I look for. I prefer one with pockets openings. You can find these concealed clearings by slowly motoring around an entire weed-mat. Crappies and bluegills love such hideaways, and many go unchecked. Another commodity worth searching for is newly emerging vegetation within an expired bulrush or reed bed.