Both active and inactive sunfish can be found anywhere from the deepest remaining vegetation right up to shoreline, again it depends on where you left fish at the end of ice fishing season. The best weed beds lie either within or just outside shallow bays. Crappie staging is a whole different animal. The last known whereabouts of late-ice crappies was over the outside weed edge, hanging aloft deep water near spawning areas, or nestled in deep pockets within the weed bed itself. Outside weed edges and miscellaneous spots on a flat are the only likely staging areas where sunfish and crappies commingle.
Crappies tend to reside in deeper staging areas than do sunfish.
Check for suspending crappies outside bays or shoreline areas that are known to harbor spawning grounds. Sometimes the outside weed edge lies inside the bay's confines, and other times the weed edge lies well outside the bay. Drop-offs, those ranging from 15 to 40 feet, situated within or just outside spawning areas are a sure bet for finding staging crappies. Mother Nature dictates when sunfish and crappies migrate. Sunfish are the first to go.