Either of the poles you've described should work fine. You'll have a difficult time casting mini-jigs, and smaller lures if you use a line test heavier than 4#-6#. The mini-jigs are effective on crappie, but will take bass, bluegill, and trout as well. Pick up a variety of colors in the 1/32 oz. jigs. Get some solid, bi-colored, and some smoke/clear styles. Other lures to try include flies, small Rapalas, and spinners.

I catch most of my crappies during the last hour and a half before dark, and about a half hour after dark. Usually the fish will be feeding then. Cast the jigs to their feeding rings, and if you haven't had a strike within three to five seconds, start a slow retrieve with occasional twitches. Try casting to pilings, docks, weedlines, and floating debris, if the feeding "frenzy" hasn't started yet. You can slowly troll your crappie lure until you find fish, also.

Personally, I'd rather fillet ten larger sized crappie, than thirty small ones Good luck.