How's the cold affecting the panfish?

[nnation]

Normally I don't start fishing heavily until May but have the itch to be out there now. Went out a couple times a couple weeks ago during the warmer weather. Didn't see any gills on the beds then so I wanted to know when you guys think they will be coming into the shallows. I didn't know if they would wait until warmer weather to spawn or if they would still come into shallower water with the cold. As you can see, I dont' do much gill or crappie fishing. I do know that during the 3rd weekend of April last year I was in my float tube with shorts and catching a limit of gills. This weather is BS.

[walleyechaser]

You're not gonna find any gills bedding in Michigan in April. Mid May is typically when you'll find them starting to bed but each lake is different as dark bottomed/stained lakes warm up faster than clear ones.
Start looking for beds when the water temp approaches 62-63 degrees.

For now, you'll find them in shallow canals, near the mouth of creeks bringing in warmer water and in the shallows along northern shores with weedy bottoms and shorelines. If none of these conditions exist on your lake, look for weed edges along the Northeast corner of your lake and you should find the gills in anywhere from 6 to 15 feet of water. Sunny calm days will be the best and you want to fish from mid afternoon on when the water is at its warmest. A few degrees warmer water can make all the difference.

Crappies are a little different. They'll be in the same early areas but bite best when there's a little chop on the water.