River Channels/In Lakes

So we all know river channels can be the key to crappie most of the year..My question is how do yall fish the river channel, or I guess how do you find it, diagnose where they are and everything else that pertains to it. Is the only viable way to find the river channel in the lake and follow it is by having a 1000dollar fish finder and all the hot-spot maps without seeing the lake before it was flooded. Just wondering if any one has any pointers as to how they do it now if ya don't have the equipment.

We always fished from the bank growing up. We didn't do much crappie fishing; however, we have done more than our share of catfishing. My mom always told me to watch the way that the water flows and to peg where the current starts and stops on each side of the river. To this day, this still holds true for me while fishing in a river for catfish. Sometimes it doesn't work, but most of the time it will. If you are outside of that current bed, you're not going to get many bites. If you're inside that current bed, waaa laaa.. the bite is usually pretty good!

Well I don't have catch too many crappies on the river, but a very few.. I found them by the brush and near the dam- less current while fishing for walleyes and white bass.