This time of the year with the water so cold the crappie should normally be down near the bottom in the deeper parts of the lake. But since it's been so warm this winter they may be up on the surface suspended and basking in the relatively warmer surface waters or shoreline waters.
Even though it's 55 deg F outside the last couple of days the water temperatures are still going to be cold.
If you have fished for crappie in dec before I'd predict that those fish are going to be in the same general area as before. They should be all schooled up together for winter by now.
Fish slowly and deep would be my suggestion.
If I were going to patoka in my boat I'd get the Humminbird 898 CSI unit fired up and scan the creek channels for brush piles with fish around them. Then I'd hover over the brush pile and fish stright down into the brush pile with a live minnow or a weedless jig until I found the fish. Add a crappie nibble and see if that helps get them feeding.
If you fish the Lick Fork Area know that there are plenty of huge brush piles out away from those steep banks. And there is plenty of bush along the creek channel too. Find a big bend in the Lick Fork Creek Channel somewhere and scout it with Side Imaging sonar or with down imaging sonar and look for bait fish.
if you find the big schools of shad you will find the other fish too.