Crappies are one of the most popular panfish nationwide.  They are more widespread and get bigger in the southern United States.  The best Finger Lakes for them are probably Honeoye and Canandaigua Lake.  Nearly every Finger Lake has at least a small population of them.  Cayuga Lake was once the location for a “Crappiethon” tournament back in the 1980s along with Chautauqua and Black Lakes – that’s how good Cayuga was for crappies back then.  It still churns up some fish, but it isn’t the crappie factory it was back in the 1980s.  Crappies are caught in Otisco Lake and Keuka Lakes too.  I’ve heard of a few in Owasco, Skaneateles, Canadice and Hemlock.  They tend to just show up in places as a result of illegal stocking by anglers.  I used to enjoy catching them in my teenage years.  These days I just don’t have the time for it, since a lot of the best crappie fishing occurs when I’m super busy and there are so many other fish I can target.