how do I rig my fishing pole for crappie

You need to use a very light rig for catching Crappie. When I go fishing for Crappie is like the following setup. I use a very high quality light action graphite fishing rod when fishing for crappie. Since you are fishing for a species that hits a bait very lightly you want to be able to feel the pickups to maximize you hook ratio. You there need not only a high quality light action rod but also a somewhat short rod that will allow you to have greater sensitivity. The fishing reel is generally not very important when Crappie fishing. I am not suggesting you buy a complete piece of junk but any name brand open faced spinning reel should be sufficient for any crappie fishing you will engage in. I think it is very critical to use very light line, no greater than six pound test strength. I use four pound test strength fluorocarbon line when fishing for Crappie. Fluorocarbon line is much better than monofilament line due to its invisibility properties. You lose a bit in strength but this is not critical when fishing for Crappies. For bait nothing beats a jig, especially when it is tipped with a small lively minnow. I have found that two colors of jig outperform all others. Pink and chartreuse are definitely much greater than other colors. When light conditions are low or the water is murky I switch to the florescent variety of these colors. I will also on occasion use a white jig, especially if fishing the early morning hours.