Hello Cody2,
For a complete treatment of this see the post "1 Peter 3:19 ...descent into hell?" And for a fast answer: the Spirit of Christ preached to those rebellious spirits through Noah before they died in the flood. They are in prison now. The preaching was not to them while they were in prison. The text does not say that. The Bible records their being preached to before their judgment in the flood; who are they you ask now? The spirits in prison. There is no need to link "in prison" to the time of the preaching, just to the "spirits", because that is where they are now. If you still have questions, read the longer post. DGB