Thread: Pushing Crankbaits

Originally Posted by skiptomylu

Dang 3 Oz weight? I have only one rod rated for 2 OZ weight and none that are rated for 3 OZ. I have been wanting to try pushing for a long time now, but just have not yet. I also am on a lake that was a National Forrest before it was flooded so lots of wood still in here and not sure how in summer I can troll where the crappie are. Maybe I just don't know enough about the cranks at all so maybe it's just me thinking all I would do it get hung up.

One reason that pulling and pushing cranks is productive after the spawn is the fact that the white crappie leave the cover where they spawned and follow the schools of shad onto the flats and areas void of lots of cover. The shad as well as crappie will go deeper as water temp rises. With the cranks you can cover more territory and vary your depth with the amount of line let out. If you have stumps and brush tops in water less than 10 ft deep, you will have some hang ups. In deeper water you can switch to Bandit 200s or not let out as much line to keep your baits above the cover. I rarely let out more than 40 ft of line out at my home lake of Okatibbee. I fish the flats close to a creek channel that are 10 to 15 ft deep.

A 3 oz or 4 oz weight seems like a lot of weight but it takes that much to hold your line down with all of the drag when moving 1.7 or 1.8 mph. I came up with a formula for determining the depth of your bait while pushing. Look at the "right triangle".



If you reset your line counter with your weight at the water surface, let out 15 ft of line. Your weight will now be at a depth which is 2/3 of the amount of line you let out. Or, as in the pic, 10 ft deep. For this formula to work, your line needs to go down at close to a 45 degree angle. If you're wanting to run your bait deeper than 10 ft, a 4 oz weight may be needed. Another way to decrease the drag when pushing is to use a crankbait that doesn't pull so hard. That's another reason I like to use the small Arkie Crappie Crankbait when pushing.

I've been pulling cranks for a couple years, and want to get up to speed on pushing them.
The thing bothering me is that it seems like even with a 10' rod you would be fishing under the bow of the boat instead of out front. It seems like you would be spooking some fish out of the way?

Nice job!

I, and Scott too, run my poles off the sides, the front pole being my push pole for that side, don't have anything directly in front of the boat

Originally Posted by Rees Guide

I, and Scott too, run my poles off the sides, the front pole being my push pole for that side, don't have anything directly in front of the boat

thanks rees! you solved some confusion on this end!

Those estimates given work okay for shallow depths, but the error increases as you go deeper, and a foot can make all the difference to a crappie. If the line is at 45 degrees to the water, the depth will be just above 7' for every 10' of line under water. So at 15' of line out, the depth is closer to 10.6'. Not too much difference, but it could make a difference to the slabs.

I always thought that rod weight ratings were for casting? A rod rated for 2oz should be fine trolling 3oz and a crank, shouldn't it? I mean, if it can horse in a 2lb fish, why would trolling a tenth of that weight have any negative effect?

In the reading I have been doing, some are using as much as 5 ounces of weight.

Is anyone on here using that much? If so, what are you using for a rod?