Thread: Crank baits on downriggers?

It has been known to happen!!! Good luck

Not an expert here but I think temps would be too cold for crappie to chase a bandit going fast enough for the action to work properly this time of year. You are two cents richer for what it is worth.

Not an expert here either. Some will let out lots of line and with the right speed they get the cranks down to where the crappie are. Some add weight to the line to get the cranks down without a lot of line out.

Thanks guys. Will try it.

I say give it a try. Not long ago, people in Illinois were not inclined to fish any way other than single poling or slip corking. Now more and more are spider rigging and some even pull cranks. I still get weird looks when pulling cranks and people ask how the Walleyes are biting. Then I tell them I'm Crappie fishing in the middle of the summer! Just because a method is not popular, doesn't mean it won't work. Go get em!

CW never done it but have often thought that just might be the ticket for someone who has the gear and knowledge to use it. Way better depth control.

Been there, did that, got the T-shirt. I ran a pair of manual Cannons with 10 pound cannonballs like would be used to fish for salmon or stripers. I pulled cranks, grubs, kitchen sink and was more than disappointed with all of it. If you are fishing a lake like Lanier, Cumberland, etc--deep water with constant depth you might catch some fish. I was running the secondary and main channels in KY Lake and there is no constant depth and I was continuously having to adjust the weights. I also think the typical action rod used for downrigging is going to be much too heavy for crappie.

I can honestly say I gave the technique more than a fair trial period and other than some white bass, came back fishless. I found it to be not worth my time. Others may be tickled doing it. I just think there are much less complicated ways to get a bait down to crappie.

I will say something else: beginners in the crankbait game pay way too much attention to trying to get a bait, deep-deeper-deepest. Some of my best catches on KY Lake in recent years have been in channels or flats that are 25 feet deep with baits that will max out at 10 feet or running C55s or 300s with 40-50 feet of line out. I find the baitballs and run my baits in the top 1/3 of the depth they are at. No bait, no crappie. You have to be where they are. Your electronics are your friend.

Thanks mrdux. It has been three weeks since I was on the water and then the bait balls were around 20 feet or so. Will try without first and see if the 300s will get deep enough.