Thread: Eager to try trolling some crankbaits

Crank away now, as time now is prime. Check Indiana,s postings as I have been cranking and catching limits.

Oddly enough .... the lake we had our Spring Fling Crappie Camp on, had stable water levels & water temps in the high 60's to low 70's .... and pulling cranks netted the bigger fish & greater numbers of fish ... running ~15ft deep over 30fow. Now, there were quite a few that pushed jigs in shallower water, up in the river end of the lake, that also did quite well in size & numbers.

So, had we all gone by the conditions being "prime" for shallow water spawning and let that dictate our fishing methods ... we wouldn't have had near as many fish brought in.

I'm not set up to push/pull cranks ... but, I did push jigs @ ~15ft deep for a few hours on the day after the event, and caught 7 nice Crappie before the wind made it impossible to fish.

Why the females were out in such deep water, with the conditions being what they were ... But, they were there, and they showed up as little groups on the depth finder. One other little thing that also seemed a little odd, was that most bites came when running in one direction ... even though I went thru the same area in both directions, over and over. Having heard that in the seminar at the event, the day before, I had to try it out ... and sure enough, it happened.

Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

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One other little thing that also seemed a little odd, was that most bites came when running in one direction ... even though I went thru the same area in both directions, over and over. Having heard that in the seminar at the event, the day before, I had to try it out ... and sure enough, it happened.

I wouldn't lie to you Pappy (or any of the others at the seminar).

Originally Posted by mrdux

I wouldn't lie to you Pappy (or any of the others at the seminar).

I know that ... and that's why I passed it on to these fellers !!

In fact, I didn't attend your seminar (too busy) and only caught that one piece where you made that observation. I didn't really think about it, until I noticed the pattern on Sunday ... since I was trolling that same curve where I saw you and Rickie on Saturday. I even noticed that the pods of fish seemed to be directly in line with the blowdown trees on the bank (where everyone else was fishing in that area) ... just about 50yds out from them.

What determines the direction that you troll. I would like more information on this if you can. I normally just troll toward the wind mostly so I can control the boat better.

So being that I'm a complete noob,


Whats my best plan of attack to catch a few fish trolling a small (200 acre) lake. Should I stagger depths? We've got 4 linecounter rods to run crankbaits on, Should I run all 4 the same depths, and if no hits, backtrack the same routes a few feet shallower or deeper?

I just have simple 2D sonar, so its basically for tracking the depth. I do have a ton of brand new bandit 200-300's, Berkley flicker shads and Arkie crappie cranks, and I'm willing to donate some to snags if it means catching a few fish!


The weather is looking pretty crappy for this weekend unfortunately. Lots of rain, cooler temps. Most likely high winds as well, my luck.

Originally Posted by scrat

What determines the direction that you troll. I would like more information on this if you can. I normally just troll toward the wind mostly so I can control the boat better.

If there is noticeable current or wind, I will start out going with the flow. I never leave an area where I either see fish on my electronics, catch fish, or have confidence in without trolling the same track in the opposite direction. I will also come at a hot spot from all different directions. Lots of times my chart will look like an Etch-a-sketch.

I run baits of different depth ranges (200 & 300) as well as different wobble in my initial spread. I also use different colors until the fish show me what color is working best then I'll put several of similar color out. I always stagger the amounts of line I have out on each bait so I don't have baits running the same depth side-by-side. My stagger may be 10 feet or 40 feet, it is just depends on what kind of mood I'm in.