Thread: What does pulling cranks mean?

when I started pulling cranks I held 3 rods and just pulled em behind the boat using the TM....as I got more addicted I bought rod holders and placed the rods in them....the more I read on CDC the more I played with different techniques and pushing jigs and pulling cranks at the same time as well learning to spider rig and long line....all great techniques to catch all kinds of fish...and a lot more relaxing than casting and reeling in....not to mention less work...till the bite gets going that is.......

The answer to your question is trolling crank baits behind your boat. There is much info on this site for this.

Go here and start from beginning and read.... Pulling Cranks 101

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Originally Posted by trypman1

The answer to your question is trolling crank baits behind your boat. There is much info on this site for this.

Technically speaking .... "pulling" cranks is having your rods out the side or back of the boat. When you see the term "pushing", it's usually indicating that your rods are pointed more or less out the front of the boat. Pushing or Pulling are just names to define the position of your rods. "Pushing" cranks usually indicates that you have a certain amount of weight on your line, in order to reach the depth you want at the speed you're running ... plus helping keep your lines deep enough to avoid getting them into the trolling motor. "Pulling" can be done with or without that extra weight, since the rods are not in a position to offer the line into the path of the trolling motor.

The "trade-off" of using the extra weights is - you have to keep the boat moving, even when fighting a fish or should one or more of your cranks get snagged. What you gain is the ability to let out a shorter length of line to get the crank to the required depth, and the ability to make shorter turns. Weight also helps take cranks with shorter bills or smaller cranks down to the required depths. But, the shorter length of line out also means less chance of losing a fish while reeling them in ... since in many cases the amount of line out, with weight on it, is half the length needed to get the bait down to the depth you want without the weight.

Very interesting read. I always called that trolling but this is a lot more involved. I cant imagine having 4 lines out at once! Thanks for all who responded for some great information.

Yeah, it's all just semantics. It's naming various methods/styles and even baits used to define exactly how or what you are "trolling". And as with many other things related to fishing, it can depend on where you're located or even whom taught you the "name" of the method as to what you call it.

"Trolling" is the broad spectrum method's name, and the other "names" are variations on that theme and are intended to put a more concise picture of what's being done into the mind of the reader.

and many folks are "pushing and pulling" jigs and minnows ....not me but I know folks that do .....I think the professionals do it some as well

Originally Posted by Ketchn

and many folks are "pushing and pulling" jigs and minnows ....not me but I know folks that do .....I think the professionals do it some as well

Right you are, partner !! I "push" jigs more than I do cranks, usually with 1/2oz weights and moving at 0.5-0.8mph.

Spider rigging is much the same as "pushing" ... but usually employs slower speeds, like 0.1-0.4mph. And it's still called "Spider Rigging" whether you have a jig/minnow or hook/minnow rigged up ... as long as you're going at the slower speeds. Spider riggers usually want their main lines to be more or less straight down from the rod tip, and will use varying amounts of weight to accomplish that vs the speed they move.
When I'm "pushing" ... I want my lines to be more or less at a 45deg angle. That allows me to know how deep my jig is running (by multiplying the length of line below the surface of the water by 0.6 ). So, if I wanted to run my jigs around 12ft deep, I'd let out 21ft of line ... & with 1ft of that being above the surface, from the rod tip to the water, I know I have 20ft of line below the surface. Then a quick multiplication in my head of 6 x 2 = 12 (0.6x20=12) and I know my weight is around 12ft deep & the jig on the leader line is following right behind it (at the speeds I "push"). It's not "dead accurate", but it's close enough to be in the depth zone I seek.