Thread: Crank baits

New to the crappie cranks, I’ve got some strike kings and flicker shad but I’d like to get some picos and bandits. Any tips on colors for the picos and bandits?

Thanks


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PICO INT favorite colors....Zombie, Geezer Clown, Bone Orange, and Chrome Clown. I have all of the Pico colors....they are all good.

I have attempted trolling for past few years this year I did ok on bandits and then tried salmo hornet the 9-12 ft divers I have got crappie bass Blue Gill and walleye. On lake Winnebago in Wisconsin they got walleye white bass and crappie. They are smaller then other crank baits with round fat body they go deep and price is good. Cabelas makes a similar type that is $1 cheaper too

You need a variety of colors. What works one day, might not work next day. Water color changes, water temp changes, sun light or cloudy days, if fish are shallow or deep,,,all will make you try different colors as the fish will dictate what they want due to all the elements of your surroundings. Even different bodies of waters have their preferential colors. Get a bunch of colors.

Wow! That’s a heck of a set up! I’m not trying to spend $1200+ on cranks lol. Do you spray them with anything or just run them without?


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Many years ago, started buying bandits, then Arkies when they became a sponsor and now PICO’s. I really like the PICO,s the best as they run alittle deeper than the bandits and arkies. But, more colors to choose from on the bandits and Arkies not that you need every color as I don’t have every color of the bandits and Arkies. The pic is just the 300 series of all 3. I have 4 other flats of 100 series Pico’s, 200 series of bandits also. Then don’t ask about all the other brands of crankbaits for bass, walleye that will work for crappies as well. �� I am crankbait poor.

You have a lot of different color, type of cranks. I personally think that the depth is most important especially in the hot summer months when the crappie suspend above the thermocline in a deep lake. Sunlight get's filtered out by the water and deeper water filters out more of the red light waves. Red can appear as black when you get down really deep or if the water is really dirty and colored with sediment. Water clarity and thus visibility can make lure color mute. Now in very gin clear water even some light waves don't make it down beyound 10 ft deep. If you have ever scuba dived in the ocean you will see the colors of things in deep water washed out. Unless you bring an artificial light with the wave lenghts of real sunlight the colors of the fish and corals will be washed out until you turn the lights on and then you will see the reds and yellow colors as if the objects were out of the water and in direct sunlight. Shorter wave lenghts get filtered out by the sky while longer wave lenghts of light (red) penetrate the sky or air. That is why we see a red sky at dusk when the sun is low in the sky and the light comes at a low angle into the earth's atomsphere and has to travel though more air before you see the light. The red lights gets though while blue light wave get scattered and absorbed by the air.

I'm not sure which light waves get absorbed first by water. I think it's the blue wave lenghts or the shorter wave lenghts of light.

Also the direction from which you approach the fish matters. IMHO. Fish tend to face into the current. So in a river or a reservour with a current (water flowing though the dam at KY lake) the fish will be facing into the current. In a lake the fish may orientate more to cover if there is no current. But if there is a current the fish will head into the current. So if your bait comes from behind the fish they may not see it in time to attack or bite the bait. Don't get me wrong here as the fish can easily swim over 4 mph for a short time and cartch a crank bait that you are trolling.

I use to troll a crank bait along the side of the boat while bass fishing and moving slowing upwind in order to drift back down to the fishing spot. Often that was into the current. (Away from the Dam at KY Lake). A lot of the time the winds were out of the North and blowing towards the south while other times the winds blew out of the South towards the North. Now I was younger and not into crappie fishing like these days. But I remember catching a few large crappies and some sauger while trolling cranks. I was bored and trying something new. Just really messing around and was surprised that I actually caught crappie doing that. Now that I'm older, I can look back and figure out why I was catching fish. We gain more knowledge as we age.

Wow, nice set up. Do you spray them with scents?


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I use Slab sauce and there again, because the PICO’s are a dimpled body, I think the sauce stays on longer.

I use Slab sauce and there again, because the PICO’s are a dimpled body, I think the sauce stays on longer.