Thread: Just got back from 1 week on Ky Lake

Pappy-

That was the fish I saw.

Thanks

Brook

I understand where you guys are trolling cranks but exactly how are you doing it. What size cranks, what type of poles, how many at the same time. I long line troll but would worry it would be to much pull for those 14' poles so what size pole are you using? Are you trolling from both the front and back or what kind of boat set up are we talking about?

By the way, I saw one of those spoonbill come flying out of the water one day while flying down the Ohio River. I had to stop the boat to try figuring out what the heck I just saw. I came completely out of the water and had to be three or four feet long. It reminded me of some ocean fishing trips seeing different fish come flying out of the water. I have only seen the one in my entire time on the water but it is something I will never forget.

Jigboy,

Im no pro but I've got the hang of the crankin' for crappie and it's actually a really fun method, especially when fish are really scattered, its windy, or fish are just on a reaction bite. I actually use my spider rig setup for this (I guess pushin' as opposed to pullin' cranks?), I use four rods mainly. Two 11' (bnm bucks jig rods) on inside and two 7' on the outside. 8-10 lb line. I use bandits mainly, 300s most the time, with a swivel to help twist and make changin' baits easy. I use the electric tm mostly, and use the gps to track my speed, depth etc. Haven't had any probs yet(knock on wood...) and have been pretty consistent doing this. It works well for bigger fish but isnt really a numbers method, but u can occasionally load em up. I mainly just look at the sonar and follow breaks, cover etc. I usually go in a semi-straight line but u can swerve from side to side to vary depths and speed of your cranks. Shad color cranks as well as really bright colors (white, chart, pink, red) usually do well for me. There are charts available and books (precision trolling is an awesome read) that will help you determine how deep your cranks will run w/ your setup according to speed, line size, crank model, and line put-out etc. A line counter reel would be real handy for this but I cant spare the extra $$ when I can get pretty close just estimating line out. Locating the thermocline is important in the summer and makes finding a starting point for depth a lot easier and more efficient. Hope this helps sum, and like I said, Im no pro but w/ a little trial and error its easy to pick up and relaxing once you get things workin' rite (not to mention keeps you from burnin' up settin' still in the dead heat!!) You catch a mixed bag doin' this so it keeps things interesting. I taught myself on carnico and now do it on cave run and most all the places I fish. Hope this helps. Try it, if u like hybrids/whites as well as crappie its a killer method. Good luck, let us know how ya do if you try it. Good luck!