Longline trolling

[Ljones]

I hear a lot about trolling crank baits this time of year when the water temp is in the 80 and 90s.... For You guys that long line jigs does the water temp need to cool to be sucessful or wil it work now ? I fish ky lake mostly

[usafret99]

Ive been long lining jigs for 25 years and i dont even try until december when the crappie start moving toward the coves and shallower water. dont think jigs will get deep enough this time of year long lining. I dont troll cranks so i dont know where or how deep they troll.

[M R Dux]

I will try it at times this time of the year, especially with Crappie Shark planer boards with Roadrunner head jigs. I do run a little faster now than I will in colder water. A couple of weeks ago the crank bite was slow and a buddy and I broke out the longline gear and fished deeper flats with baitballs. We caught a bunch of short fish but enough nice fish to make it worth our while.

[CrappiePappy]

I hear a lot about trolling crank baits this time of year when the water temp is in the 80 and 90s.... For You guys that long line jigs does the water temp need to cool to be sucessful or wil it work now ? I fish ky lake mostly

Pushing/Pulling cranks is working right now on Green River Lake, running the cranks at 14-17ft deep over 20-25ft deep flats. I'm limited as far as trolling cranks, so I pushed jigs with 1-1.5oz weights @ around 0.7-1mph and caught some keeper fish (even some 12" fish) but not near the numbers the crank trollers were hauling in. Water temp is about 82deg from surface to 15ft, and Shad schools were scattered throughout the 0-15ft depths.

I was told by a member/friend that fishes there quite often, that jigs would catch fish, but they'd catch more smaller fish. I did find that to be the case, so I tried to rig up a couple rods to troll cranks. I did manage to catch a few on the cranks, but the majority of the fish and the bigger fish that I caught came on a "Popsicle" colored boot tail Slabalicious jig body.

So, my feeling is, if you can longline a jig .... then with a little added weight you can push/pull them and not have near as much line out. Makes it a little more feasible to fish, when you happen to be in the midst of a trolling armada, like I was yesterday

Now, that may not be as much a problem on KY Lake, but if I was catching a fair share with jigs, while in the midst of several crank trolling boats and other Spider Rigging boats ... then I don't know why you wouldn't do well with jigs. Maybe not as well as the crank trollers, but still get a share of them. Might even be a good idea to up the size of the jig/plastics, not only for the visual aspect of the larger profile, but also in order to get the depth needed to present the bait at the depth the fish are holding. Or, of course, you could do as I did & use a 1/16oz jig & 2" plastic body, but just add a 1-1.5oz weight in front of it to get it to the desired depth.

... cp

[Ljones]

When adding weight to get your jigs down what type weights are you using ? Are you just tying it in the line a foot or so above the jig. .. I pour my own weights and have a bank & egg sinker molds would either work ok ?

[CrappiePappy]

When adding weight to get your jigs down what type weights are you using ? Are you just tying it in the line a foot or so above the jig. .. I pour my own weights and have a bank & egg sinker molds would either work ok ?

I'm using egg sinkers, but some people I know prefer the torpedo shaped trolling sinkers. I put my egg sinker on the main line & tie a crankbait snap to the tag end, with a plastic bead with a big enough center hole to go over the knot (protects the knot from abrasion from the sinker). I pre-tie a series of 3ft leaders, with a jig head on one end & a loop knot on the other. Then I can switch out jig head colors or sizes, or re-rig a break-off in a matter of seconds. I have "pool noodle" sections that I wrap my jig/leader rigs around.

My main lines are mono or braid in the 10-35lb test range, while my jig leaders are 6lb test mono ... so as to break off only the jig if I get hung and can't bounce the sinker & free the jig.

1/2oz - 3/4oz barrel sinkers are the norm for spider rigging around here, so I see no reason why you couldn't pour yourself up a bunch and use them however you wish. Most crank trollers I know are using 2oz torpedo shaped sinkers or 3oz barrel sinkers ... on rods from 7ft long to 20ft long.

... cp