trolling crankbaits for fish

[CrappiePappy]

Problem with a low drift speed is that a crankbait would have to have almost a neutral buoyancy - any floater would swim too close to the surface.

That's why you mostly see crank Pushers using heavy weights & running the boat at 1.5 - 2mph !! Crank Pullers get their depth from excessive lengths of line out @ those relative speeds.
I've successfully Pushed cranks @ 1mph with 1/2oz weights ... but, my success rate was far below those using heavier weights & greater speeds. But, that was when I was first starting out with cranks & jigs. Now I use 1oz weights in front of my jigs & have 2oz & 4oz weights for my cranks ... I just ain't had the opportunity to use my cranks. (I'm also hindered by a trolling motor that's only 12v & 42# thrust, so I'm not able to maintain the higher speeds for more than a few hours)

[LittleJohn]

Spent some of that rusty money Pappy and buy a bigger trolling motor. HaHa!
LittleJohn

[patrapper]

Don't know if this qualifies as a crankbait but I tie my own wormharnesses to troll for walleye on Pymatuning. I use 3oz bottom bouncers to get them deep. Along with the walleye,we get some of the biggest crappies in the system.

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[Gomer Snerd]

Buck Perry caught a few trolling his Spoonplugs.

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[Spoonminnow]

Buck Perry caught a few trolling his Spoonplugs.

So true. Wonder if ever cast and retrieved them?

[skeetbum]

I’ve trolled cranks and about anything else that would possibly catch fish. The one that surprised me most was a jigging spoon. Relatively short drop and let it flip around like it’s designed to do. I didn’t load the boat but I did get an occasional good fish just letting it flutter on about ten or twelve feet of line. The one I used was a pearl white and red slab spoon.

[Spoonminnow]

Today we trolled toward the end of the day and did better than we did fishing structure quality-wise for perch and crappie using small crankbaits in different colors. Quality sunfish were caught shallow near steep shoreline drops along rocky banks. Had to see it with my own two eyes to believe trolling catches fish. We used #2 on the trolling motor unless the wind increased and then #3.

[Spoonminnow]

Before I relate exactly what was used: Does trolling work as well when the water is dead calm?


Now, I've read the ideas given in the links given above, but here's the basic set up that's worked on two separate outings and that' differed from my partners:
1. 6' Duck Commander light action rod ($20)

2. Shad Rap - didn't dive too deep in order to avoid bottom algae in 8-9'

3. Kastking SuperPower braid 8#/2# diam - cheap but good quality (no f/c leader)

4. 35 yr. old 30# thrust Minn Kota tm (first one I ever owned) - used speed settings 2-3 depending on wind speed change. I was told to maintain a certain steady speed (IE like a fast walk) and it worked great.

5. two rods out - his and mine. I insisted I hold the rod while trolling; I told him that way in the past I found that fish bit better if I didn't using a rod holder or laying the rod in front of the oar lock but on the bottom of the boat (like today). Just had to be careful when large crappie slammed the lure as the rod bowed way back !!!

6. Lure color didn't seem to matter. I used gold metallic Tenn. Shad; my partner using fluorescent orange with black back and scales and blue chrome. We don't believe in matching forage.

7. Saw far more fish on the sonar screen in the middle of the lake than to the sides. Depth varied: some in near surface to the bottom, some at certain depths. Didn't seem to matter when using cranks at mid-depth.

Question: Would a small soft plastic swimbait work if the jig was heavy enough? If so, what maximum length?

Reaction strikes seemed to be the name of the game for lures moving at a steady fast walk in a straight line. Forage fish don't swim that way nor any forage animal for that matter.

Another question: I haven't used crankbaits with treble hooks in years but when a decent crappie was caught, while trying to unhook it, I got a hook stuck in my finger past the barb which I had to rip out with pliers. How do you unhook crappies or any panfish with 2 sets of treble hooks?

[CrappiePappy]

Question: Would a small soft plastic swimbait work if the jig was heavy enough? If so, what maximum length?

Reaction strikes seemed to be the name of the game for lures moving at a steady fast walk in a straight line. Forage fish don't swim that way nor any forage animal for that matter.

Another question: I haven't used crankbaits with treble hooks in years but when a decent crappie was caught, while trying to unhook it, I got a hook stuck in my finger past the barb which I had to rip out with pliers. How do you unhook crappies or any panfish with 2 sets of treble hooks?

Answer to your first question .... yes !! You would essentially be "long line trolling", where your depth is controlled by length of line out & weight of jig.

Answer to your second question :


Treble hooks are a bit trickier, but these methods will work. As for removing the hooks from a fish ... have the fish "under control" (pinned down if necessary) and use a pair of long nose pliers or hemostats.

[ultralightrooki]

the only time i ever trolled a lure at all , was one morning i was out throwing the net to catch some shad , and was on my way home...i had a catfish reel and rod in the boat and my big tackle box was under the deck in the front of the boat...so i decided to troll a lure on the way home ,with my trolling motor, it was a rapala about 3 in long with a red bill.....i have no clue how fast i was going out in the middle of the river in 35 ft of water... i had been seeing the stripes hit things on the surface early in the morning for a good while and thought maybe one would hit...i was almost to the slew and had no strikes so i got the rod out of the holder and walked back to the back to reel the lure in , just as i had the lure out of the water there was a silver flash and a huge swirl, i allmost fell over backwards.....