Thread: Line For Cranking

After using Viscous and Mr Crappie for years (Suffix hi-vis if I can find it), I just bought a 4700 yard spool of Trilene Big Game Solar Green in 12 pound test. I'm getting ready to respool all 12 of my line-counter reels. In the last 2 trips to Blood River on KY Lake I have lost upwards of 25+ cranks. Yesterday I broke off on a custom painted C55 that snapped almost at the rod with BRAND NEW 10 pound Mr Crappie. NO MORE!! If the Trilene doesn't solve much of this I'm going to braid. It doesn't hurt quite as bad losing a custom painted bait that I probably have $2 in over a $6 Bandit but I seem to be making up for it in quantity. I may lose a foot or two on my cranks dive depth but we'll see. I'll allow for it if I see I need to.

I am a serious line watcher when trolling and when I tried Power Pro Hi-Vis braid a few years back, it faded in just a few trips.

One trick I have always used when pulling multiple cranks is when we get a bad tangle involving more than one crank, the 1st crank that gets to the boat is cut off of its line and put to the side. I find it much easier to retie baits than to try to untangle a rat's nest. When that 1st line is clear, it is allowed to go back into the water with the other lines and most of the time it will untwist on its own. Yesterday we had a fish tangle 3 lines like this and all 3 cranks were cut off and the line allowed to run behind the boat. The rods were just placed back in the rod holders then the baits tied back on one at a time with the lines trailing behind the boat.