Thread: Pulling Cranks - what motor?

I just have a 55lb 12 volt trolling motor and it works fine just drains the battery quick on a 12 volt system. If I have three rods running I put two in rod holders and hold one out the front of the boat. I just make a good cast and believe they are running 11 to 13 feet deep. I know everyone loves bandits as do I, but flicker shads are just as good imo at a cheaper price especially if you stock up on them at Menard's when they are on sale or have the 11% rebate or both.

imo the best way to learn how to pull cranks effectively is to go to mississippi page pulling cranks 101. its got any info u want and those guys have it down to a science. i got on there awhile back and read for about an hr and the info i gained was priceless. me and my buddy started cranking this spring and we have been catching fish doing it no matter what lake we go to. study lake charts and learn where the drops and channels are and pull over those spots. if youre doing it right u will catch fish.

If I remember right, Mr Zip told me that he locks his trolling motor straight and sits in the driver's seat and steers with the steering wheel. Hopefully if he is online he will give you some advise on his technique.

All I have to say is MINN KOTA TERROVA IPILOT!!!!!!

Originally Posted by rlsiv

For those of you pulling/trolling crankbaits like bandits.... are you putting along at idle speed using your big motor (ours is a 150)?
Or can they effectively be pulled with a strong (74lb) trolling motor?

I see a couple of people have posted pulling at 1.6mph etc... but we don't have fancy electronics and don't really have a good gauge of slow speeds.

Do not need a lot of fancy stuff to pull cranks and catch fish. Assuming you have a bass boat or other large boat with the 150. Yes you can pull with the troller and do fine but battery life is going to limit how much time you can fish. For years over here we fished with big motor, get you 2 5 gallon buckets, remove handle, drill 1/2 in hole on either side where handle was, thread a piece of rope thru the holes make it where when tied together you have a ft or so of slack, tie a overhand knot to form a loop. Then take a hole saw and put about 4-5 1inch holes in bottom of bucket. Get 4 Cheap Caribeners and put 2 on each end of a 10 ft rope. Attach one end to boat tie down and other end to loop knot on bucket. These will keep you pretty close to the right speed at idle. Hardest part is steering. Usually with 2 or more people you just take turns steering and watching poles. If you can lock steering down pretty straight you can also steer with trolling motor.

Originally Posted by jigflinger

You can also download: "The Precision Trolling" app on your smartphone. Think it comes with one bait with each additional bait for a small fee. Think I paid $3.99 for bandits. Well worth it.

This is definitely a start!

We use a few different methods, all equally effective. If we are pushing cranks we'll use the trolling motor, similar to spider rigging. If we are side and/or rear pulling we will use the trolling motor with a lock and use the big motor only as a rudder for steering. Recently we added a 9.9 kicker and have been using that as well.

Options!

After fishing with Speck in 'Sippi an iPilot is dang near cheating (but it's awesome).

U

Originally Posted by Speck

All I have to say is MINN KOTA TERROVA IPILOT!!!!!!

HAHAH! Winner!

Originally Posted by Lil Baby

I just have a 55lb 12 volt trolling motor and it works fine just drains the battery quick on a 12 volt system. If I have three rods running I put two in rod holders and hold one out the front of the boat. I just make a good cast and believe they are running 11 to 13 feet deep. I know everyone loves bandits as do I, but flicker shads are just as good imo at a cheaper price especially if you stock up on them at Menard's when they are on sale or have the 11% rebate or both.

Menard's has fishing tackle too? Cool!!! I think we are finally about to get one or two of them down here in Springfield!!