Trolling Crank Info

This year I have done a lot more crappie fishing than normal. The older I get the more I like to fish but I only target crappie and cats but haven’t been able to get on the big rivers for cats yet this year. So with that said, I have started to get more serious about pulling crank baits. I was watching Mike Bakers videos on LOZ and wondering a couple things and hoping you guys will help me out. First, do you or do you not use a swivel? I typically tie everything right to the line but it sure would be convenient to have a swivel to quickly switch crankbaits

Second, will crappie tend to like the same colors at different lakes? Today at LOZ they seemed to prefer a chrom or shad color. Chartreuse, pink, etc didn’t draw many bites. Are there some go to baits I am missing. These are my 300s but only have a couple 200s so I figured I can work on getting both.
Thanks for the help
Mike Attachment 344923Attachment 344925


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It seems to me that different colors work on different lakes at times. But you will also find it will change from day to day and even hour by hour at times. You need a couple more darker colors like chrome/black, black and pink, black with some green, I find a purple and chartruse works good at times. Just don’t go overboard like a bunch of us do LOL. I have over 200 and that’s a drop in the bucket to what some guys have. On the 200’s unless you fish a lot of shallow water use your 300 and just shorten up the amount of line out. You can make them run a lot shallower

Use Duo Lock fast snaps and darken up on your colors. Only time I use barrel swivels is when I'm on a lake that produces a lot of catfish bites on cranks. I'm not a fan of chrome, could give me a box of them and I wouldn't fish with them ever. To each man their own and every lake is different, need at least 100 cranks to give it the college go. Different actions, brands, colors makes all the difference some days from going home with a mess of fish or going home empty handed.

I always use Duo Lock fast snap swivels. It makes changing baits a lot easier plus it eliminates line twist. As Cray said, different colors work better under different conditions. I’ve had some colors not get a bite all day, then a cloud blocks the sun and that color becomes the hottest one. One color will destroy the fish one day, then they won’t touch it the next day. I usually keep 500-600 crank baits in my boat when trolling. Granted, a bunch of those are of the same color and style. I’ll have my go to colors out every time but if one isn’t producing, I’ll change it. If one color is out fishing the rest, I’ll put out multiple baits of the same color until it stops producing.


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I have yet to see a day where anyone has put all of the same color on and fish . Many say they let the fish tell them and switch to it . I have found through trial that changing baits every 20 mins without a fish has not produced any more than choice by water/light and living with it all day unless change needed due to sunlight and wind chop . Contrary to most I believe Crankbait bite is 80 % a reaction bite . Yes,I would paint ten thousand colors if I sold them . lol

If I'm pulling in clean water, I will only run a Mustad Fastach clip to attach to the crank for reasons posted above. I also feel that them being a 1-piece vs. the normal snap makes them stronger (probably all in my head).

If I'm pulling water with weeds (fairly normal up here) or trash floating in the water, I'll add a barrel swivel about 24-36" above the fastach/crank to catch some of that trash instead of it gumming up my crank.

Finally......... channeling Speck's note above if you don't have 500+ cranks at the ready, you ain't crankin! It is simply terrifying when Dad and I pull out our collections when deciding what makes it in the boat for any given trip and at the end of the debate, we take them all! HA!

U

If your trolling six rods just mix the colors up until you know what's getting hit more. I like chrome and natural colors on sunny days and dark colors or some bright colors on cloudy days. I think color gets overrated but sometimes it defiantly makes a difference. I use a BPS fast lock snap just bc they are suppose to make the bait work harder but idk. Now I have found that certain baits sometimes work better. I have had days where flicker shads catch more than bandits and vice versa so mix it up a little. Another good bait is the strike king 3XD, arkie's at walmart, and rebel has some good cheap cranks.

Very Helpfull everyone thanks. I picked up a few more baits today but I thing my first priority will be getting 4 rods/reels. I really want to find a white or yellow rod so I can see it better. I was having a hard time seeing the rods at dark the other day and found I was leaning over to keep them on the skyline. I want all of them to be the same so I can rotate them and not have to worry about different rod length in the rod holders.

Also, for those taking 100 plus baits, do you have anything special to keep them organized? I like my water noodle piece on the rod holder so I can hang a few on there while fishing but what do you store them in? I like the couple Plano boxes I have but wondering if there is something better.




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I’ll post up some rod/reel combos tomorrow but honestly, you want to watch your line, not your rods. Flat line = dragging a fish.... if one smokes the bait, you’ll know, regardless of the color of the rod. An old cat fishing tip is use bells, somewhat helpful when trolling solo.

U

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Originally Posted by Marine4life

Very Helpfull everyone thanks. I picked up a few more baits today but I thing my first priority will be getting 4 rods/reels. I really want to find a white or yellow rod so I can see it better. I was having a hard time seeing the rods at dark the other day and found I was leaning over to keep them on the skyline. I want all of them to be the same so I can rotate them and not have to worry about different rod length in the rod holders.

Also, for those taking 100 plus baits, do you have anything special to keep them organized? I like my water noodle piece on the rod holder so I can hang a few on there while fishing but what do you store them in? I like the couple Plano boxes I have but wondering if there is something better.




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You could just have the assortment pictured above and catch plenty of crappie without ever buying anymore cranks. I would just add some Flicker Shads. You can also buy expensive St. Croix's or Berkley Lighting rods at Wal-Mart and the result would be the same...at least for trolling cranks.