Bandit bite is on

Waited to hear from a buddy who was supposed to go with me this afternoon. He didn't call so I ended up sneaking off by myself. I got on the lake around 3 and decided to check out some ledges that I had not fished before. Ended up wasting a couple of hours of battery time for zero fish. I decided to check out my usual spots and picked up some yellows and something that broke me off before I could even turn it around. Also managed to get a 10-12 pound drum in the boat before it could break me off. A fish that heavy on a 14 foot rod and moving 1.7mph is a real trick.

I finally moved off into deeper water and found suspended fish. My 1st pass deep produced fish on 5 of my 8 rods at once. I managed to get 3 of them in the livewell with a couple of really nice ones, almost 2 pounds. I spent the rest of the afternoon in water up to 25 feet deep searching for fish suspended from 12-18 feet.

Around 6, I hit on a couple of spots that were stacked full of suspended fish. My trolling motor batteries were getting weak and I figured it was going to have to happen in 30 minutes or so or I would be paddling. In that 30 minutes I caught nice keepers on every pass and then had something happen I had never seen. I had 14 keepers in the livewell and managed to hook up on 6 of my 8 rods in one spot and luckily got every one of them in the boat. Chinese fire-drills had nothing on me. I had to reel the fish in, swing it over the side, lay the rod down with the flopping fish still hooked, and grab the next rod. I finished out my limit before the batteries totally died.

This is the 1st time I had been on the lake in a month. I didn't see another crappie fisherman in my area all afternoon. As has been the rule all this year, the crappie are liking the dark colors over the bright colors. Every keeper I had were white crappie with 4 over 1 1/2 pounds, close to 2. They are putting the feed on since the water is thick with minnow bait-balls.

Great job Doug. It's nice fishing a lake when you have it darn near to yourself. Thanks for making my trip to Ky lake this spring, the best one ever.
Attachment 133950

Thanks Kenny. When I finally got that big drum up where I could tell what it was, I thought " That's a dad-gum GASPERGOO!!". I knew you would be proud.

Nice Doug! I'd like to trying pulling cranks once seems like it would be fun but a lot of work!

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Originally Posted by Grizzly2k1

Nice Doug! I'd like to trying pulling cranks once seems like it would be fun but a lot of work!

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It's funny to see other fishermen pull their boats up close to where I'm trolling and try to figure out what the heck I'm doing, especially when I'm targeting areas that are well away from the "normal" crappie spots. I'm normally standing next to my console, looking toward the back of the boat, watching both my 898GPS and my Lowrance fish finder, and running my Terrova with the remote control. Not a real relaxing way of fishing but it does put fillets in the freezer.

Sounds like you had great afternoon Doug! I been busy getting trained by that pup. She is growing like a weed! Going out next weekend on Rough River to start getting her used to the boat. Doubt we will catch much but getting on the water should be great.

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Originally Posted by killum

Sounds like you had great afternoon Doug! I been busy getting trained by that pup. She is growing like a weed! Going out next weekend on Rough River to start getting her used to the boat. Doubt we will catch much but getting on the water should be great.

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Had a friend from PA ask me this AM if I had my dogs in the boat yesterday. I told him an 18 foot boat with 8 rods running cranks is not the place to be for even an old dog, much less a 4 month old pup like Layla.

Where was my invite????? I'm always ready to fish!

Hey Doug,
Quick question........Have you noticed in your trollling trips if the amount of water that is being pulled tend to make a huge difference on results???

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Originally Posted by kytiteloc

Hey Doug,
Quick question........Have you noticed in your trollling trips if the amount of water that is being pulled tend to make a huge difference on results???

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I try to make my Bandit trips in the afternoon because of a couple of things. 1st, it lets me get a few things done at the shop before I head out but mainly because that should be the time of max generation at Ky Dam. I have a TVA app on my phone (TVA Lake Info) that gives me how many generators are running and how much water is being released. I think the times of maximum release actually hurt the crappie fishing, seems to be the way it has been this year, but I do want to see 70K or more. The days this year that the release was up to 150+ were terrible for us pulling cranks and deep longlining. Sunday the current was not as noticeable as it has been some days but the fish were stacked up under bait balls. I think the strong current stacks them and the bait up but in places I can't find them. So I guess the answer is yes, but not too much.

I have learned so much from the guys in MS as to their tactics on pulling cranks, especially Kent Driscoll's videos with Russ Bailey. One thing I have envied them for is the fact that their big lakes down there have a definite thermocline in the summer that shows up well on electronics. That gives those guys an instant starting point as to the depth they need to target. We rarely see a hint of a thermocline here so it is just experiment until you hit that magic depth. I guess the amount of current stirs the lake up so it doesn't layer out.

great trip

Nice Doug! Thanks for sharing.

Mrdux, I have never pulled cranks. Do you pull them on flats in bays, creek channel ledges in bays, any ledge in bay or main lake, or main lake ledges on the channel? Have you ever pushed cranks?

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Originally Posted by callen

Mrdux, I have never pulled cranks. Do you pull them on flats in bays, creek channel ledges in bays, any ledge in bay or main lake, or main lake ledges on the channel? Have you ever pushed cranks?

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If the crappie are on the flats or up on the ledges, I'm going to be longlining with curly tail jigs. I'm looking for bait CLOSE to ledges (can be secondary,main, main-lake) where there is 15 feet or more of water. I like to use a mixture of 200 and 300 Bandits. That lets me cover from 10 to 18 or so feet deep. I may be running as many as 10 rods so fishing up on ledges or around cover is a huge, expensive gamble. I think the biggest key to longlining or pulling Bandits is to NEVER stop forward momentum. If you hang up or hook a fish, keep moving. The crappie will pop to the top and you can reel them slowly to the boat. That's what happened Sunday when I had 6 fish hooked at one time. They came to the top and didn't tangle all my lines together.

I've tried pushing Bandits but don't like the heavy poles, weights, and such that it takes to do it right. Longlining and pulling Bandits lets me use the same basic rods and holders. I have 5 pairs of bases for my HiTek rod holders that let me move them all over the boat. Don't tell my wife but over the years I have accumulated enough rods and gear to have a full set of longline/spider-rig poles and a full set of Bandit rods with line-counter reels. WalMart sporting goods depts don't have anything on my garage. If I had to change out my reels or lines every time I wanted to change from one style to another, I would end up choosing one over the other.

Thanks, I may try and push some and see how it goes.

Looks like this cool snap and the north-east wind have shut the bite down somewhat. Quackrstackr and I went out this afternoon and fought it for 6 decent keepers plus one green carp. There was nowhere near the amount of bait in the areas I caught my fish on Sunday.

At least the cool temps made it really nice to stay comfortable while on the water. North-east wind is not conducive to catching fish on KY lake.

The temps and wind didn't affect the bluegill bite yesterday, but I went in the morning. This week has been pretty descent for bluegill.

I went this morning and the bite had slowed a lot from yesterday morning, I fished five hours today and only had ten bluegill. I did catch four nice cats on crickets though.

hey mrdux, just wanted to let you know I am finally going out and give the bandits a try tomorrow. I have decided to try and pull them off my front rod holders and see if that will work. I will take weights to push just in case my setup doesn't work. Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by callen

hey mrdux, just wanted to let you know I am finally going out and give the bandits a try tomorrow. I have decided to try and pull them off my front rod holders and see if that will work. I will take weights to push just in case my setup doesn't work. Thanks for the help.

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I just want to see others have a chance to widen their comfort zone when it comes to crappie fishing. A lot of folks here have said they can't catch crappie after the spawn, in hot weather, when they are deep, when they are not in their usual spots, yada yada. To that I say "BS", you just have to be willing to try something different.

I filmed a TV show with Randy Kuhens and the guys from "Feel n Reel TV" a couple of weeks ago. It should be out in the next couple of weeks. We were on the Kickin Bass pontoon that BIGBADDAD normally runs but was in the hospital. Feel-n-Reel with Randy Kuhens

Rich (BBD) felt well enough this morning to sit in my back seat and hold down my back rod holders for a couple of hours while I gave him a few tips. We ended up with 19 keeper crappie and one drum about 10 pounds.

Trolling is a pretty easy way to catch crappie, it just takes some different equipment and a different mindset, something I have been accused of having all my life.

Good luck with the trolling. We found the fish very close to the sharp drops in 15-20 feet of water. Many of what we caught were on 200s and on my 2 dropper rods where the baits were only running 10 feet or so deep.

mrdux
what size weight do you use on your dropper rods finally got my hi techs and thinking about using a couple dropper rods off the sides of boat

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Originally Posted by smokercraft

mrdux
what size weight do you use on your dropper rods finally got my hi techs and thinking about using a couple dropper rods off the sides of boat

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I'm using a 5 oz weight on a large snap swivel. The weight is about 3 inches long with a ring in the top where the snap attaches. I tie my leader to the Bandit onto the top of the brass swivel. I use a leader that is about 4 feet long to the crank. The rods I use for the dropper are medium action 7 foot bass baitcasters. No need for a line counter when the weight is only 5-8 feet below the boat. I use 100s on my droppers. I run a Lowrance 510C locator on my console next to my 898. It shows up the weight of the dropper and lets me adjust the depth according to how deep the tops of the baitballs are. The 100 will run a couple of feet below the weight.

BTW, the 788DI is working great.

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Originally Posted by mrdux

I'm using a 5 oz weight on a large snap swivel. The weight is about 3 inches long with a ring in the top where the snap attaches. I tie my leader to the Bandit onto the top of the brass swivel. I use a leader that is about 4 feet long to the crank. The rods I use for the dropper are medium action 7 foot bass baitcasters. No need for a line counter when the weight is only 5-8 feet below the boat. I use 100s on my droppers. I run a Lowrance 510C locator on my console next to my 898. It shows up the weight of the dropper and lets me adjust the depth according to how deep the tops of the baitballs are. The 100 will run a couple of feet below the weight.

BTW, the 788DI is working great.

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Neat little unit...:ThumbsUp

Rickie

Sounds like you got your unit tuned up Doug. Didn't even have to take it in. Just a little coffee!!

Ain't that the truth Buddy a little coffee will get you a lot of help
I think I owe a 5 lbs can of Folgers

Mrdux went out this morning and it took me a couple of hours to find the depth and speed but once I found it I had a good time. Caught 5 all over 13" and lost three more and caught a few bass. I only used four rods so over all it was great. I will add two more rods next time as I get the feel for it. Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by callen

Mrdux went out this morning and it took me a couple of hours to find the depth and speed but once I found it I had a good time. Caught 5 all over 13" and lost three more and caught a few bass. I only used four rods so over all it was great. I will add two more rods next time as I get the feel for it. Thanks again.

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Congrats on a good start. I try to run around 1.7mph with my Terrova or Yamaha with the trolling plate. That seems to be an the ideal speed for max depth on the Bandits and lets them run true. The hardest thing for folks to get the knack of is never stop the boat or make tight turns. If we hang up, try to pull it loose or break it off. If we hook a fish (this includes 8 pound bass or 15 pound drum/catfish) let it pop to the top and S--L--O--W--L--Y reel it to the boat with the rod held up high and the fish's head up out of the water. Reel them too fast and they will tumble and come loose, not holding their heads up lets them tangle the other lines. You're going to lose some fish and some baits, get used to it. Good luck with it.

1.7 or 1.8 mph is where I started to get bites too. I pulled them in to turn, the lake was rough and a slow turn was difficult with the waves and wind. I did not let the fish come up first and did get minor tangles a few times thanks for the advice I will do that next time.

You guys do know that there are titanium split rings (lure saver split rings) that can be used on cranks (replacing the regular split rings) ... that are supposed to allow the hook to pop off, when snagged, but the bait & split ring stay on. (well, most of the time, anyway)

Here's some info on them :

Fishing Lure Retriever -Ultimate luresaver

Ultimate SmartLink Titanium Rings

... cp :kewl

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Originally Posted by crappiepappy

You guys do know that there are titanium split rings (lure saver split rings) that can be used on cranks (replacing the regular split rings) ... that are supposed to allow the hook to pop off, when snagged, but the bait & split ring stay on. (well, most of the time, anyway)

Here's some info on them :

Fishing Lure Retriever -Ultimate luresaver

Ultimate SmartLink Titanium Rings

... cp :kewl

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Thanks for the link CP. I was not aware of those. They're not cheap but neither are Bandits. At around $6 a pop, I have spent a small fortune in lost baits this summer. Those could pay for themselves quickly.

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Originally Posted by mrdux

Thanks for the link CP. I was not aware of those. They're not cheap but neither are Bandits. At around $6 a pop, I have spent a small fortune in lost baits this summer. Those could pay for themselves quickly.

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Just be sure & read the "how to" part ... and line # test size vs split ring # test size.

It appears as though pointing the rod at the snagged bait & pulling at a slow/steady pace is what releases the rings. You lose the hook, but get the bait back ... and the ring, too, about 70% of the time on average (so they say).

They've been out for many years, so the fact that they're still being made should indicate that they work. I've never used them, and I don't troll cranks for Crappie ... so I'm not guaranteeing anything :Rofl I just thought they might be something you crank pullers would be interested in checking out.

... cp :kewl

Day 2 of cranking and I caught 9 today mrdux. The extra 2 poles were a bad idea when trying to pull off the front, actually bad was an understatement, I had several birds nests and replaced the line on one pole. I went back to 4 poles and everything went great after that, enjoyed it. I will definitely be adding this to my summers in the future. nice change of pace from the gills.

Good deal! ifish and I were out this morning but didn't find the fish on the secondary drops like I had hoped. Ended up going into a major creek to pick up a few. We couldn't fish for the yellows.

It takes a while to get your logistics down to run multiple poles by yourself. Folks think I'm crazy for running 8 by myself but there is a method to my madness, just takes a while to get it down. I run all 8 of mine off the back and rear sides, 4 off the transom and 2 each off the sides behind the console. I run a 14 in the rear side holder and a drop rod in the front. Gives me about a 35 foot swath of baits in the water. I do the same set-up for longlining.