Cranking help .

Would like you opinion so i don't end up spending money twice . If it's not possible , say so . This is my equiptment . A 1542 war eagle with a tiller steer (25 yamaha) a 45 lb. Thrust trolling motor (hand control). I don't see a different boat in the near future . Was a dye in the wool jig fisherman for 20 yrs . Other than a month each of the last two yrs . I spider rig gnats/minnows .wanting to pull cranks so the questions i have is do i pull from the front or rear of the boat ? Will a 45 lb. Thrust work or pull from the back with the yamaha . If we pull from the back do you recommend out the back or out the side ( have 12 ozarks and 4 14' pst's . Fish alone 99.9 % of the time . Looking at a stretch strap to control boat straight if i fish from the back .mainly fish sardis/enid . So looking to pull three mostly . What are your thoughts or should i just go fly fishing . Attachment 135438

Curtis: I pull cranks off the back & off the sides of my boat. Having said than, I fish with Rees Guide a lot, he prefers to pull off the sides. Pulling from the back you don't have as much trouble with rod length and spacing. I use 8' ugly sticks off the back. Off the side you need three difference lengths poles ie; 14' 12' 10' to get some spacing in between the cranks you are pulling. :twocents I am not a real seasoned crank bait puller like some the other guys on here, but that what I do. I have caught my share that way, so maybe I am doing something right. There also are some post on here, that tells you how to push cranks off the front. I don't do it, so I can't help you there. Good luck, hope load up on them.

Eagle we talked before and your boat will be fine.The tm will work,that is close to what Slabin uses and we both use hand controls,mine is just 24volt.He uses two batteries in parallel and we have used it 5 to 6 hours easy.I like pulling from the front on the sides.Get short tee bars,didn't like them high.Run the tips close to the water and get different length poles.The more separation the better.Any time you wanna go with us and see the cheap way to do it let me know.

Want to be ready for next yr. During the hot weather . Since the boat has pods two out the sides at the back and two directly out the back was one option i was considering . The motor will idle slow enough ( down to a crawl ) also have some 6/8 ft. Spinning gear from the bassing yrs .

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Originally Posted by Big C

Eagle we talked before and your boat will be fine.The tm will work,that is close to what Slabin uses and we both use hand controls,mine is just 24volt.He uses two batteries in parallel and we have used it 5 to 6 hours easy.I like pulling from the front on the sides.Get short tee bars,didn't like them high.Run the tips close to the water and get different length poles.The more separation the better.Any time you wanna go with us and see the cheap way to do it let me know.

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THIS WAS AN OLDER PICTURE OF MY SPIDER RIG . I have went to the short driftmaster. and have a base that will allow down the side . also have several driftmaster post on side that will slide in the tract anywhere on the boat( you can see one in picture ) .what length poles do you use ?

Eagle it may be just me but there no way i would listen to a motor idle all day.Your rods will work.Before next year i will have line counter reels,i think they would make things easier.I'm lazy that's why i run them up front,no getting up and down all day.

10,12&14's wish i had an 8.So i could run 4 on the side.Running two 12's out the back for now.

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Originally Posted by eagle 1

THIS WAS AN OLDER PICTURE OF MY SPIDER RIG . I have went to the short driftmaster. and have a base that will allow down the side . also have several driftmaster post on side that will slide in the tract anywhere on the boat( you can see one in picture ) .what length poles do you use ?

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I pull at 1.5 -1.9 mph on my GPS. I am sure you can idle your motor back to that speed. If you can't you may have to get a trolling plate for your motor. I have Okuma MA 15DX line counters on my rods. That way I can feed out the right amount of line to get my Bandits at the right level in feet. I have been set my rods starting out at 50', 60', 70'. if the fish are deeper I let more line according to the Bandit depth chart. Hope this helps!!! We need to go pull some cranks some time, you are always welcome.

Coach, I started pulling cranks this yr also. I have a 1654 F&F with 40hp Yamaha. Foot control Tm. I started pulling off the back but got real tired of hearing outboard run. It works , I just drag 1 or 2 5 gallon buckets with couple of 1 1/2" drilled thru them. But here recently I have been using TM. Like it much better, much more quiet. Just gotta keep 4' of separation btw poles. Wished I had a hand steer instead of foot control. Does your Yamaha have a locking lever underneath the tiller handle? That is what I used when trolling off back with outboard.

Eagle the wife and I just started pulling or fishing period in june when we got a used 1998 g3 with a 60 yamaha on it. We had no poles exept one I brought back from oregon that I used for steelhead bank fishing. It is easy 20+ years old medium action broke tip shimano spincast that is on its last leg. We fish it straight of the back port side. That thing catches more fish than any other. We call it the "meat stick". Wife will not let me replace it with a line counter reel and better rod.

The other off the back rod is a shakespeare medium/light combo I picked up from wm for 36.00 just to get something to fish with. That thing catches a whole bunch of fish. She calls it the "hotrod". It's just 6'long and really fun to use.

Both of these rod/reels are "mutts" compared to the normal gear used on lakes. How far out are they ? Don't really know we just let them out until it feels right and as stated above they catch the lions share of fish.

We also bought two cheap 10' zebco crappie killer combos for 25.00 and took the little spinning reel off and put okuma magda 30 on them. They are fished off the back sides at a 45 degree angle. The poles have absolutly no backbone. They catch fish. The okuma 30s are big for this setup but if you get a bad tangle and have to cut the line after saving the bandit, you really aren't going to miss 120' from the 1200 off the reel for the rest of the day.

Midways up we bought and rigged a couple tightline specials 12' in length with okuma 20s. They are at a right angle to the boat.

We troll with the big motor for now(have a winter project) with a 5 gallon bucket off each side. That keeps the speed at 1.5-1.8mph atleast according to my nuvi gps I robbed from my truck while getting this all sorted out.

Sorry about the long post but I wanted to illustrate that even though you may not have the most optimal equiptment for pulling cranks or alot of know how you should go try it. I bet you will enjoy trying and your success rate will increase.

With your 25hp you may only have to hang a foot in the water to go 1.5 mph. With the pst poles off the sides and a couple bass poles off the back, man you are in there ! ds

Coach, my neighbor has a 15 ft express with pod seating and a 25/ 2 stroke Merc. That thing has caught bunches of crappie pulling cranks. 5 gal bucket if needed. Mount you a base on opisit pod for your drift masters and cut down a piece of 1/2 in all thread from home depot. Mount your crossbar on that. Make about 6-9 inches high. Poles you have will work just fine. Your motor should have a steering adjustment screw on it where you can tighten up the steering. If need be get you a brass or stainless ring that will fit over your tiller. Attach a couple of stout bungies to it and adjust them where they have enough tension to help hold it straight. Mount that to sides of boat. When needed just grab ring and slip it over the handle.

I use a 25 tiller (4-stroke) on 16 alumacraft. 2 short rods out the back. 2 more in front of me slightly out to the sides and then in front of them 2 long poles 90 degrees out. If I have someone go with me, I use dual-planer boards tied to the front cleats and add two rods (on each side) for them.

thanks for your input ,all were very helpful .:cheers2

I've got a 55lb. Kota mounted next to my outboard on the back. It will run pretty much all day if I want to pull from the back. I use hi-tek's turned to the side with a 12', 8', and 6'on 1 side and a 12' and 8' on the other side low to the water.I do have line counters but you can mark your lines with a perm. marker at say 80' 100' 125' 150'according to the depth of the fish.I use 10lb. Suffix Elite for line.I also push cranks from the front with my 12' rods like spidering with 3 oz. lead barrel weights, a swivel below the weight, and a leader of about 2' tied to the swivel and to the crank. I reel my weight to the butt of my poles which are 12'. Then I count off 4 to 5 more feet and put them in the holders with the tips just above wave level. If the fish are deeper I count out more line 1 foot at a time till I reach the preferred depth!.In this manner you can even use the Bandit 200's, CrankR's, and Strike King Crappie cranks which most of the time are way cheaper!

Get 3 12' pst with okuma line counters. Run 1 off each side 1 off the back. Place them where you don't have to get up and run that 25 in gear. Also put your coolers within reach. Very relaxing. No jumping up and down every time you hook up.

you can put the trolling motor down to slow you a tenth or so. I doubt the 25 will go slow enough without some help. a 20 horse 4 stroke with the motor down will get down to 1.7 or so. you can also put on a cut down prop. Then try getting the outboard down slow enough , aim it straight and steer with the trolling motor. Amsoil synthetic oil has a nice perfume to it. you might get tired of other oil smells. B an M 4' 10'' rods make nice third rods. 14, 10 and 410 get good spacing. 410s are 11.50 apiece and have surprising backbone.