What crank baits are you guys running. I have a bunch of shad raps #4 and was thinking I should add a variety. So any help is welcome.
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What crank baits are you guys running. I have a bunch of shad raps #4 and was thinking I should add a variety. So any help is welcome.
Dont have a lot of experience with crank baits for Crappie, I tried a few lakes pulling Bandits 200 series and only caught em on one lake, besides that I never done very well
Give them a try and post back on how they worked
Jimmy is the local crank bait expert for crappie in my book. I got caught up in the bandit blizzard but have only run a couple a few times w/o any luck. Like Jim said, let us know how it goes. Tune into the sippy and ark boards and see what the boys down south do, cause down there it's big business in the dead of summer.
#5 & 6 Flicker Shads work great.
I love to troll for fish but have not gotten into the "pulling cranks" for crappies yet. Let us know what you come up with. I think it is a great tactic for mid summer action over deep water in alot of our lakes.
I do reccomend inline weights with the little rubber stops. Put them about six feet up from your crank. It will help get the bait down a little bit deeper but, like walleye fishing in the summer, will also keep your bait and hooks from fouling due to floating vegetation running down your lines. Tends to get the vegitation to stop at the sinker instead of running to the bait. This can also be done with a rubberband half hitched or a pinch clamp.
Number 7 broke back Shad Raps. Caught a lot of Walleyes on them. Silver, Fire Tiger, seemed to work the best. Hot n Tots silver & black, and the silver with the fish bone pattern in green.
#7 shad raps for crappie? I use them for walleye but I thought they would be a little big for crappie
Roy, I'm not 100% on the number of the Shad Raps, but they are about 4" long and the Hot n' Tots are 1/4 ers.Quote:
Originally Posted by royboy78
i have been running youzuri's pin minnows. rapalas like a slow sinking & regular floating rapala's silver with black back not the deep diver style i am running about a 4 foot leader from a egg sinker bead to stop the egg sinker and a swivel to stop the bead. that is just to get then down for slow trolling them. also don't forget matzuo's minnows series baits they work good too.. don't forget you can run duel baits on these rigs in michigan on some thing like a slider or a spreader rig you may be aloud three rods per person but 6 lures are aloud. this is like a big school of shad and they will follow it the bigger the spread the better off you are you can run bandit 200 series too another good bait series but you need to buy the app called precision trolling's trollers bible . for most baits when done this way. and then you want to be just above them like if there holding 5 foot down you want to be 4.5 foot down. this is achieved with the reel for trolling steel head and walleyes called a line counter reel to be exact. they make a cheap one made by okuma called a magna pro 15 dx and 20 dx series. cheapest is about $50 retail. i am sure you can find them else were cheaper. but it is easier to just use egg sinkers and watch the sonar...
Cabelas depth Master $39.95Quote:
Originally Posted by jigolo
seen a few magna pro okuma reels selling for cheap like 25.99 a while back same quality in the reel for cabelas... like i said i am sure you can find them cheaper... any ways best of luck to you...
this is what i meant by the cheapest $29.99 for okuma magna pro reels the 15 dlx any ways see link..
http://northwoodsoutlet.net/store/in...roduct_id=1920
I have 8 trolling rods and reels I use them for walleye on Saginaw bay. I use the okuma magna's. I also have planer boards and all the other things you would need for walleye. Looking to down size the baits to be able to troll the same way in inland lakes. I picked up some flicker shads yesterday when I got of the bay. We prefished for the walleye for warriors event today. Had a 3 man limit in 2 hours pulling cranks
@royboy78
i hear you on the gear. do you run planer with tattle flags? if so you can use those if not get some tattle flag boards or tx-6 size boards. also are you running drift sock wile trolling with the electric or the gas motor? if not your going to want to use those too or buy some if you don't got them. you can run the same as the walleye just switch it around. a tad and use leaders of lighter line like 2-4-6 pound test for clear water and 6-8-10 for dirty stained water... you can run fifteen pound main line to a leader of like 4 pound test some times that how you want to go. any ways it's really easy to set up walleye lake gear for trolling specks.. by the way the drift socks will steady you out and help you run that ultra slow 1.25 -1.75 mph that these fish like.. i am guessing you already run the sock if your a walleye guy? lol's so you must know the set up if not just ask i will explain it...
I do have tattle flags. And I run 10lb big game triline on all my trolling stuff that way I can use the trolling data. I have 2 bags I pull on occasion but I have I pilot on my trolling motor so I hold a line and speed. When pulling crawlers we troll at 1.5 and slower with no problem. My boat is loaded down with Burt's custom tackle track and rod holders. So gear should be handled
here are some picture out of a magazine from infishermen called the 2013 pan fish guide..if you need a copy i am sure you can get a copy by mail order or on infishermens web site.
any ways see attached photo's it worth a shot to help you out a tad...lol's hope you can read the text in photo's i think i captured it all and all is visible if you have question on a shot i will take another if needed.
the hole page shot:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...psce74bc45.jpg
reading pic one:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8962e74b.jpg
reading pic 2:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5e76de8.jpg
reading pic 3:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7c5d3788.jpg
part two pic's of the pictures and text from pictures:
pic 1:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3d3429ef.jpg
pic2:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6316de08.jpg
pic3:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps18bdf24d.jpg
side view of whole side of page:
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/...ps88984a98.jpg
Good info thanks.
Looks like a good article to check out, thanks for posting it
Sounds like you guys have all the gear, crappie bite isnt like your bigger game fish so keep an eye on your rod tip
I generally do better pulling plastic however pulling crankbaits sure adds excitement, let us know how you
I pull off shore planer boards with tattle flags I just have to make sure I adjust the tension
I'm gonna' give this one a bump as I prep for Houghton/Fall Crappie Camp ... already have boards, but most my cranks are of the #7 and #9 Rapala/Rebel variety, with a few miscellaneous smaller ones (#3), so I went out and got a few #5 and I plan on picking up a few #4 Flicker Shads, but I'd like whatever new gear I get be applicable to walleye/perch as well ... and those sizes should be. Also have some beetle spins, hair jigs, grubs & such to troll behind a couple mini-planar boards, so that all should be enough to keep me occupied ... now all I need is for you guys to birddog da' crappies so I can leisurely troll through, EZ-steer in one hand, sammich/cup of coffee in the other, rotfl
Nothin' like a tough day of fishing, right Kent?!! :biggrin
Hehehe! ... yeah, somedays I can even fit in a nap, rotflQuote:
Originally Posted by yankee doodler
I like wally divers early in the year then in august and sept I use hot n tots used to troll for walleye but ended up catching so many crappie I just switched and every now and then I get a bonus walleye or catfish
What size hot n tot?
I use the small size in both wally divers and hoy n tots for crappie