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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.
Great question risiv. And are you just holding a rod or have them in holders off the front or rear of the boat?
I'm using my fortrex 80 and running at 1.7 mph about 50% power. I'm using drift master rod holders. Also, if you or a friend has an iPhone you can use that to monitor your speed.
X2. 1.6-1.8, the fish will tell you what they like. Study what ever lake maps you have and be aware of your creek channels. Watch your graph and observe the level the fish are holding. Beware, it's addicting
Just holding them for now, but may add some rod holders.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMW1960
OK, so a follow-up question... If I'm using Bandits, how much line to you let out, and approximately how deep do they run?
Go to the Mississippi forum and they should have a chart with amount of line out=to feet deep. The chart has it down to a science.
All in............. BANDITS
Feet........100......200.......300
LINE......deep.....deep..... deep
05 ------- 2.4 -----3.2 ----- 3.4
10 ------- 4.0 -----4.5 ----- 5.0
15 ------- 4.9 -----5.3 ----- 6.0
20 ------- 5.6 -----6.1 ----- 7.0
25 ------- 6.3 -----6.9 ----- 8.0
30 ------- 6.9 -----7.5 ----- 9.0
35 ------- 7.4 -----8.0 ----- 9.9
40 ------- 7.9 -----8.5 ----- 10.5
45 ------- 8.4- ----9.0 ----- 11.0
50 ------- 8.8 -----9.5 ----- 11.6
55 ------- 9.1 -----9.9 ----- 12.1
60 ------- 9.4 -----10.2 ---- 12.6
65 ------- 9.7 -----10.6 ---- 13.1
70 ------ 10.0-----11.0 ---- 13.6
75 ------ 10.3-----11.4 ---- 14.0
80 ------ 10.5-----11.8 ---- 14.4
85 ------ 10.7-----12.0 ---- 14.7
90 ------ 10.8-----12.2 ---- 15.0
95 ------ 10.9-----12.4 ---- 15.4
100 ----- 11.1-----12.6 ---- 15.7
105 ----- 11.2-----12.7 ---- 16.0
110 ----- 11.3-----12.8 ---- 16.3
115 ----- 11.4-----13.0 ---- 16.7
125 ----- 11.6-----13.4 ---- 17.0
135 ----- 11.8-----13.6 ---- 17.3
150 ----- 11.8-----14.0 ---- 17.6
I have a 150, BUT the only time I use it to troll with, is when I am trolling for white bass across flats, crappie trolling is a 80lb trolling motor, generally the speed is adjusted by the speed dial on the foot pedal of 50-55 equals 1.5 mph
Jared, you da man. Helpful as always!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jigging15
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.
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!!!!!!
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by rlsiv
This is definitely a start!Quote:
Originally Posted by jigflinger
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
HAHAH! Winner!Quote:
Originally Posted by Speck
Menard's has fishing tackle too? Cool!!! I think we are finally about to get one or two of them down here in Springfield!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Lil Baby
Boy, that'd be great Speck, but for now I need both Kidneys, so can't sell one to get this!Quote:
Originally Posted by Speck
I have a Motorguide Tour that I have used, but generally I have two medium size drift socks that I tie to the two front cleats and idle my 140hp 4-stroke Suzuki. It keeps me in that 1.5-1.8 mph range depending upon the wind. If I have a tail wind I'll drop the trolling motor over to create more drag. This is the same idea as the buckets, but the drift socks I store in my anchor compartment when not in use. I normally troll 4 rods with line counter bait casters anywhere from 55-110 feet back using rod holders. The 10 foot rods are straight out from the boat and have the longest amount of line out. When you catch a fish they have a tendency to come to the surface and fall right behind the boat. The shorter 8 foot rods are angled back and I normally run these about 20 feet in from the longer rods to help prevent them from getting tangled. Right now I use exclusively the Bandit 300s.
You already have plenty of good advise on motors, so let me offer an idea for racks. Grizzly Jig has some bolt on rod holders that are non adjustable, but work perfect for pulling cranks. I few feet of lightweight square tubing and a mig welder and you can make a set of racks on the cheap that work great. I made a set for my uncle and have another friend that made his own out of these and they are very happy with them. They have some clamp on models also, but I have no experience with them. Good luck!
https://grizzlyjig.com/p-108-bolt-on-rod-holder.aspx
Your getting good advice, you can get a good gps from garmin that will tell your land speed, or borrow one and use it to set your speed then check your tac, I trolled long time with big motor using the tac to know what the fish wanted.
I think I may take my garmin GPS off the dash of the truck and put it in the boat... it'll tell me what my speed is, just not sure how low it goes. If that doesn't work, I did download an app for it on my phone. Picked up about 10 divers, so we'll be off to the races this afternoon. Hopefully I don't snag any waverunners.
I have a trolling plate on my OB to keep my speed down. Line counter reels are a must for me. I got tired of counting revolutions of the spool to determine length. Great electronics is a must and once you get going it is as if you are playing a video game and can countdown the bites. Bandit 300 is my go too bait but flickers work well also. Bandit print out is a must along with a multitude of options in bait colors. I run my long rods off the sides and a shorter rod set inside those. Never slow down just ski the fish to the boat.
80 lb terrova on a 20 ft sea ark and I can troll all day and have plenty of battery. Going this weekend with my wife and parents prolly keep it down to 6-8 rods of so with them. If I have a couple people that can all run the boat and take care of fish and rods I can run 10-12 rods and pull and push baits.
Just go see uncle Chris. It was his idea. Get the Cash though, his kidneys are junk.Quote:
Originally Posted by rlsiv
I saw that you said you are in springfield, you may already know this but academy sells a brand of fishing equipment called H20 Express, i picked up 2 of their crankbaits that resembled bandits on sale for $1.99 (both caught fish) they also have a braided line 10 bucks for 150 yds of 20lb. (I couldnt tell a difference bewteen it and power pro)
Amen!Quote:
Originally Posted by Speck
I have a Basscat with a 150ProXS and I installed a Cabelas "Troll and Go" plate and it gets my speed down to 1.1mph...even less if I'm going into the wind...i was told by others it's the best one out there and really heavy duty. It's under $300...a little pricey but if you like to troll alot with your big motor it's the way to go. IMO:twocents