Beginner trolling questions

My fishing bud and I are going to try trolling crank baits for the first time on crappie. Since I've never done this before I'd like to pose a few questions in order to get off to a good start.

Equipment - What is a good trolling rod? Length and weight? Action?

What about a reel? Spinning or bait casting? I've got several Shimano bait casters I'd like to re-task from bass to crappie.

Lines - What weight? Clear or other?

Crank bait types/color? I"ve got a few Bandit crappie crank baits from years past (300 Series) I can use if the colors are what they like.

Trolling speeds - the same as long lining?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, you asked and I'm no expert, but I have had some decent success at this, so here it goes:
Rods: PSTs by BnM, Use whatever lengths you like. I use 14-12-10 & 8s. You want tips to be at least 4' apart to avoid the tangled lines.
Reels: I use line counting reels to control the depth. Go to the MS site and you can find depth charts for bandit 300 & 200 baits. If you use a level wind reel put backup line one and then use the preferred line for the last 100 yds or so. I like the Hi-vis lines, just helps me see what I'm doing better. If you use a spin cast reel just look at the profile of the line off the line counters and try to match it so you know where the depth is.
Baits: I use bandit 300 for deep water fish (12-20') and 200s for shallow fish (10-12) Colors vary drastically. On Guntersville I find shad patterns are more productive than the hi vis colors. Dark colors work too.
Speed: 1.6 to 2.2 it's a lot faster than long lining.

Hope that helps. I also find the vast majority of the fish I catch using this technique are white crappie.

Bob, yes any help is appreciated. Guess I'll invest in some decent 8 foot poles and line counter reels. Wish someone made a clip-on counter that worked well; most of reviews I read said the clip-ons weren't worth the purchase price. Sure would like to re-task my Shimano bait casters as I don't fish for bass any more.

:hesaidGo to the bank Monday and tell your banker you need a lot of money !!!!! Lol u can spend a fortune but you don't have too starting out .i am no pro at it just getting into it but love it .the key is the to put your bait just above the fish color is a big factor sometime but sometime it don't matter I started out with what I had I learned real quick to go with the high vis line cause you can see what's going on on your line .and for the price mr crappie 8-10# work good for me some folk use braid.everyone to their choice just my :twocents I love the ARKIES 350 's Biggest thing is your trial and area what works for you .if money not a issues I would buy the best they make and lots of it .lots of info out their

I just bought 3 BnMs off eBay from Grizzly Jig for $127 including shipping.

You can use the option of using depth hunter braid line which has different colors at marked intervals on those reels and hold off on buying line counter reels. as you replace reels you can upgrade if you desire. Your boat design and rod placement will determine what length poles to get. On mine running different lengths help keeps line separated. I pull with 8, 10, 12, and 14 footers on each side of motor.

I wouldn't spend the money for line-counter reels. I just put a piece of electrical tape around my rod at 24" from the reel release point. Then I hand pull my line to the mark for my desired length. After you do it a few times, you don't even look at it and you will know where your line depth is. Your head is a much better calculator.

That's pretty much what I'm doing now with my tight line poles. Will probably re-task my Shimano reels instead of buying new reels - I'm going to need to spend money on crank baits instead.

Go with Depth Hunter braid line it is color coded for depth. use 8lb diameter 30lb test.I use line counter reels but use my handy 5500c with DH on them for planner boards. Good luck also go to Mississippi board and check out cranking 101 lots of information.

You don't have to break the bank to fish this way, use reels you already have and order a spool of Depth Hunter line. Get the 40 lb, its the same diameter as 10 lb mono. Put 200 feet on each reel starting with the same color going on first and ending with the same color being last, like yellow going on first and then the fourth color (whatever it is) being last. The line is marked every five foot and changes color every 25 feet and has 4 colors, about 130 bucks on Amozon. Order you 12 Pinnacles from Grizzly Jig 2/12s, 2/10s and 2/8s for around 200 bucks and get started. Rod racks are always for sale used or you can get a good rack like the Syder Loks, 2 sets will run ya under 300 bucks and you can spend the rest of your money on cranks. Bandits are getting high and hard to come buy, Arkie has 66 colors out and they all are crappie catchers and can be bought for 4.50 each all day long. Watch the classifieds and you will catch some used baits for sale at a reasonable price from time to time.
Good luck.

So on the line counter reels if you want to go that route, I have found Okuma reels on sale for $23 ea at times. With coupons and sales at Cabala's you can get their line counters for a decent price as well. I go with the smaller spools, because I'm not fishing for salmon or big ocean fish obviously and not using down riggers or anything like that. Northwoods Wholesale on line has some really decent prices and sales on the Okuma reels. Lot of good advice here. I may have to check out that depth hunter line myself for some of my bass reels that I'd like to repurpose as well. Good Luck!!! Let us know how you do with it.

When I got started I bought 4- okuma 20 line counters. They were 35 each then for my short rod I bought 2 okuma combo with a 20 line counter on it with a 7ft shimano rod for 40 bucks. They are a little too big but work. I think I bought my stuff from Frank's great outdoors web site. The cranks are what costs you.

Bandit 300's while expensive have alway seemed to out fish the arkies. They tend to run more true the faster you pull them. And as far as colors go, the number one color is, and its the hardest color to come by in the bandit 300 series, is the awesome pink.I wish I could find and afford a dozen!! Unfortunately most are over 6 bucks now as the Bandit company was bought out and the new owners are out to make buck. Solids seem to out perform the shad colors if you cant find the awesome pink color, with solid white and solid black working and finally the crawdad patterns with the orange and brown ones doing best. We use our long lining spinning reels but change the 6lb mono spools off for 10 lb diameter braid spools or 10lb mr hi vis crappie , we use the shorter long lining rods as well as some bait caster rods . We usually start once the water temp hits 80 and above.

I troll South Sauty creek channel on the river side of the
causeway using a Hobie pedal kayak. Two 6' Ugly Sticks in
cheap plastic rod holders, cheap Okuma counter reels,
60 lb braided line, Bandit 300s, a Coke, a Baby Ruth, and a
few Padron 3000 maduro cigars: a nice way to spend a late
Spring morning.

In 20 to 25 ft of water, running depth is around mid-way
depending on the clouds and time of day. Deeper if sunny,
shallow if dark. Speed is around 2 mph plus or minus 0.5
depending on wind and waves. Slower if windy, faster if calm.
I'll usually run one deep and another shallow when I start
guessing. More often than not, the deeper bait catches fish
and I switch them both deep. I tend to underestimate how
deep they usually run in the SS area. But it's better to be
too shallow than too deep.

However, color seems irrelevant and I can't find a pattern. I've
caught crappie in the SS area using black, hot pink, firetiger,
crawfish, chrome, chartreuse, etc. It seems fast moving, noisy
crankbaits invoke an aggressive reflex strike unlike the subtle
enticement of a jig or minnow. They just don't have time to
sense the bait and decide. I think they sense it and strike
blindly. I have no other explanation for why I can't establish a
color pattern, or why 4" crappies try to cram a Bandit 300
down their gullet. They're less than an inch bigger than the
dang crankbait itself. It's just bizarre.

So I just worry about finding the schools and getting the speed
and depth right.

Grind the barbs off all your treble hooks. Keep a tight line and
you won't lose fish, but you'll thank me after your first double.
Try unhooking a thrashing 3 lb striper while watching the other
rod bend double, just when you need to steer away from other
boats.

My most useful tool is a GPS map on a fishfinder. Makes it real
easy to follow the creek channels, roads, and find underwater
islands near deeper water. You can also save waypoints where
you catch fish. But fancy electronics are not required. Use a
folding map to locate deeper water, then look for water birds
diving for shad. The birds can see the bait fish from the air.
Predator fish are below the bait fish looking up. Troll through
those areas and you should find out what type of predator fish
are there.

You'll catch big cats and stripers too. Even a few green carp.
Hate those things. When you catch a few 1 or 2 lb stripers,
move to another location. Once stupid stripers move in, they're
all you catch.

I don't catch large numbers trolling. I think my record is 5 or 6
in a day. But I catch more big fish than any other method I've
tried.

Fishing with Power Pro Depth-Hunter Metered Fishing Line - Spanish Fly TV