Mississippi crank bait trip

I was not going to post this on the Georgia Board but I saw the question from BUDMAN. My buddy Mike and I went to Lake Enid in Mississippi and this was the first time I have ever pulled crank baits. It is a lot like longline trolling. Speed, line size, amount of line out and crank bait size all play a role in making sure you are at the correct depth. I used a 16 ft, 12ft and 8 ft rod pulling off the left back side of the boat. Mike pulled the same setup out of the front right side. We used 8 pound test and some Bandit 300 and Kevin Van Dam crank baits in different colors. We pulled at 1.5 mph most of the time in 20 to 25 fow. We caught a dozen white crappie Thursday afternoon and only kept three in an hour of fishing. The crappie have to be OVER 12 inches long. We caught around forty crappie on Friday morning with nine keepers in four hours. We caught around fifty crappie Saturday morning with fourteen keepers. I am definitely a NOVICE at this type of fishing but we had a blast. The guys on the Mississippi Board were great about sharing information. Here are a few pics. By the way there is not a boat dock there. Here are a few PICS. Attachment 242333Attachment 242334Attachment 242335Attachment 242336Attachment 242337

Sounds like a fun time. Those MS fellas has everyone wanting to crank. I'll be glad when I can make the trip over to crank some of those whites.

Speckblocker, It is just like longlining here except their lakes are shallower which made it seem easy to me. The White crappie we caught were in open water with no structure to get hung up on. We pulled for a total of nine hours and did not loose a single crank bait. We only caught one black crappie. It was a great experience.

Ok. How much line did y'all have out and how deep were the cranks running?

Anywhere from 20 to 60 feet of line out. We caught fish anywhere from 4 to 12 feet deep. Mike had a Bandit Crankbait depth app on his Iphone. If anyone is really serious about doing this I would recommend line counter reels and a bid selection of Bandit 100 , 200, and 300 Crankbaits. Our best color was White. Of course that changes.

Wtg Earl, pulling cranks have always interested me, but never done it. Always heard it is a predominant white crappie technique. Looks like your having a great trip!

Wow! That says a lot. Just wanted to know where to start. Thanks for the info Earl.

Good job guys....Check the Arkie 350s out....great prices at GrizzlyJig Grizzly Jig Company Attachment 242346

LOL. That is way too many choices. I left Georgia with 2 white, 2 chrome and two perch crankbaits caught around 100 crappie and I brought all six back home. I love fishing that open water.

Great job Earl and Mike...glad you all enjoyed very nice pics:ThumbsUp

Great job Earl. Thanks for the post.

I know that was an enjoyable trip. I went to Grenada back in April and pulled jigs. It is tough releasing 11 and3/4 inch fish. I have been kicking the idea around to go back and pull cranks just haven't made up my mind

sinkermaker, We had so much fun that I am planning to go back sometime in July.

When y'all are trolling cranks in the open water do y'all tend to try and find big groups of fish and troll through them or just stay at a certain depth and pick up scattered fish here and there? I'm thinking about trying this very soon

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found my selection of crank baits may try some as soon as the 4 Th is over

RUSTYHOOKER, I have only pulled cranks one time as I stated in the top of this post, meaning that I have only one trip under my belt as far as experience goes. We caught these white crappie in open water. We fished in 18 to 25 FOW the whole time. I hope this helps.