Hey guys & gals.
When ya'll troll crankbaits, are you pushing or pulling?
Also, why crankbaits over jigs? Still learning.
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Hey guys & gals.
When ya'll troll crankbaits, are you pushing or pulling?
Also, why crankbaits over jigs? Still learning.
Jay ... around here we do both -- push & pull.
Crankbaits have a larger profile, create more vibration/pressure waves/flash than a jig, and have more hooks ... so even a side swiping fish has a good chance of getting hooked. :twocents
10/4 CP. I was thinking, action, vibration and size.
Would you recommend a brand or two and a couple of colors for me?
Most folk like bandits and they are good but I like the ARKIES I have some of both but ARKIES are half the price and do a great job pm Reeseguide on Mississippi board .he can hook you up with a good price on them or you can also order from Arkie . Top colors seams to be pink ,pink- purple ,purple ,purple black ,orange black ,chartresue , etc ect .i like em all :twocents
I will also add your lake need to have a lot of white crappie as they are the target fish when using cranks. Blacks will hit a crank every now and again but whites will hit them the most.
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Just what I needed to know guys.
Thanks CP, Slab & Lowe.
Lowe, what you said is very interesting, I would say 90% of my fish are black crappie. I only catch whites in tops in deeper water along creek banks and river banks most of the time. I'm talking about April & May mostly.
Thanks again. Blessings!
Well if you can catch whites pretty regular you will do fine pulling cranks
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There is a lot of info on the Miss. board. Rees Guide and some of those guys are crank bait gurus. I have never pulled cranks but from talking to some of those Mississippi boys I have learned you need lakes with a lot of white crappie. You need a lake with a thermocline. Hard to find in Ala. Guntersville in some areas would probably be ok. I think callshy pulls cranks some on the lower end. You also need a bunch of money cause they don't give those cranks away.
Cranks are a lot of fun, but it's a different ball game than jigs. Go to 10 lbs test line like coach said they don't give those things away. On the Big G I troll the lower lake because that's where I have found most of the large white crappie. I use line counting reals and troll not push my cranks. It allows me to control the depth by the amount of line I put out, and it's more fun to reel them in a ways to get to the boat. Speed is much different, you need to be between 1.8 and 2.2 for cranks, a lot faster than jigs and it wears down the batteries faster. I also have found that the fish are related to creek channels and humps in deep water. For me I have only had success in 20-26 FOW. Colors change thru the season. On the Big G I find a lot of the shad patterns work well. Favorite is mad cow in 300 bandit. I do use arkies as well.
Wow! I didn't know any of this. Ya'll have given me a lot to chew on for a while. I had a little success with spider rigging minnows and jigs. As summer comes on, think I'll add roadrunners and beetle spins to the mix for a little more action and flash. Think that will work guys?
I spider rig year round over here. 95% of the time I have a pony head on the bottom of my spider rig. You can push them with just a plastic, plastic and tip minnow or pony head bare with minnow. Most of the time I'm rigged with teaser I tie on top, 1/2 oz weight and 1/8 oz pony on bottom.
Thanks to everyone for your replies. You have been most helpful. Blessings!
Basically, "pushing" is having your rods out the front of the boat, more or less pointing forward, rather than out the side or back.
It's kinda like your position when you use a cart at the grocery store ... you're "pushing" the cart if it's in front of you, and "pulling" it when it's behind you. Just think of the cart as your rods and you'll get the concept.
Most times when "pushing" jigs/cranks ... you're using trolling weights. That's to get the line angled deep enough to clear the trolling motor prop, as well as not having to have as much line out to get the depth you seek. It's not mandatory, but it is helpful.
I pull longline with lead core. I use a my own flies tipped with bait. Handline only. With the lead core it doesn't matter which they've both get down. Again I can fish those super light River Runs Through it flies down as dee pas I want with lead core.
Along these lines, what are typical depths for crappie in the summer? 20+ or 30+ or is it strictly depending on conditions?
I find when trolling cranks I'm usually catching fish between 16 and 25 feet deep in the water column in as deep as 40 FOW. Just depends on where the fish are suspending or holding on the structure.