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I'm getting rigged up for cranking for crappie. I've got my line counter reels and a decent assortment of crankbaits in hand. So now for my question...
Do any of you guys that push or pull cranks, regularly catch Black Crappie?
All the pictures I see posted on threads about crank baiting show White Crappie as the catch. I haven't paid 100% attention to the pictures but I don't rememeber seeing any Blacks on the tables or tailgates....
Guess I never paid much attention, I'm equal opportunity.
From recent catches, seems like more whites than blacks, but I do catch them.
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While I am far from an authority, all of the crappie pictured appear to be whites.
Ok....yes you can catch both pulling cranks....but the nature of the black crappie is to hang out near wood and shade...and the nature of the whites is to hang out in open water either suspended or following shad or other bait fish. So since there is less hang ups pulling in open water most of the fish caught are whites.
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Me either, but I thought the two on the top right in the second pic are blacks.Quote:
Originally Posted by ET Fish
Those are just male white crappie with their spring spawning colors on, you will catch blacks cranking but not as many usually.
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I'll be writing an article about this very subject in the coming week. I found a few neat tricks that will help you find the black crappie while trolling structure.
Not many in Michigan that troll cranks for crappies. We have very few white crappies here. Maybe after reading, they might do it a bit more
I caught one white crappie last year and somewhere around 800 black crappie pulling crankbaits in open water. I tend to fish waters that primarily have black or blacknose crappie in them. The lakes are under 450 acres without standing timber or docks. They also have 50+ foot deep water in the main basin. Ignore the shallower 2/3 of the lake and focus on main lake points, humps beside channels, flat ledges, and along channels in summer. The black crappie tend to hold shallower and be more scattered than white crappie are in summer & early Fall.
My go to baits are #5 & #6 Flicker Shads pulled 80-135 feet behind the boat. I can't tell you what speed I run because my depthfinder doesn't have gps and I can only paddle so fast in my kayak. I use Daiwa line counter reels on medium action graphite Ugly Stick rods with 15 pound braid and 8-10 pound fluorocarbon leaders.
I hope this helps.
Jim
Yak, are you seriously paddling and pulling cranks? If so, YOU ARE DA MAN. LOL
We pull cranks for Black Crappie, my wife and I probably caught 80-100 last year. We use 6lb Fire line Crystal, light action spin cast rods and reels there fast to retrieve and cast out (taking weeds off) we fish both lake basin's and over deep weed beds (like 6 feet of weeds in 12 feet of water) Rapala ULC 3s are what we use.
Yep, I pull crankbaits from a kayak for crappie 90% of the time I fish. It is a great workout and since I'm in a kayak, I cover water more slowly and really get to learn the bottom well. I do a milk run from spot to spot on some of my favorite lakes, so when they quit biting or move off, I just ease on down the lake and give the other spots time to rest. I probably don't get the numbers some guys do, but most days I do better than most. Keep the lure in the strike zone & cover water, the fish will tell you what they want.Quote:
Originally Posted by FurFlyin
Here's a few pics from a fun day last Fall. I haven't been taking the camera much this year.
Jim
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Dang, I bet you've got some souped up triceps. :biggrin
How fast do you typically move while trolling?
Not sure how fast I go. Fast enough to get cranks to maximum depth. I am pretty fit for a 57 year old guy. I'm 5'9" tall & 170 pounds, so I'm not very big in stature, but my desire to catch fish is huge. It's actually less work than you'd think. Once you get going it is easy to maintain a rhythm. Windy days aren't much fun, but as tough as it is going into the wind, the downwind drift is easy to keep the boat pointed the right direction & let the wind do the work. Kinda sucks when I get hung though. I also feel spoiled when I fish from a motor boat.
Jim
I fish in private ponds with only black crappie and in 10 yrs or so I've only caught about 3 or 4 on a crankbait (I just cast them) They will tear up road runners and jigs but they don't seem to like cranks.