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i was pushing Roadrunners under 3 oz. weights Sunday and had a large percentage of fish coming off before we could get a net on them. Is this normal? Seems like the 3 oz. weight was giving them slack or something. Any suggestions how to up my percentage of boated fish? Any advice appreciated.
When we trolled for Salmon in Oregon we used a sliding sleeve clip ahead of the swivel. Our weight was on a drop line approximately 12" long attached to the sliding sleeve.
This allowed the weight to move freely up the main line without putting stress on the leader and hook. We used much lighter line on the dropper weight in case it got tangled in a snag while fighting the fish. (We were fishing the coastal rivers which had lots of snags)
If you aren't rigging this was perhaps it would help.
PS. If you don't want the extra line on the weight you can attach the weight directly to the sliding sleeve. It has a snap on it just like a swivel.
The same problem applies when pushing crankbaits. You dont get a good hook set with the 3oz weight above the bait. At my local lake, Okatibbee, we can keep crappie shorter than the 12 inch requirements on the big 4. With a crankbait having treble hooks, I rarely loose a fish until I try to lift him out of the water. You may try sliding a treble hook onto your jig hook with a small piece of rubber on the jig hook as a keeper.
Slow steady preasure will help too. Another thing, I never use 3oz for jigs, always use 2 oz on jigs even at 1.5mph when pulling cranks. I think the lighter 2oz helps too.
I have found when I can do it right, I bring weight to top of water then try to get net under fish before weight starts swinging around creating all that slack. Also you might try shortening the leader from weight to jig. They hit rr’s tied about 8 inches from a weight. So I have questioned in my mind why it wouldn’t work same way power trolling.
I backed off the 3oz to 2oz for that reason and more. I have to let out more line but its still a short distance. It makes turning your boat around a lot easier.
Last week we fished roadrunners under 2 oz weights and to get the speed and depth we needed to entice bites we had 30+ feet of line out. Seems easier to pull cranks at that. Not sure if I had something off somewhere but it was the only way we could spur any action.
Somebody used to sell a long, slim trolling weight that was designed to have less resistance in the water. I thought it was Wally Marshall but I don't see it on his website. Something like that, if you could find some, might help get those baits down without so much line out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mk1848
We were using regular egg sinkers. I’d prefer to fish from the front of the boat because it is much easier to turn and go right back over a spot, provided the baits are running relatively vertical. I think we will just tie the crankbaits back on and go to the back though. We were trying to pick up a better ratio of keepers but we still caught about the same number of keeper fish with maybe a just little bit less short fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigKyd
Thanks for the tip, though. I may look around and see what’s out there.
I just purchassed some slimline trolling weights off of ebay. Definitely the cheepist way I have found to buy them. I think Basspro calls them bullet weights and a 2 pack cost around $5-6. Search for trolling weights on ebay, they are around $20 for a pack of 30. They have smaller packages but that was what I ordered.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigKyd
Check with ScottV. He makes a long, skinny 3oz weight specifically for pushing cranks. SQuote:
Originally Posted by BigKyd
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X2, that’s where I get mineQuote:
Originally Posted by Slab Slinger
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Me too
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Me too. I used to try pushing cranks with egg weights on line three feet in front of crank and never caught many crappie pushing. I ordered a dozen of ScottV's weights and now I catch more fish on my pushing poles than with my poles pulling cranks out back of boat. Scott's weights are the ticket!
This may be a stupid question but how do I find ScottV and these weights? I’m still trying to learn my way around this place. Is there a forum for these items?
https://www.crappie.com/crappie/-mem...lassified-ads/ *though I don't know if ScottV advertises his weights in a separate thread from his cranks, so you may want to PM him about them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mk1848
From what I see in his picture of these weights ( https://www.crappie.com/crappie/miss...ing-rig-2.html ) they appear to be the same shape as what is commonly referred to as a "trolling weight", so as to distinguish them from "barrel sinkers" or other weight shapes. The trolling weight's "torpedo" shape is relatively the same in any number of commercial brands or website businesses that produce them. Some simply have line tie loops at both ends, while others may have swivels built in on one or both ends of the weight.
Shoot me a PM or text me at 601-938-1040. I have the 2, 3, and 4oz inline trolling weights if you're interested. Attachment 350923
That would be ScottV. His look more like a torpedo. His are all I use pushing cranks. I use both the 3oz and the 4oz. I also use a 3oz power trolling jigs and minnows and don’t have much trouble with the fish coming unbuttoned. My last trip the net man wasn’t up to snuff and knocked off a few though. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by BigKyd
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