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I see lots of posts about trolling crankbaits for crappie this time of year. I'm having issues trying to figure out which crank baits to use. The smaller ones that would seem size right are all very shallow divers. The ones that dive deeper seem too big for crappie. What kind of cranks do yall use?
Bandits 100, 200, 300 are the easiest to buy off the shelf locally. PICO'S are probably the most popular on crappie.com but you'll have to order them.
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Bandit 300 (2 inch) hot pink .Pull it at 1.8 mph on creek ledges that are about 20 ft deep Bandits will run about 12 to 15 deep when pulled between 1.8 and 2.0 has been my experience . The hot pink for what ever reason on the big G out fishes any other color5 to 1 red crawdad comes in second
Buy extras ! If you don’t pay close attention to where you are and where you are headed you will donate em to the structure! :biggrin
And they aren’t as cheap as a pack of Bobby garlands. LolQuote:
Originally Posted by Slabprowler
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I haven't fished AL yet, moving there next month. But I was raised trolling crankbaits in TN and rebels and bandit 300s is what we used a lot!! We didn't have a fish finder so we just trolled until we caught them. Different story now.
Do you have a fish finder? If so I would scout and see were the fish are & feet below you and trying the find the thermocline. Then troll with the size of crankbait that will get down to their depth with different colors until you narrow down what color crappie want to hit. Then go from there.
I have wanted to try the hot pink that Snapperking talked about but haven't yet. I have had good luck before with sexy shad, tiger chartreuse and black, orange and black, and tennessee shad. Oh and like Slabprowler said, BUY MORE! dont only do you donate them, but also when your hunting for a specific one/color(s) they will be out of stock lol
One can never go wrong with mad cow on the Big G either. A line counting reel helps alot with depth control. Use the same size line on all the reels helps too. I use 10 lbs for trolling cranks.
do you have a aftermarket reel counter? If so which one? lol
Go to the Mississippi board, they have a post with 1,000 of post on it it is called Trolling Crankbaits, very informative. Can’t go wrong with it.
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Crappie will bite on a larger bait than most think. I’ve caught 6-7” crappie on Arkie 350s and Bandit 300s. I’’ve been pushing Arkie 350s, because they are cheaper and I’’m still debating on if that’s something I want to get into.
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There’s also a SC one that I thought was really good. I have not read the MI one yet but off I go lolQuote:
Originally Posted by CrappieFlopper
Longlining Questions?
https://www.crappie.com/crappie/sout...ing-questions/
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I’ve never even heard Arkie 350. Looked them up and quite a bit cheaper than bandits! How do they do?Quote:
Originally Posted by LA CrappieMaster
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I've had good success with them.
I’ve only fished with cranks a few times, so I can’t say which are the best or comment on durability, how they run, etc. My most productive crank has been a Bandit 300 in the color Koolant (chartreuse and black), but I also didn’t have a chartreuse and black Arkie for comparison. I’m a curious guy, so I had to order a chartreuse and black Arkie and plan to push each side by side.
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