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Any of you guys from tennessee fish like this? Usually after the spawn is over, this site is full of posts about fishing this way. I know it's kinda limited to the deeper lakes, but i don't mind driving a little in the middle of the summer. Last year me and a buddy LLTrolled at KY lake, Let me tell you..........This is fun, fun, fun, and I need to try it again!
I have heard a few go to the tennessee river for this.
Any pointers? Tips, tricks?
we troll crankbaits here on doulas and cherokee in the summer months on the deep flats
we normally troll bandid 200's and 300's at a speed of 1.5 up 2.5 mph just find the bait fish our lakes don't have a lot of structure so this type of trolling works good here
I have been wanting to set my boat up for trolling to try methods such as this. Do you put a big 4, 5, or 10 ounce leader weight above the crankbait and run them deep or do you just let them run their natural depth? Also, do you troll along channel ledges or just through the middle of the channel? Sorry about the dumb questions, I'm just not very familiar with trolling for crappie.
Waylon i sure appreciate those charts will print for future reference. I troll cranks at Sardis from may thru august have done purdy good with em. always bring home at least dinner that night. I try flats, channel ledges usually just run trolling motor got a 65 lb thrust on a 16.5 ft aluminum and it will easily get to the right speed with some wind aid and even will pull 1.9 to 2.0 mph against a light breeze. I'll put a couple poles up front with a jig and weight then 2 cranks behind them on 12 ft poles and my wife will handle 3 poles out the back. will alternate the length and speed and color till they start biting then change to that set up on most the poles. Seems to work ok but could always learn something to refine technique. would love to try Ky lake/ Big Sandy area this summer, if anyone has some ideas of some good spots i'd sure like to hear from you also how deep does the thermocline set up there most of the time.
After moving to Tennessee 4 years ago, I struggled to catch fish with my tried and true jig trolling techniques. I learned with help from my friends here on this board how to tweek my approach slightly to start putting more fish in the boat on these East TN lakes. However, the crank baits produced just as they always had for me in the past on other bodies of water. In basically the same areas, depth of water and time of year. As Speck said, the flats are always a good bet. Look for the bait fish. Use the appropriate crank trolled at the right speed to get it down right in the bait or slightly above it. Personally I don't think you can troll "too" fast, within reason of course. You are not going to catch too many at 15 mph :D. The key is to keep the bait running straight and true, at the right depth. If a fish wants it, he can catch it. I have found my ideal speed to be between 1.4 and 1.9 mph on my GPS. I rarely let my baits back more than 50 or 60 feet regardless of what I am using. I have found that letting the line out further than that can create a lot of drag and the baits actually don't run much deeper unless you go substantially faster. Jigs will actually run shallower as the drag from the line pulls them toward the surface. In addition to this, trying to reel a crappie in from 200 feet back is tricky. I know some will argue with me on that one, but I prefer to have them as close to me as possible to avoid letting them pull off. The last reason for this is to maintain line control. Having 8 or 10 or even more crank baits 150 - 200 feet back is tough for a man to keep under control. Get one hung up and you have a real mess. It also can give you a fit in a turn. So for me, and I am only giving my opinion, I keep them closer to the boat. I'll speed up or slow down to change depth with cranks. I have my own charts as each setup is different. The distance the tip of your rod is off the water is different, the line diameter is different, many factors effect the depth the cranks will run. The best advice is to experiment with your own set up and take a few notes. So when you mark bait and fish at 13' over a big main lake flat this summer, you'll know which crank bait to use, how far to let it back and what speed to run to get it right where you want it. Don't forget to tie a dropper 18" up the line or so with a small jig or fly on it as well. There are many times I get two fish on at a time with that rig or just on the jig as the fish might not want the bigger crank bait for some reason that day... My favorites are the Bandit 200's and 300's, followed by the smaller Bill Normans and Shad Raps.
Just my two cents - well with crank baits maybe $4.00 ;)
Mark
good information
THanks
Thanks Mark, I always like reading your posts as they teach a lot about crappie fishing.
Great post, Killer. I just started back to trolling last wknd, and yes I got a few. Also lost as many as I put in the boat. Note to self, keep net handy. I have a Strike King bleeding shad crank, smaller than the Bandits, that I did well on. Tough to run 4 poles by y'self when things are happenin.
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Originally Posted by Waylonh
Thanks for posting the charts. I'm just wondering, doesn't speed pay a part in this too? I wonder how fast they are talking about in the charts? Thanks.
Mark
i started trolling khaki colored 200 series bandits last year and caught several but lost a bunch of lures.i hope to get better this year