Thread: Trolling crankbaits

is fun but slow way to catch crappie. Just had to try after all the talk about it. Tried Bandits and Bombers and something we used 40 yrs. ago for white
bass in Arkansas. 2 tries and 6 crappie all 12" or better. Seem to take about
an hour per fish but still better than I can do otherwise. From 3/4 to1 1/4
mph gps. About 8 to 12' deep. What am I doing wrong?

try a bigger crankbait the profile of those are not the size of the shad IMHO. you may also need to pick up the speed of your troll 2mph has been tops for me this year on crappie. I've tried it around 1mph without success but almost 2 or a little over seems to do well.

I troll at around 2 and when u catch one in a spot troll over it again and try to be close to some structure thats bout all i know.

I was working back side of submerged reservior dam next to standing timber in 20-35'
of water. Glad you mentioned size, caught all on old bass lure which is probably close
to 4" long. Will try faster, I did notice faster was better as I kept trying faster on each
pass. Thanks for the Help!

I have trolled the Trimble damn many times in years past if that is the dam you were trolling. Shad colors did best for me last week along with white, all the cranks that worked had a splash of red or pink from the bill to the first hook. Try trolling 4 different cranks you will find one or two real quick that they like and stick with those colors for the day. Seems like the colors change daily when trolling for me. The one that has caught the most this year is the Wally Troller in chrome with blue back splash of pink at the front etiher bought or added.

I'm not set up for trolling yet so only use 2 rods, but kept changing color on what not working. Tried solid white/red eye; lite blue w/some yellow and white on bottom and same only darker shades. White with gray to black on top w/red spot behind front hook
and small spinner on tail was working. Thanks for info.

I Recomend You Pm "beagle Man" He's The King Of Trolling. I Have'nt Trolled This Year And Have Heard Small Fish Are The Norm For This Year( @ Stockton Anyway).

All I Can Say Is Know What Depth You Are Makes A Lot Of Differance. Some Use Weights To Help That. I Use 2 Colors And Pay Attention To What Works Best For That Day. I Will Always Use A White And Another Darker Color. Bomers Were My Bait Of Choice But Now Use Bandits. I Would Have To Look But 300 Series I Think.

Good Luck

200 & 300 is what i'm using . also found out name for old lure, hellbender-4". It is only one working for me so far. Probably not going fast enough from what i hear, also color
can change from day to day also. got 4 pole rig fixed up today so maybe will have better luck at MTL this weekend. Thanks for info to all.