crankbait questions

[Hillbilly910]

If tightlining a crankbait(vertical trolling a crankbait behind a heavy sinker), will the crankbait dive below the weight if its a diving bait? In other words if i run a rapala bait that dives to 11', rig it up like above, and troll it at 15', will the bait then dive below the weight, or will it follow along behind it?
Only thing out of the ordinary with our setup is we troll crankbaits slow compared to most(.05-.08mph)sometimes, slower.
Just kinda curious, seldom run larger diving baits, but i always wondered what the final say was about diving baits trolled like this.

HB

[pstone]

Just get in some 15-16 ft of water and find out for sure....If the bait hits bottom before the weight does, it dives below the weight....

[Yodibuzz]

yes it will dive below the sinker
the longer the leader the deeper it will dive.

[Southeasttackle]

I think it might depend on how long the leader is. The crankbait is bouyant, unless it is the neutral type, of course the weight is not. So naturally the weight should ride below the lure unless it is close to the lure and the tight line and speed just keep it up.
That's a great question though and I am purely guessing.
I read a topic on this. Maybe on this site and maybe in a book.

[chaunc]

yes it will dive below the sinker
the longer the leader the deeper it will dive.

Thats exactly right. The longer the leader between the bait and weight the deeper the lure will dive. The weight will take it down as far as you want it but the bait will still run as its made too. Unless you put the weight really close to the bait, like inches, the bait will still dive below it. Same concept as when i use my downriggers on lake erie. 30ft back ( leader ) and 30 ft down (ball), with a bait that dives 10ft, will put my bait close to the 40ft deep zone.

[Wannabe...]

That's a pretty good rule of thumb for a bandit 300 - for every 3 foot of leader, you'll get 1 to 1.5 ft of extra depth.....best I can tell.

Wannabe...

[JBledsoe]

Thats exactly right. The longer the leader between the bait and weight the deeper the lure will dive. The weight will take it down as far as you want it but the bait will still run as its made too. Unless you put the weight really close to the bait, like inches, the bait will still dive below it. Same concept as when i use my downriggers on lake erie. 30ft back ( leader ) and 30 ft down (ball), with a bait that dives 10ft, will put my bait close to the 40ft deep zone.

Good post, I can tell you have been there and done that.