Crankbait Technique????

[crappie dog]

Does anyone here troll small shallower running crankbaits but add a little weight about 12 inches above the crankbait to get the crankbait to run about 15-20 ft? I was thinking about 3/8 to 1/2 oz. jigs twitchin'....................cd

[ONEON]

Most all the successful trollers use 200 and 300 series Bandits and use 3 to 6 oz. weights to get them down that deep.

[speedy]

You can also vary the weight of the line you use. Most use 10 to 12 lb test line, but you can go to smaller lb test and get deeper. I have used 4 lb test on a 300 series Bandit running 1.3 to 1.5 mph, with about a 100 feet of line out and was able to bump the bottom at 17 to 18 ft deep. Trying different things is half the fun of fishing.

[ReelFun]

There is a good article on the same subject in the new In-Fisherman. Shows you how in good detail.

[J White]

two words... or is this three? Walleye, and snap-weights.
These guys been doing this for years, and have already figured out
all the hard stuff.

[fishdoc]

J WHITE is rite! and so is reelfun. i member readin bout that guy catchin those in that walleye tourn. and i've had days where the planer boards would catch ALL the big fish! even when they were deep. go figure???

[slabbandit]

Hey guys, How are you rigging the snap weights. I have 100,200 and 300 Bandits. So far my crankbait trolling experience is limited to just longlining a few times this last summer. Thanks

[prchjerker]

Ill have to agree withJ White.Having fished walleyes on a professional level over the last few years, Theres alot of ways to get cranks down deeper than their normal depths.As mentioned snap weights are good, my favorite is running lead core.Then there are Dipsys and jet divers.The later are primarily open water tools, weve done fairly well on crappie in resevoirs.
The key to snap weights and lead cor, is speed.you have to keep a constant speed to keep your lure at the desired depth.Aids such as the Precision trolling book , is a trollers bible.Its tough to beat just plain O'le experience.PJ

[J White]

Hey guys, How are you rigging the snap weights. I have 100,200 and 300 Bandits. So far my crankbait trolling experience is limited to just longlining a few times this last summer. Thanks

I haven't (yet) sprung for the snap-weight kit, (Cabelas) but what I have
been doing is "borrowing" releases from my planer boards. The spring-loaded
flag upgrade kits on my Offshores come with I think OR-16 releases, they
are heavy tension and have the center "pin", I believe these to be the same
release supplied in the kit - they work well, anyhow. I have played with
different distances from the bait, different amounts of weight, etc. I am
just using bank sinkers with my planer board releases. Last time out, I was
clipping two ounces on 40' in front of a 300 Bandit, then letting out another
40-60'. Best I could judge, (by when and where I bumped bottom) this was
putting them in the ballpark of 30' deep. Like someone else said, when you
get into this, speed is critical - you don't want to stop over a snaggy bottom
with rigs like this! I'm just getting started with the snap-weights myself,
so it is still a "work in progress" for me

[frank lawhead]

I,LL BET YOU GETTER DONE JEFF