Cranked out

[madmanhadx]

Feeling on top of the crappie world of my little lake right now. Finally broke down and tried trolling crankbaits. Been wanting to for awhile and got the chance this morning. Bandit 200 in mad cow was the one today. Trip got cut short so I only got 10 in the boat. First try and only fished about three hours with numerous lost fish, a lot of wasted time (looking in all the wrong spots) and a final hour that turned out nice. I was more than pleased. Thanks to everyone that showed me how to do it on here even though most never knew they had a hand in it. Have read about it on here for days and finally got it going. It was a blast. Hope to catch many more in the coming weeks.

[Cmj]

Congrats. Sounds like you are hooked.

[CRIA1576]

Nice work madman. I was out for a few hours this morning in SW IA and got schooled (again) by a regular I see boating giant slabs one after another. He is using a 10' rod and casting then trolling pearl colored Arkie mister twisters on a 1/16 oz. lead head. He uses both single and double tails, and runs them between 6'-9' deep. I haven't been able to crack the code yet, but at least my wife and i are picking up really nice gills in his wake... Grrrrrr....

I picked up a 200 series in silv/chrt/sprk and a 300 in bluegill yesterday, and will be giving cranking a try on Sunday. Wish me luck!

[madmanhadx]

Does anyone troll in the rain much? Tried it yesterday and skipped today because it was raining harder than I was willing to be out in. Caught fish yesterday but they were tough! How do crappie generally react to incoming storms, when storms break, or after they are gone? Do any of head times regularly trigger a feeding frenzy, major depth changes, anything?

[Gomer Snerd]

my theory is they are so deep they aren't affected as much as shallow fish. Of course, I have 2 theories on how to deal with women and they're both wrong so who knows?

[madmanhadx]

Found the fish today but the schooled me again.... Line weight apparently plays a huge role. Had three poles with 15 lb test and one with 10. Caught nearly every fish on the 10 lb test pole. Didn'tatter where we went or what I put on the others... They went for same pole everytime. Wondering if the line weight changes the amount of action??? I know depth changes but I thought we had that accounted for in how much line we had out. Any thoughts?

[skeetbum]

All of mine are connected to the line with a cross lok clip that allow better movement. Most folks use 10, I use 8lb. The clips are also handy when changing colors.

[TN Troller]

Keep in mind that heavier lines will effect your baits. Larger diameter line will create more drag and will keep the bait from reaching their maximum depth. Since crappie have such fragile mouths, hence "paper mouths" I prefer 4# test and long rods and a reel with a silky smooth drag.
Light line is, in my mind, very important when chasing slabs. Lighter lines will not dampen the action of the baits either. I agree with skeetbum on the use of the cross snap locks as they allow the baits to move freely. I also use Abu Garcia 5500 LC line counter reels so I can keep my lures in the fish zone, time and time again. Just my 2 cents.

[madmanhadx]

Thanks for the helps fellas. Work tomorrow then back after them on Wednesday so I will be hitting it with high hopes once again. Looking for tight lines and full freezers. I used jigs in the spring on 6 lb line but I am afraid I will lose those 6$ cranks with 6 lb line. Will keep trying and see what I can do to get those slabs in the boat.

[bfish]

Same pole tells me it was more than likely a speed thing, not a line size thing. If making a turn, inside rod is slower, and outside is faster. For cranks I have used 8-20 lb, IMO line size does not make much of a difference, especially if you let out more than 100 feet of line.

Of course, it could the crank, some just wiggle better than others.