Trolling crankbaits behind outboard

[Mississippi Slab]

Do any of you guys ever troll crankbaits behind your outboard? If so what are some tips as in line weight, how much line to let out, strike detection, etc...

[David Waters]

8 pound test is good. My favorite crankbaits are bomber and bandits. How much line you let out is determined by your speed. I usually like the lures to be about 40-60 yards out from the boat. Don't worry about strike detection. Those babies will just rise to the top and ski all the way in. Lots of fun when you can find the fish active.

[Cane Pole]

8 pound test is good. My favorite crankbaits are bomber and bandits. How much line you let out is determined by your speed. I usually like the lures to be about 40-60 yards out from the boat. Don't worry about strike detection. Those babies will just rise to the top and ski all the way in. Lots of fun when you can find the fish active.

David U rite on here. Cept i use rattle traps and bombers......They hit, the go skiing for a while...lol

[kygorski]

I troll small bandits and hotn tots, Use 10/2 braid.Loose drag and anywhere between 20 to 40 yards of line out.Use my 5HP kicker for most trolling.

[CrappiePappy]

I generally don't troll crankbaits for Crappie, specifically. I do, however, troll a crankbait with a jig on a leader - tied to the front hook eye of the crank. I mainly troll this rig for Hybrid Stripers, but catch the occasional Crappie. This is mainly done in late May thru June, on a small lake in West Central KY. At any rate - be sure and have a good "lure retriever/knocker" handy !! It will save you many $$ in lures. ....... luck2ya .......cp

[David Waters]

I catch a lot of crappie early in the mornings from June to August on one of the local lakes here. I usually fish from daylight to about 10:30, (or when it is really hot) During those times, I catch more crappie on crankbaits than I do on any other bait.

[gooch]

does the type of pole really matter when you are trolling crank baits? Also I would guess you guys are trolling faster than you would when spider rigging?

[gooch]

Ooops I also forgot to ask what kind of bomber/bandit/whatever baits you are trolling. I fish in very clear water so I am sure the natural colors work best but just curious to know what models of these baits you reccomend

[David Waters]

I like a rod that is about a medium to light, but has just a little backbone to it for the action of the crankbait. I found a shakespere spinning rod 2 peice that I like. They are cheap at walmart, too. I have tried jigging poles in the past simply for the length. I could get them away form the boat for less tangles with other rods, but didn't have much luck because they were too limber. But, light action casting rods work well. I know there are specific rods made for this type of trolling. THe action of the trolling crankbait is more pressure on the rod than the fish catching.

I like to use 2 long rods(8-9')and 2 short rods(6-7') to keep the lines away from each other. I use my trolling motor, and not the big motor. Of course, I am in a bass boat. I also do this trolling with my tight line set-up, which most people don't do. I have rod holders accross the stern for the guy in the back . I mostly do this so I can run 4 rods and my buddy in the back can run 4. We can run 8 rods this way easily.

Try model A bombers and Bandit 200-300 series. Also, plain rattle traps. With the lipped crankbaits, your speed and the amount of line, as well as the line diameter, will determain the depth they run. Most of my fish are caught 10-18 feet deep, in 15 to 30 feet of water. I try to focus on structure with cover. There are some 20' flats that have a channel the cutts through them that I do very well with. Also, there are some brush piles that the fish relate to, but mostly they are just under bait fish. The early morning is the best time.

[kygorski]

the rods dont matter that much, for me at least.But I only troll with two of them and target water in the 0 to 25 ft range.Our water is also clear, so my choice id silver blue, and something that will run about 10 ft deep.Yes after they are hooked, they more or less surf to the boat.Keep your drag loose so you donrt pull them off, I also have a very long handled net.One of the things to watch for here on dale hollow is that some of those big flat heads and channels also grab crank baits.