some deep thoughts on trolling cranks

[J White]

In one of my rare moments of clear thinking yesterday it hit me -
I always hear about ole so-and-so catching 60 or 100, and I hardly ever
do that... The "why" of that started to make sense when I looked at
what I was doing. Due to the very nature of what I am doing, it is not
very quick to get a fish in the boat and the line re-set. By the time you
reel in 100 to 150 feet of line, gently, so as not to pull the hooks out,
(I rarely come to a complete stop) you could have put several fish in the
box, say if you were jigging a brushtop with only 10 feet of line or less out.
Only in certain, narrow circumstances is it a "load the boat" proposition.
Like in the Spring, trolling over a specific piece of structure with only 30-40
feet of line out. Then, you CAN sometimes be knee-deep in fish before you
can blink an eye. Only problem, not really a problem, is that it is the only
way I can catch fish when its hot! And, it has made me almost too lazy
to fish any other way. Oh, but it is a CONSISTANT way of catching SOME,
esp. when a person does not have much free time to work with putting out
attractors and keeping up day-to-day with fish movement and location.
I guess it is just human nature to want to catch 100 every time out,
but realistically, I know I don't want to clean over 10 or 20, and it would
not be good form to keep that many, at least on most of the waters I fish.
I am targeting fish that are suspended, out in open water, I wonder
sometimes if these aren't a completely different population of fish from
the ones that stay in the brush? There seems to always be some hangin
out in the middle of the pond, so to speak. Heck, even at the height of the
spawn, I'm usually fishing flats in 10+ feet of water. Anyways, my hat is off
to those of you who can jerk 'em out by the dozens! Gives me something
to keep striving for, think thats what keeps my interest, always looking for
the next "edge". Jeff

[ShilohRed]

Sounds like you need to start spider rigging. And stop dragging the bait..LOL

Pete

[Roberta]

...what's the point of hauling in a hundred fish?

My brother lives in Florida and he gets irked at these guys who spider rig and keep everything they catch, then try to find somebody to give them to. There's a saying in our local park district: " A Good Angler has respect for the quarry, before and after catching it, and knows there is much more to fishing than taking a limit."

We rarely keep more fish than the two of us will eat in two meals, or about six fish. Just my opinion. - Roberta

[crappieken]

Roberta - the crappie you cook up must be a lot larger than mine. When I have a fish fry for the family - wife, kids, and grandkids (10 of us) I will usually fry up 72 fillets. We might have a half dozen left over and I don't have any problem getting rid of them as my son loves crappie fillet sandwiches. Most of the crappie I fry up are 10 to 11 inchers.

[J White]

Shiloh Red, good point, one I have thought on a lot. Only thing is my
love of speed - it seems to make finicky, un-cooperative slabs
just abandon inhibitions and go wild. I have talked on here about
MS power trolling, you will probably see me try to get into that in the
future. Roberta, as I said, about not wanting to clean so many, and
it just being bad form to keep more - I don't keep more than we can eat,
I don't even like stockpiling them in a freezer. What I'm getting all
philosophical about is the WANT and the DESIRE to be ABLE to if I could.
If I get where I can catch my quota in 15 minutes, then I will start my
sauger trolling quest,get back into bream, or trophy catfishing, or play with smallmouth. Like I said, that is what drives me, better, faster, more, LEARNING - but I do respect the fish. I have some maybe funny quirks
as far as disposing of the remains when I clean fish - I always put them
back in the water, even if it is just a creek by the house, with reverence.
I don't spit or throw butts or trash in the gut bucket - I do respect the fish! As winter gets here, you will probably see some questions from
me as far as how to - That is the last real frontier for me in crappie fishing,
how to catch them in big water when its COOOOLD. One of my most
memorable trips was on a 200 acre lake when it was alternating sleet
and freezing rain late one November - I sat on anchor in 18' of water
dropping a tube jig on a slip float rig right over the side of the boat.
Caught WAY over a 100, but only kept 30. When you stretched, you
could hear and feel the ice breaking on your shoulders. I got to dropping
the jig into just a coffee-cup sized spot, trying to see if I could NOT
get bit - no way! As soon as the float would stand up, it would sink -
not a one over 10.5", but memorable nonetheless! Funny how it isn't
cold when your catchin! :D

[Crapbie]

What crank baits do you guys like for trolling and casting?

[SkyChimp]

What crank baits do you guys like for trolling and casting?

For casting, I have good luck with a silver or gold Rapala Countdown 1 1/2".

[ShilohRed]

...what's the point of hauling in a hundred fish?

My brother lives in Florida and he gets irked at these guys who spider rig and keep everything they catch, then try to find somebody to give them to. There's a saying in our local park district: " A Good Angler has respect for the quarry, before and after catching it, and knows there is much more to fishing than taking a limit."

We rarely keep more fish than the two of us will eat in two meals, or about six fish. Just my opinion. - Roberta

Sounds like your brother needs to get a life. AS for keeping a boat load of fish. I will keep what I can use. And our family eats a lot of fish. And 6 fish will only feed the wife and I. Try to feed a 6 ft 6" son and his kids and then a daughter and son. More like 30+ to feed them.
Now not being a smart A$$. But sounds like your brother may be one of those people that can't catch fish. so he hates to see other people keep them.

Also theres plenty of times I fish and throw every fish back in. Only keep what I can use. I will never keep lots of fish to show off or give away.