Pulling cranks

[minnowtime]

How does the brightness of sun effect the catching of crappie when pulling crankbait ? On my lake you can only see 12" or less so when does crappie move to shade? Can not keep the skunk out of the boat.

[Crestliner08]

Think of it this way.....fish can see 3 to 4 times greater distance than we can, in water. And their lateral line picks up on all vibrations in their vicinity. Those same vibes that the cranks give off.

And more of a factor - to my way of thinking and experience - is that when there is a chop on the water, the fish bite best, for whatever the reason. In fishing the water clarity you indicate, I'd suggest going with the more flashy, bright colors, such as clown, pink/chart., blue/chart. patterns. And try to target the days when there is a 5 - 10 mph wind. JMO.

[skeetbum]

What he said. Bright days I would use the brighter colors and overcast got the natural colors.

[Yak Fish]

The crappie might be using additional depth as their shade. I have caught good numbers of fish shallow early on summer days and when the sun gets higher in the sky, I look for crappie the to hold deeper, just above the thermocline. Keep setting your cranks farther out off the back of the boat and let the fish tell you what they want.

Jim