trolling crankbaits ( Bandits)

[unknown 5]

I know this is a crappie board and I will be very happy if I catch a few nice crappie trolling but I won't be surprized or unprepared if a big striper or green carp hits my bait. Instead of using crappie rods, I am personally going to be using rods, reels, and line that I will have a fighting chance to boat a 20 pound striper if one hits my lures. I don't think the size of the pole or reel makes any difference in trolling for crappie but I do believe the size and strength of the line will. I am going with 20# test PowerPro line.
Yeah, besides the stripers, walleye, muskies, green carp, I wouldn't be surprized that a few big channels or maybe even a flathead could be hooked while trolling crank baits. I will be targeting crappie, but prepared for anything.

[CrappiePappy]

trolling for Hybrid Stripers/White Bass --



I catch about as many Hybrids/Whites, when fishing for Crappie - as I catch Crappie, fishing for Hybrids/Whites ... LOL!! And, of course, I catch the occasional Bass, Channel Cat, and various other species. Most of the time it's on the jig ... but, there have been occasions where the Hot-n-Tot was the target (especially by the larger fish).
My partners and I have also caught Crappie, of varying sizes, when trolling a Bomber Flat A in the "Fire Tiger" coloration. And I have caught Crappie while castng a Deep Wee R in the "crawfish" pattern. (and, No ... we weren't specifically targeting Crappie :rolleyes: LOL!! )

NOTE- the "actual" colors of these two baits is not represented by the picture. The 1/16oz marabou jig is solid chartreuse (though of varying degrees of the green/yellow prominence) The Hot-n-Tot is solid chartreuse (or almost an "electric lemon yellow") with black eyes and a red "face" (the "pinkish" looking area around the eyes) They were scanned on my Visioneer 7300, with no color editing done.

And, just for a little FYI ..... the trolling outfit I use - consists of a Shimano Bantam B-100Mag Baitcasting reel on a 6ft Compre rod - 10lb BPS Excel main line & 6lb test leader line of about 18" in length (leader is attached to the front hook eye of the Hot-n-Tot). And you can bet your "favorite" fishing outfit ... that I have a "Lure Knocker" handy, when trolling with cranks :D ........... luck2ya'll ...........cp

[kygorski]

Dont over look the small size hot n tots for forward trolling.In my experience they work just as well if not better than the bansdit cranks, though the bandits seem to have better hooking averages.Rarely do I fish deeper than 12 ft whjile trolling, in my opinion the fish will move up for a bait, not down.When that water gets warm, dont be afraid to speed it up a little with the trolling speed.If I ever need to go deeper, I will use rubber bands and droppers to add weight, although I coukld just as well use a dipsey diver in the smaller sizes.

[GWDJR]

Dont over look the small size hot n tots for forward trolling.In my experience they work just as well if not better than the bansdit cranks, though the bandits seem to have better hooking averages.Rarely do I fish deeper than 12 ft whjile trolling, in my opinion the fish will move up for a bait, not down.When that water gets warm, dont be afraid to speed it up a little with the trolling speed.If I ever need to go deeper, I will use rubber bands and droppers to add weight, although I coukld just as well use a dipsey diver in the smaller sizes.

I have one and have had more luck on it than anything.Going to pick me up a few more and give them a try.

[russ]

Hi Guys,

Just letting you know that on the next series of Midwest Crappie, we will have 2 shows on trolling Bandit crankbaits. One was taped on KY Lake and the other in Alabama. The new shows will start airing in October.

Thanks,
Russ

[whizkids]

This is a post by J. White first posted on his " thanks for the welcome thread"
copied here with his permission as I tought it a good addition to the crankbait thread.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow. Thanks for all the replys, and so quick! I updated my profile
with my location and contact information, if anybody wants to send
me a private message, have at it. Will try to post some pictures soon.
For those of you who asked about trolling cranks, first let me give a
brief rundown of some of my early misconceptions and things I have
learned so far. These are just my opinion, and may not apply to other
lakes, but here goes:

1- don't worry about how deep your baits are running in relation to the
bottom. I usually fish in 25-40 feet of water, but run baits from 8 to
21 or so feet. I was hung up on this at first, and it is a none-issue.
Just watch for fish and baitfish on the sonar, and stay a little above.
2- just pick some good looking areas and troll - cover water! Note where
you catch fish and try the same place next time - I also try to devote
at least 15 minutes to trying a new place every trip. After awhile you
will develop a "mail route" and start learning which are good in what
seasons - and the hot spots on each run. You really need a GPS!
When you locate a good spot and know from experience that you
can only let out say 60 feet of line without getting hung up, resist
the temptation to let out more if you don't connect on that day -
try another spot. Do get a good plug knocker though!
3- My speeds range from 1.3 to 2.0 MPH, again GPS. I started with
my electric motor, but in all but the shallowest I fish in Spring and Fall,
10-14 feet, now I troll with my Honda 50 with a trolling plate
I made. Want a bigger boat with a gas kicker, but thats another
story! Try S curves and shifting into neutral occasionally to trigger
strikes.
4- sturdy tackle - I use Daiwa Sealine line counter reels, 7' medium
action Ugly Sticks and 12 lb Transition Fluorocarbon line. My take
is that you are balancing between not hooking strikes and tearing
the hooks out. Tried pulling a couple times with a 6' med light
spinning rod, lots of strikes with no hook up - switched
to my regular rods and started sticking every strike. You need to
get on a rod quick and set the hook pretty firm, especially
at slower speeds. I switch to Gamakatsu EWG's. This level of
tackle is what it took for me to not lose so many baits to the
bass - pressure them till they jump, then slack line and they will
usually throw the hook.
5- On the subject of bass, my motto for most of the year is:
If you're catchin LM bass, you are to shallow and too fast.
White bass or Spots, too fast but right depth.
6- Start out with just 2 rods - sometimes now I use up to 6 with
four planer boards, by myself. But it is not for everyone!
I like to keep the rod holder set to keep 45 to 90 degree angle
between rod and line - keeps em on till you can reach the rod and
stick em good. The little clip on line counters are OK to start with,
but leave alot to be desired, tried them all, Shakespear is best,
but love my linecounter reels!
7- Baits. Forget the little stuff advertised for Crappie. If it don't tote
at least #6 trebles, its too little. And I use a lot of colors, but if
I had to have only one, it would be "Homer" chartreuse with green
back. Hot pink and pearl/blue back are some other favorites.
8- Embrace the wind! Some of my best days are in 3' rollers.
The hotter and brighter the better - concentrates em on the
thermocline. Cool cloudy days fish will rise and scatter.
I could go on in even more excruciating detail, but this should be
enough to get you on fish! Jeff

[possum1]

Norman crankbaits work really good for me, about 150 feet of 8-10 lb. test will let me bump bottom in 16` of water with the middle N series. Bandits are good too. About 1.0 to 1.4 (gps) mph seems to work best for me, gives good action, self hooks the fish, just reel them in.LOL Never overlook Cordell Super Spots they are hot. Hope this helps. Possum1