trolling crankbaits ( Bandits)

[BANDIT]

Mississippi Slab: Thanks- I have two rod holders in the back now but was thinking about putting the ones in font in back. I have a older model 85 HP on back and I dont know if it would handle the hours and thx for the tip.

Oksrt55: Thanks--Boy 2 mph seems fast. I have the 200 series plugs right now.

Whizkids; Thanks-- I will have to check that out.

Bandit, Thanks-- How are you running that fast, outboard? What size is it if you are? The Bandits (200 series) I have now I got from Lawers gro on 32 HW thay were 4.89 each but im checking with anouther man that has them at a much better price but the number on his b-card has changed so I will have to go by there,I will let you know.


Can I not run the crankbaits slower with a little weight?

I use my 74 lb minn kota auto pilot (will pull my 20 ft boat 2.5 fully charged)
or I use the big motor(115 4 stroke). If I am using the big motor, I use 2 wind socks out the back to control speed. Without the wind socks to slow me down my big motor goes a little fast at idle (2.6 mph). You can also use a trolling plate. I would not use your older model 2 stroke to do this. Idling around is very hard on a 2 stroke. I know a guy that blew his up trolling. Your beat option would be a bigger trolling motor or a small 4 stroke kicker.

I can get Bandits for 3.99 but when you have 75 and lose 4 or 5 a trip it gets expensive.

I have not had much luck going slow with weight. I think the speed causes the right sound and wobble that causes reaction strikes.

[GWDJR]

Thanks Bandit,
So your saying I need to run no faster than 2.6 MPH? I have been thinking about getting a new trolling motor, maybe I will just have to go to a bigger one than I was looking at.

[VietVet68]

GWDJR, Great timing on starting this thread, I was within an hour or two of starting almost the identical thread. I decided to wait and make this post until I could digest some of the replys. Ok....here goes....

I have also worked the Series 300 Bandits hard on my last two trips. Both days I worked with them from daylight until dark. I am rigged different than most because I pull the with BnM Pro Staff trolling rods, two 12's and two 14's. I fish from a Pontoon that I rigged for fishing purposes only. I fish two rod on each side of the toon, both being almost perpendicular to the side of the pontoon. I fish the 12's at about 30 degrees to give me more spread between the Bandits. I have a 24 volt 70# Minnkota w/Autopilot up front that can match the lowest idle speed of my 50HP Merc. (all speeds are measured per GPS) I have caught numerous slab jr's and several small Kamakazee Bluegills that think they can whip the Bandits. The last trip was almost entirely experimenting with the Bandits. Here, in my opinion is what I think I have learned so far......

The tips of my rods (which I try and keep within a foot of the surface) have absolutely no idea if they are behind the boat or to the side of the boat.

With a fairly sensitive rod tip you can see a a distinct difference of pulled speed, you can detect a tight wiggle and a loose wiggle using the rod tip throbbing as an indicator. With everything being equal, the change in wiggle will always come at the same speed.....it matters very little if you have 20 yards out or 60 yards out. The tighter it's wiggle, the deeper it's digging.

I had previously found a fairly large hump with the top having 18' of water over it. and had marked it as a waypoint. I proceeded to make many passes over the hump at different speeds and with varying amounts of line out. Using both the trolling motor and the Merc. Using all 300 series Bandits here is what I observed....

With as little as 15 yards of line out I could dig to 18' at approx. 4.0 MPH (GPS). By pegging a 1/4 oz. bullet nose worm weight 4' in front and 15 yards of line out I could dig to 18' at about 1.5 MPH (GPS) I then conducted the same test with varying amounts of line out, up to 60 yards......the difference isn't worth mentioning. I do understand why that if one is trolling behind the big kicker you would want to pull behind the wash/disturbance, but to get the depth, I don't buy that as being the best option. I would much rather control my depth with weight and open up a huge window of trolling speeds.

Another thing I noticed was that when making a turn, I had more strikes, and they would almost always be on the inside rods. I believe that happened because the inside Bandits came almost to a halt and would start to float up a little, and that was a trigger. After that pattern sank in, I started do sharp "S"'s instead of straight trolling....the catch increased. In the early afternoon when the wind picked up and with a good cloud cover I noticed several slab jr's "flipping" on the surface. I raised my rod tips up, took off the weight, let 10 yards of line out,slowed my speed to about .2 MPH and began trolling the 300's at approx. 4'....this also worked.

I know I have not found all the answers, and probably never will.....but then again I don't want a lot of Crappie. I'm only interested in two, one over 3# and the State record. Hopefully that will be the same fish.....

[Oksrt55]

Adding a 1/8 oz jig a couple of feet above or on a 3way will give you about an additional 12-18" depth.

Steve

[TAE73]

Can you run the big gasoline motor slow enough to go 5mph? If not then you could add a slow down plate to the motor behind the prop and that will allow you to slow troll.

If you check out www.walleyecentral.com most of the guys there hate these things. They dont work like they say and all it takes is one time to forget to raise it up and it will break off. I would take there word sense 50% of there fishing is trolling. Just thought you might want to know.

[VietVet68]

Anyone use snap swivels on the front of their Bandits? If so, or if not.....why or why not?

Geeezz.....I think I just confused myself.

[BANDIT]

Yes, I use snap swivels. They seem to help with line twist, but the main reason I use them is for quick bait change. I do alot of changing some days to find the right color. You know crappie they sure can be picky.

[frank lawhead]

VV68 I,d say you have done some homework wish I had that kind of patience ---I bought some bandits in fla. last winter and soon gave up on them ---never figured out why I could,nt catch them
slow trollin or spyder riggin at .04 to.06 [gps] woks great but I never found a speed for the cranks ---tried 1/8 rattle traps too

[fiddlefarter]

I would not use your older model 2 stroke to do this. Idling around is very hard on a 2 stroke. I know a guy that blew his up trolling. Your beat option would be a bigger trolling motor or a small 4 stroke kicker.

I asked a mechanic on another board about trolling with my 150 Jhonson and from the response I got it is not that bad as long as you run good synthetic blend oil ( like Bomb. XD50) and you decarb your motor once a year like you should do anyway.

But I would say one of the Briggs and Stratton 5 hp air cooled dudes would make an awesome kicker for $500. I know guys with them on their bowfishing boats that run them all night and they say nothing but good things. Compared to a similar 4 stroke Merc. Yammie, or Johnny you would save some $$$. I know thats what I would do if I were to buy a kicker.

[GWDJR]

Thanks for all of the replys. You all have been a big help.