Thread: Pulling Cranks 101

Quick question, how often do you change colors of baits trying to find what they are biting?

That depends on whats happening, some days I never change and others I am constantly changing. If it aint got hit in 10 or 15 minutes, put someone else in the line up. Too some colors work better early and others middle of the day, some never work for me and others kill em on that very same color.

Originally Posted by Rees Guide

That depends on whats happening, some days I never change and others I am constantly changing. If it aint got hit in 10 or 15 minutes, put someone else in the line up. Too some colors work better early and others middle of the day, some never work for me and others kill em on that very same color.

Totally agree with Rees - and would add the following "rules of thumb": When it is bright and sunny - sometimes flashy metallic colors work better - overcast calls for "painted" colors. We've had days where you would have to reel in everything and change over when a cloud covered the sun - then when the sun came out - reel in everything and change back!

Also pay attention to the "bellies of the baits" - found where one belly color will outperform another - like orange bellies - or pearl bellies, etc.

Also - Rattling baits versus non-rattling baits - Sometimes the fish want something with rattles like a Flicker Shad or a 4.5 Rattling Salmo Hornet - other-times they want a 4 or 5 cm Hornet (non-rattling) or a shad rap.

Often times - you just have to get the bait to the right depth

Best thing to remember is: "A busy troller is a productive troller!"

I use the Bandit chart for the Arkies, works about the same

Originally Posted by rebranger

I use the Bandit chart for the Arkies, works about the same

Up until a certain point, Arkie curve once you reach 13 foot deep requires more line out than Bandits do.

Arkie 350 series depth chart

Thanks for all the information--just finished reading all 151 pages over the past two days. I've pulled cranks with some limited time on the water and hope to do more in the coming weeks.

One thing I can add is catching crappie is all about following the bait no matter what time of year or water/air temperature and finding their preferred depth. My fishing partner a year ago got all the latest technology--Humminbird Onix 8 with 2D, DI, SI and 360 Imaging. He also has the I-Pilot Link, so most of the time we set the cruise control and use the follow-the-contour feature. The boat is completely self-driven. With this technology, I can see underwater especially well. The single most important thing I have discovered is that there always seems to be a certain depth that the crappie will be located. It may be 7' or 27', but there is a comfort zone with bait nearby in which they can be found. We feel confident that we can put plenty of crappie in the boat with minnows and jigs, now we are going to focus on crankbaits.

I feel that with the input and sharing of knowledge in this thread, we will be able to find some good crappie fairly soon. We have a crappie tournament here in NC on the 29th and we hope to be able to pull cranks. We entered a trounament on this lake a month ago and and caught over 100, but the biggest five only weighed three pounds. I'm tired of catching lots of little crappie and want to go after the bigger ones. Thanks again everyone.

when you figure them out cranking you will catch some of the biggest you have ever caught.