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1) I know many of you really like trolling Bandits, but are there any other crankbaits you like?
2) Do any of you troll crankbaits in lakes with a lot of drowned timber in them like Reelfoot or Conway, and, if so, how does it work - do you stay hung up most of the time?
3) Do any of you troll crankbaits in oxbow lakes, and what kind of success have you had and under what circumstances? And are any of them fairly shallow oxbows (4 - 8 ft. deep), and what kind of cranks do you use?
Bandits are good.
Also good for crappie I like to troll a jointed rapala, goes 6 to 8 feet deep.
Also like to troll wiggle warts.
I do not like to troll in heavily wooded areas. I normally troll along contour lines (same depths). I also like to troll along breaklines/dropoffs and like to vary speed and do not always troll in a straight line. When action starts I will usually stop and cast.
What I like about trolling for crappie with crankbaits is that you cover a lot of water and catch a lot of different types of fish.
I fished Reelfoot several years ago, but it was in March, very cold and it snowed. It is so shallow and most of our fishing was done with a very slow presentation near the base of trees. Weird boats they have there!
Norman n series is my best producer, bandits are great also, Cotton Cordell makes some good ones, particularly the hot spot. No timber in my area, so no help there. possum1
We use #5 shad raps up here in my area. But i wont troll them in the stump fields. I use a small floating rapala with a splitshot to take it down a couple feet. Less hangups that way.
Do you think rattles in the crankbaits help, hurt or make no difference?
What's the best trolling speed?
In my experience rattles CAN make a difference especially in colored water,and when trolling really fast, say 2.5-3 mph. The question of speed is it varies day to day, most of my warm weather trolling is generally around 2 mph, but could go as high as 3 mph. As with all fishing experiment with lures, depth, speed, colors, etc. Above all confidence is a key, Keep at it and you WILL catch them. Be glad to help. possum1
Thanks. I'm still curious if any one has tried trolling cranks in oxbow lakes. Normally there the cover is nearly all along the bank.
At times crappie suspend and trolling crankbaits are good. In cover ,I've seen some cut off one point on the front treble to reduce snags. Most smaller type bass plugs will catch crappie. Some here use Big -O , Bandit , Rattle Trap, Rebel , and even those cheap dollar baits sold at Wal Mart.