Questions About Pushing Cranks

Hello all! I've been lurking these forums for a while but thought I'd contribute by asking a question about pushing crankbaits for crappie. I've been fly fishing for trout for the past couple of decades and am only now getting back into fishing for crappie. I am really just getting my feet wet and learning as much as I can to get back in the swing of things.

I was recently introduced to spider rigging for crappie earlier this spring and I really liked it. I have a couple Hi-Tek Elite-V rod holders to be used with my Pro Angler Tackle 14ft rods. I mention these two things specifically because I want to use the same setup for pushing crankbaits.

Three concerns immediately come to mind:
1) Should I have gone with the Extreme-V holders?
2) Are these rods too fast or too long?
3) What rod positions should I use (i.e. just like spider rigging or more angled off to the side)?

After reading several other posts here on these forums, I have started using 3oz in-line trolling weights with Bandit 300's and Arkie 220's. There seems to be quite a bit of load on the rods but they have enough backbone to handle them. I just worry they have too much backbone because it seems difficult to tell when I get bit. I was thinking about using lipless or very shallow diving cranks since I'll have the weights to keep them down where they belong.

I've tried this setup a handful of times this summer and have yet to catch a fish. I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong or just unlucky so far. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

IO ... you didn't happen to mention what type reels you're using, or line size (main & leader).

The crank Pushers around here (that I know) are generally using 14-16' rods, line counter reels, braid or mono main line (10# test diameter equivalent), and a 6# test mono leader (5ft length), with 2oz trolling weights at speeds around 1.8mph. That being said, there are others I know of that use other variations of these factors.

Myself, I haven't really gotten into Pushing cranks that much, preferring to Push jigs/plastics. But I have Pushed cranks & have the same rod holders as you, and found them to be just fine for either job.

Due to the speeds of crank Pushing, rods would have to be quite long if placed facing forward, and adequate weight used so as to insure that the line is well below the trolling motor prop at whatever trolling speed is used. In my case, after having a line get tangled in the TM prop, I set my rods angled out to the sides (to allow for any quick direction change necessary & still keep lines from becoming entangled with each other or the TM prop) as seen in this picture :

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/atta...01_131357-jpeg

(worthy of note - this pic was taken some time ago & for the purpose of showing the DIY umbrella rigging. The baitcast reels on the long rods have since been replaced by line counter reels, and the number of 14' rods I use now numbers 5 ... only two of which are shown in the picture)

They are as follows :

2 BPS Uncle Bucks 13' collapsible rods (very light action tip)
2 BnM Capps/Coleman 14' rods (moderate action tip)
1 BnM PST 14' rod (mod/heavy action tip)

I have yet to not be able to notice a fish being on these rods, with the exception of a couple of times where the fish involved were less than 6" long .... and even those times I was using jigs & 1/2oz weights. I have caught <6" fish on the BPS UB rods, Pushing cranks w/2oz weights, and was well aware of the fish being on the line.

I spread my pushing poles like spider rigging, I use 2oz weights and Bandit 300 & look a like's. Pushing at 1.5mph I let out 26 to 30' for a 15' rolling depth.

Thanks for the reply. I am using Shimano IX 100R reels with PowerPro 10# braid in hi-vis yellow. That connects to a swivel with the inline sinker. From there, I am using 8# mono on a 3ft leader to the crank. I don't position the rods directly in front of the TM. I do try to keep all 4 rods facing forward (2 on each side of TM) with at least a 45 degree angle from the bow. Nice umbrella rig by the way:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by trypman1

I spread my pushing poles like spider rigging, I use 2oz weights and Bandit 300 & look a like's. Pushing at 1.5mph I let out 26 to 30' for a 15' rolling depth.

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This might be part of my problem. I may not have enough line out. Most fish I find on my sonar are around 7-15 ft. Since I am using 14' rods I just measure out the length of the rod to the sinker and adjust a foot or two from there. I'll try more line next time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IrishOtter

This might be part of my problem. I may not have enough line out. Most fish I find on my sonar are around 7-15 ft. Since I am using 14' rods I just measure out the length of the rod to the sinker and adjust a foot or two from there. I'll try more line next time.

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To guesstimate the depth of your weight ... if your lines are at approx. a 45deg angle ... multiply the length of line out (below the surface) by 0.6
That would give you the approx. depth that your crank is running. So if you have 14ft of line out (14x0.6= ~8.5ft deep) - 20ft of line out (20x0.6=12ft deep). You can factor in the fact that a deep diving crank will run a foot or so below the weight against the fact that the line from rod tip to water's surface may be more than 1ft distance (depending on speed & how much weight is on the line) ... but the critical factor is the line angle when using this formula.

One other thing to remember ... at a 45deg line angle, every 5ft of line out added will drop the depth of the bait by 3ft. If your line angle is less than 45deg ... the depth reached will be less.

There are depth charts you can use .... but, they're based on the same formula (0.6 x length of line @ 45deg = depth)