Trolling Cranks

[leechlake]

Every year I plan on trolling crankbaits for walleyes but I find after about 30 minutes I quit. I pick up too many weeds, too much of a hassle, too much frustration. I fish livebait exclusively, what am I missing and give me some tips. Do I need to head to a bit deeper water (say 18' plus) and stay further from the bottom or what? Thanks, great site.

[dfv87]

I troll cranks a lot, mostly at night, and very shallow. If you are not hitting weeds you're not fishing in the right spot. I've caught easily 90% of my big (over 26") walleyes cranking and do so every year. I spend time cranking during the day also and yes deeper sometimes but just as often in 10' or under also, depends on wind weeds and clouds. It can be frustarting at times but so can any other kind of fishing, you just need to get that one over 30" and you will be hooked on cranks too. best of luck.

[Riptide]

When i troll Raps in the shallows at night i use a floating Rap #11 perch pattern with a small split shot about 3 feet up the line. Very productive in about 7 -10 feet of water around the weedlines early season.

[TUMBLEWEED]

Pulling cranks and hitting weeds is part of the game.Here are some things I do to try and
eliminate some of the weed problem.

The first thing is to match your baits
with your depth,line,and speed.Most lures have a basic depth rating on the package,but unless you have a good memory, this info is soon lost after the package is tossed into the garbage.There is a book out there called "The Troller's Bible" that
is very informative on this subject. It covers lots of different lures and how they work behind your boat. It varies greatly
depending on distance behind the boat
and speed etc.

I have also found, that if I use my bow
mount troller transducer/graph, I get
a heads up to bottom changes, like weeds
or depth changes.

Another tip is the use of a super line.
It can give you nearly the perfect feel
to sense if you went thru a weed and
have one still hanging on.

The size of the treble hooks on the lure
itself can also lead to more weeding problems,as can the shape of the lure
or the lip on the lure.Maybe go with a
narrower body and smaller lip for example.

On those real weedy areas, you can also
troll Rapala minnow spoons,or the Northland
minnow spoons with equal success .

Trolling is part science and part art.
Some of this and some of that. It's main benefit is to cover a lot of water to find the fish.The secret is to find a happy
medium between a weed as soon as you throw
in or the occasinal weed.......

[Finlander]

Try using Fireline os similar super braided line so when you detect weeds on your lure drop your rod back towards your lure and give your rod a quick and hard snap. That usually clears the weeds off your lure and sometimes triggers a strike. That has happened to me many times. Also you can detect your line sliding against a weed with this line so immediateley snap your line as stated before and the line will cut that weed
before your lure gets to it.
Use 14lb test that has the diameter of 6lb mono. That will get you through most weeds and you won't loose lures either!
Good Luck!!

[dfv87]

I completely agree about the super braids to troll. the feel and the way they cut weeds helps greatly. lastly the musky/pike have to at least work to bite your line off.

[kwkfsh]

A good tip for your cranks is to write the depth range from the package on the belly with a fine tip Sharpie marker ( waterproof&longlasting). Saves alot of guesswork and gives you a good starting point. Also you will find that after you mark them for a while you will start to know off the top of your head how deep they run. Another tip is to remember that sometimes with 2 identical baits one will outfish the other for some unknown reason. Guides on the Kenai river in Alaska have been known to throw Wiggle Warts that don't seem to produce into the river. These are then picked up and used by other anglers. The theory being the more of those ineffective lures being used leaves more fish for the guide, and it is out of the boat with no chance of it being used by mistake.

[maxx rpm]

I have a question. Someone posted that they fish 6-10 feet of water with a floater and a split-shot. How close is this lure to the bottom? Do you let out until you feel bottom, leave it there, reel up some? I troll often, unfortunately mostly at the wrong time of day, or rather not THE best time of day. I believe that roughly 1/2 the eyes i get are no where near the bottom. I fish mostly over 10 feet of water and will be by the bottom, until i get to a sharp transition and it gets much deeper, and a lot of time i will get one only half way down. Is it common to get suspended fish? Does anyone target these fish? How important is it to "drag" bottom? How far do you think eyes will move up to hit a bait? Any help appreciated.

[Guest]

Leechlake/ Get a copy of the Trollers Bible
http://fishingminnesota.com/sportgood.html

Is a must have for any troller novice to pro.

------------------
Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Shorelunch]

Do you guys usually tie your line, whether mono or superline, directly to the lure or use a light snap leader?

[Guest]

RPM/ Its best to fish above the fish than below. Walleyes for example will feed much higher off bottom at night. Pay close attention to your locator. Its very hard to mark fish in shallow water but it can be done. The fish does not stay in the narrow cone long enough to show up as an arch. You will we see more of a blob or partial arch. Using super-lines,line counter reels and the Trollers Bible will help you target any depth you choose to fish. The biggest hurdle in trolling cranks is having confidence knowing EXACTLY where your bait is running. Two tips I can offer on trolling cranks:
Use a snap clip when using super-lines to let the bait run true.
Start trolling very slow. Begin your runs at 1mph and give your rod short jerks every 20 feet or so. Many anglers believe speed has an impact on what depth your cranks will run. This is false. Once the bait reaches its max running depth with the proper diameter line, it will not run deeper while increasing it's speed.

------------------
Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Riptide]

Maxx Rpm -- When i use this method i try to stay right on the weedline. The Rap will usually suspend about 2 to 3 feet off the bottom. You will feel any weeds if you pick them up. Its been affective for me at all times of day but always the best at night time.

[Sturgeon46]

Another tip - if you are trolling after heavy rain or during peak algae season and the problem is not hooking living weeds, just junk and slimy stuff in the water, tie a rubber band on to your line about three feet up from the lure. the junk that collects on your main line out collects at the rubber band rather than the leader.

[Finlander]

I find trolling a #5 shadrap the more line I let out the deeper it runs.
I watch the line counter on my reel and when it reads 125' of line out and I hit the bottom a 9' I will reel in 25' of line and no longer hit the bottom.
Sometimes I will run a larger shadrap and let out line until I hit the bottom and watch the line counter on my reel. Then reel in some line to avoid digging the bottom and to put the lure above there eyes. This works good when your have sharp turns to work with and this will lessen the amount of tangled lines between two or more trollers.
Try this!
Good Luck!!