Cranks

[riverrat56]

I need help on choosing a rapala or other crankbait to troll in shallow water 8ft and under, i would like it to run at only about 4 ft because many of the areas i catch walleyes are only 5ft deep, also say i want to fish deep water with these same lures how would i do it? leadcore? or a bottom bouncer?

thanks in advance for any help.

[FishinFix]

So many choices. Floating Rapala's are always good. Shallow running shad raps or Shallow reef runners.

As far as fishing the baits deep, three way rigs, bottom bouncers or in-line sinkers would be good choice. As well as lead core line.

[tulikow]

Try using some jointed floating Rapalas. Yellow usually works best for me. An option you could try for deeper water would be to add a split shot or two ahead of the lure.

[Borch]

Here are my favorites with approximate dive depth with 75-100 ft of line.

2-3 ft Reble fastback minnows, Floating Rattlin Rogues, Storm Shallow sticks & Bagley Bango Lures.

3-5 ft #11 and #13 floating rapalas, #9 & #11 jointed rapalas, #5-#8 Shallow Shad Raps, #8-#12 Husky Jerks, Thunderstick Jrs. & Bomber Long A.

5-8 ft #14 Husky Jerks, Orignal Thundersticks, #5 - #7 shad raps. Thin Fins Rattlin Rogues Susp.(smaller),Shallow Little Rippers, Floating Rattlin Rogue (with the wider lip).

10+ ft #5 - #7 Jointer Shad Raps(11-14ft), CC Shad(12 ft), #18 Rapala(12'), #13 Jointed Rapala(13'), Small Wally Divers(10 ft), Rebel Fasttrak Minnow(10ft), Large Wally Diver(18').

To get these deeper add snap om weights, dipsey divers, leadcore or bottom bouncers.

Borch

[This message has been edited by Borch (edited 08-26-2004).]

[abens1078]

Also try a 3-way rig with a 5'-8' leader to the plug and 2' to the sinker, Experiment with the weight, I use the same rule as bottom bouncers 1 oz. per 10' of water. poor man's down rigger. very efective for depth control if you can keep the speed consistent and the waves are not bad. As with all three ways, use a weaker line to the sinker to save plugs if snags are bad.

[riverrat56]

so with the 3 way rig say i want a lure that will dive 10 ft normally to run at 20 ft i would add an ounce of weight? also using split shots ahead sounds easier but does it really help out that much? thanks for all the help guys.

[abens1078]

I feel the 3-way takes the dive curve out of the picture because you are running a 5' lead rather than the 75-100 which allows the bait to dive, the sinker is the factor causing the bait to dive. I usually let it hit the bottom and adjust from there. you can change the length of line to the sinker depending how close you want the bait to be to the bottom.
The one problem that I did not mention is weeds, the sinkers absorb most of the vibration from the lure so it can be tough to read the lure. Surprisingly I don't lose fish very often, sharp hooks and long rods 6'6" plus to keep steady pressure

[abens1078]

I'm sorry, I didn't read the question very well. LIne counters come in handy for that situation, I'd say two ounces and about 30'-40' feet of line(depends on speed) If you want to long line the plug further from the boat the snap weights are a better choice. "Precision Trolling" is a book that becomes real useful when you are trying to put some space between your boat and the fish. We use the 3-way mostly when we are trying to get more lines in the water. It keeps things close to verticle within a few degrees. Like I said, poor man's down rigger. It isn't down to an exact science for me yet but sometimes it will put them in the boat

[Borch]

Yes, the Precision Trolling is the crankbait fisherman's bible. It'll have all the info you need and then some.

Borch

[Rost]

I grew up fishing shallow lakes. My favorite was the Rapala Origenal floater for water under 5 feet. Over 8-10 we trolled Rapala Countdowns quite a bit.

[LocalGuide]

My Newly favorite crank for trolling eyes in shallow water is the #7 or #8 Rapala Shallow Shad Rap. The colors will vary from lake to lake and also depends on what they are feeding on. But I have the bluegill to the best color I am using, being followed by a crayfish and walleye colored ones.

My favorite crank to cast for eyes in shallow water is a Storm Jr. ThunderStick. In the past I have normally used this for Pike fishing but after catching some nice eyes on it by accident this year, its become one of my favorite lures.

Otherwise for my other choices I would go with a normal shad rap in either sizes #5 or #7 if I wanted to use a smaller lure.
If I wanted a bigger lure I would go with the Husky Jerks or the Jointed Rapalas.

Just experiment with lures and find out what works best on which lake and under what conditions and you will catch fish. It just takes time to get into the hang of things.
Don't forget though, once you think you figured it out, its always totally different the next day. Lol

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And keep those hooks sharp!