Night Crankin

[Slimdart]

I want to be better at pulling cranks. We have a full moon coming up and I want to hit the lake for a night bite. My question is when your are pulling cranks at night what depth are you focusing on. On the lake close to home the structure is relatively sharp break lines with flats that top out at 4ft or so. some of the flats are sand with sparse weeds others have weeds to the surface down to a depth of 12 feet.

When I troll I feel like I am constantly clearing weeds. This is the prime reason I don't do this often.

At night would you spend more time on the flats with husky jerks or shallow shad raps or would you troll the break lines with regular shad raps. With the regular shad raps what depth do you focus on.

[Stick in Mud]

It's tough to generalize because there are so many variables. If you can swing it, get one or two other guys in the boat when you're starting out. It's much, much easier to cover water and find the "right" lure/depth when you've got three lines out instead of one.

I pick up some weeds when I'm trolling, but I usually try to stay just on the edge. Ideally, the boat will be running over the weeds and the rod will be outside of them. It doesn't always work that nice, but that's the goal.

[expl]

Ive caught alot of walleyes doing both tactics you memtioned.Alot depends on the lake and the conditions.I have been on the same lake one night trolling the deeper weed edge(12'-15')and catching fish and the next night on the same lake trolled the sand flats with scattered rubble and weeds(5'-9')and caught just as many fish as the night before.I habe done both on the same lake same night and caught fish.Try both out for a couple hours.Troll small stickbaits (2"-3"long)on the flats even small shad baits close behind the boat on short lines have really gotten fish on the flats for us.As is the same for the weed edges try both tatcics.Usually we troll shad baits but we have done very good with stickbaits at times also.The other thing to try on the edges or even the flats,is a leadcore rod with a shad or stickbait on a very short line(20'mono leader+20-40' or more of leadcore out depending upon depth and speed)it produces a different action to the lures on turns and speed changes and has outfished regular mono. long lines more then once even in 12' of water or less.I know it sounds odd but Ive had guys in the boat with the same lure as me on longlining with mono. and catch nothing while I fill the livewell with my leadcore setup,but I have also seen it the go the other way tho to.Good luck

[Tom Sawyer]

I have found best success during summer months to focus on flats that have a gradual break, rather than steep. In fall, turn your attention to falts that are adjacent to sharper breaks. When long line trolling over a flat with sparse weeds, select cranks that tick the weed tops occasionally. Sometimes fancasting is a more productive approach, if it's calm, or if the flat is small. Stickbaits work well for tickling weed tops 4 feet or less below the surface. If your dealing with a real weedy flat, a weedless jig with either a paddle or twister tail, may be a better option than a crankbait.

Before the fish get on top of the flat, the edge of the flat, opens up endless options of cranks, but shad profiles, and aggressive action baits work well when the water is warm, minnow profiles and more subtle actions, when its colder. Follow the fish up the edge, by starting deeper a few hours before the moon hits the horizon. Shallower as the moon gets higher in the sky. One thing to consider is there are always pivot points or travel routes, to most flats that fish use. Finding these can really get the drag screaming and the net wet. Fish can be coming and going, at the same time. Many times I will see boats just anchor and cast these highways, or pitch a lighted bobber out. Also remember, weather always trumps moon phase no matter how bright it is; and wind usually strengthens a bite, if it's from the right direction.

Hope that helps......

[bmc]

A buddy and I hit a local clear water lake here this past Monday night from 6:30pm to 2:30am.

Husky jerks and Shad Raps weren't producing but the firetiger #5 Salmo Hornet was on fire for me. My buddy ran the same lure in a different color and hardly got bit. Sometimes that's how it goes, but the FT is my "go to".

We hit sand flats or try to stay above the weeds which can be frustrating at times.

We usually go about 2 mph and line counter reels are a must.

69' of line out was the spot to be at the other night. We were targeting sand flats in 7-10' of water.

And just because you get off course and off the shallow flat, hold on because those big walleyes like to supsend off the shallow flats.

My buddy caught a 27" about 8-10' down over 30' of water.

Looking forward to the October and hopefully November full moons.

Brian

[tunrevir]

Lots of good info here! First thing I would do is run through the area you plan on trolling during daylight and scan for weeds at the depths you plan to troll and then put in a set of waypoints to follow once it gets dark. Weeds tend to die back in the fall and your sonar will help you to determine what areas to avoid. Next figure out what depths you plan to target and know the dive curves for the lures you plan to run. This is where a line counter reel is really nice a you can replicate the depth by the amount of line out and take the guesswork out of trolling. Third, superlines like power pro, fireline or suffix are a huge asset when trolling because they will telegraph when you are banging bottom or if your lure is fouled with weeds enabling you to fish more effectively. 10-4 fireline is going to shorten the distance you run your lure back to achieve the lures maximum diving depth. Lure dive curves are based on 10# mono diameter so the numbers you see on the lure box are based on that diameter with the higher depth number typically reached when trolling. Trolling flats at night is a blast and can get you onto some big fish once you get the hang of it. husky jerks, rogues and thundersticks and shallow shad raps great options from 4-10', #5-7 shad raps, salmo hornets, flicker shad and various other diving lures for the mid depths of 8-14' just as a generalization as you can cross over with these baits depending on lead lengths behind the boat and line diameter used. You can also run some of the deeper running baits on heavier mono or thicker diameter lines and reduce the effective diving depth slightly which at times can be helpful. One other tip, is to keep a couple rods rigged and ready to go with different baits and keep your boat well organized when fishing at night. Good luck, hope this helps, lots of good info in the proceeding posts!

Tunrevir~

[dfv87]

Tunrevir hit the #1 effective way to catch fish at night... be organized and have spare rods ready. Tying lines in the dark is not time you want to be spending, trust me. or trying to find a net or light in the dark is not fun either. NIght crankin is my favorite way to fish because of the challenges darkness provides, that and the eyes are aggressive. good luck.

[slick2526]

Heading to Mille Lacs October 6-9th to do night fishing. I will post a report on how it goes. Going to be my first time there.

[RiverDewey]

I second some of the ideas above. Good tips, good lures. I love trolling at night too. I would highly suggest braided line of some sort, even longlining in shallow water. If you have 100' out, you can still feel the action of the lure and sense when you have even a 1 inch long weed on your stickbait. I also highly suggest marking your path, especially in shallow (3-5') water during the day. Follow it to the "T" at night. That way you will not be surprised by unexpected things in your path at night! Be organized too in the dark. Know where everything is in your boat and leave space for big fish! Bring a spotlight or good headlamp with too so you can periodically check the shoreline. In addition to the lures mentioned above, for shallow water, consider trying a Rapala Flat Rap (FLR-. The 06 runs 1-2', the 08 runs 2-4' and the 10 runs 3-5'. I've even had big walleyes hit a Rapala F13 dragged across the surface on a calm night only going 1 mph. I don't think it was even diving, but still had a little action.