walleye crank-box?

[slick2526]

well im going to try to get more into trolling and casting cranks this year. what do you guys suggest for brands/sizes(depth)/ and colors? Im guessing im more looking at go to cranks as of right now so i dont have many anyways. normally would be for working weed lines, and sometimes casting into shallows/rocks.

[Team Otter]

Start with a handful of Salmo Hornets, Rapala Husky Jerks, Shad Raps, Cotton Cordell Wally Divers and Rapala Floating Minnows. Get comfortable with size and color as you go. I would just start playing around and see how the dots connect. The opportunities are endless.

[PerchJerker]

Team Otter has good advice, the only thing I'd recommend differently is to hold off on the Walleye Divers and get some Little Rippers and some Jointed Shad Raps instead. But like he said, start slow and work your way into them depending on what you like and what works for you.

For colors, start with the basics - some bright baits like firetiger and clown, some natural baits like craw or silver/black or silver/blue or perch, and maybe some dark baits like reds or purples.

[tunrevir]

Try to figure out the primary depth ranges yoou will be covering and select baits to cast and or troll in those depth ranges wallydiver cd 6 runs to 8' on the csat shad rap 5 6', shad rap 7 8' ect. The wally divers run about 5.00, shad raps 6.00 salmo 9.00 a piece flicker shads 3.00

Sometimes the good old countdown raps are the best because you can fish them on a cast at any depth range by counting them down and the bonus is they cast a long ways due to their weight. Just some thoughts.

Tunrevir~

[Dances with Walleye]

Quote:

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well im going to try to get more into trolling and casting cranks this year. what do you guys suggest for brands/sizes(depth)/ and colors? Im guessing im more looking at go to cranks as of right now so i dont have many anyways. normally would be for working weed lines, and sometimes casting into shallows/rocks.

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IMO, matching the type and patterning to the condition is far more important than brand etc...

If the water temp in the region you're fishing is sub 55 degrees, then a stick bait is generally going to produce better than a shad, since it's a slower bait, and less erradic. Versus a shad body which is going to trigger more aggressive fish of the warm water part of the year.

Also the deeper and darker you're fishing... Deep water, or shallow night with broken or less moonlight, I think you'll find better results from a dark lure with high contrast accenting colors, as it is more of a "Chunk of Blackness" against what the fish percieves as the bright translucency of the water.

As for depth range...

If we're talking Walleye here... I would have more shallow than deep...

My Reasoning is thus:

#1... Your most productive time for Walleye is low light and night, and the location for them is shallow, as they're going to be coming up into the weeds.

#2. If you're fishing during the day, they're going to be out deep, and you're going to find better results, and have less stress on your arms working live bait out deep, than trying to fight all the drag forces involved with a 20+ foot deep diver.

#3. If you do absolutely insist on running cranks deep during the day, I'd recommend using a 3 way rig to get it down there, and then putting a shallow diver on... Unless of course you've got a trolling Bible, memorized the dive curves, checked the tune of all your cranks and are running with a line counting bait caster reel...

-Otherwise trying to run a deep diver with that level of bottom precision is going to be a guessing game that is going to have too many variables to keep to task on... Thus lowering your best chance hook up percentage.

[Mike Walerak]

First off you will want to base your baits around a desired depth. Depending on what that is, you can select models of crankbaits that run at the desired depth.

Next select a style of bait that resembles the forage in the lake you will be fishing. I alittle checking on the forums here and you can get some ideas of what styles of baits work best on your lake.

Lastly look at color. You will want to cover the spectrum to match the conditions and the baitfish you will be mimicking. I like to have carry bright and natural colors as well as some darker flashy colors for the night bite.

mw