No,I am not looking for Ice Cube I am wondering about people that pull cranks.

I am getting into pulling cranks as a new challenge and I don;t know where to start. I purchase a new pole with a line counter and some rod holders.

All information will be appreciated.

Like --

When and where to pull cranks. What time, what kind what speed.

do you really put out 140 feet of line?

Do they work? Are they better than live bait?

What else?

Everyone please chime in.

Thanks

Hitman

This sounds like a post for the walleye forum, we've got lots of trolling discussions there.

One tip, if you're getting set-up with equipment and are serious about trolling, you should get the Precision Trolling book ---- it's got a lot of good info about trolling, and more importantly it has dive curves for all the crankbaits ---- lets you know how much line you need out to hit a specific depth with the various cranks, etc.

Speeds are kind of dependent on the time of year (water temp) and the type of bait you're trolling, but 2.5 mph is a good starting point at this time of year. 2.2 to 2.7 is a good range. Sometimes up to 3.5 depending on conditions.

Agreed, the Walleye forum has tons of info on this.

This time of year I will troll to locate the active fish and what structure they're relating to. I'm on a multi-species lake, so this will help put me on bass (small and large), wallys, and pike. Usually these spots are fairly predictable, like inside turns, humps, points, etc., but the trolling helps know where to pin-point my tactics.

Once I have the spot, I'll fan cast cranks, or slow it down and use a jig or slowly pull a Lindy rig.

I like Shad Raps, Fat Raps, and Minnow Raps as my search baits, them move to cranks I know will run at a specific depth like the Rapala DT Series cranks. I use fluoro and mono both, and am not as concerned about the lentgh of line out as I am come Fall when trolling cranks for walleyes.

Come Fall and walleyes I feel the precision of line, lure color, EXACT depth running, is more critical. This time of year I troll cranks to locate more.

Hope that helps....as I believe you're in a multi-species area too up in the DL area.

Pick up the precision trolling book. I just got mine tonight and it will answer all of your questions in much more detail than can be done here. Well worth the thirty bucks.

I just got my book as well. Mine ran me $49 but has some good information.

Thanks to all.

Any other thoughts?

What about rod holders?

I have the Scotty holders, and I know PerchJerker has them mounted on the rails of his ride. His are nice since they can be moved on the rails.

If you have to do a permanent surface mount to the gunnel as I did, make sure to plan out where you put them so they don't interfere with any other fishing or pleasure boat uses.

Keep in mind I muskie fish/troll too, but I did put a small wood block underneath where I mounted them to lag into those for more strength.

Read thru the walleye boards and you'll be amazed at how much detail goes into their trolling. Last year on Mille Lacs PerchJerker outfished us all, despite most of us doing the same thing, it was his specifics and skill that made the difference. Just a different wobble to a stick bait can make a diffence over another that's very similar. Thunderstick vs a Rogue vs a Husky J for example.

Line is a whole nother factor: fluoro, mono, Fireline, braid all have their uses depending on the situation.

I'm off to try some trolling this weekend, out the door!

I was with Perch on that run on Mille Lacs and he really does know his stuff. We did really well that night, not only on numbers but size as well. As far as rod holders go, you can't go wrong with the Scotty's rod holders. I have one and have an extra mount in my buddy's boat. With all of the ones locally available, the Scottys are by far the best, and really not much more expensive than the other brands either.

I use the Scotty's holders as well and they stand up well even to hits from Lake Michigan kings and bows. I put a reinforcement plate under mine as well, better to be safe then sorry. Trolling has so many different applications with many diffeent setups. Check out some of the walleye insider mags for trolling tips as well as the critical concepts books from infisherman. They show rigging and discuss the pros and cons. Probably one of the best ways to get a good handle on trolling is to go out with someone like PJ who is very good at it and learn from them first hand. I think it is one of the best ways to contact fish when on new water and to trigger fish in the heat of the summer. Fall trolling is very productive and you'll catch some of your biggest fish of the year. Good luck out there and tightlines!
Tunrevir~

Excellent help, guys.

Thanks

Hitman

I typically resort to pulling cranks when live bait rigging is slow or when I am on a new body of water. I have had a lot of luck pulling them over weeds. I pull them a lot slower than most people (1.2-1.5 mph).

Another good tip is if there are alot of floaties, instead of them running down the line and catching your bait get those rod holder extenders and tip your rod down so the tip is under the surface. That way the floaties will hang up on the pole and not your lure. Welcome to cranking..