Basics for Trolling Speeds

[Vollmer]

Many are just learning all of this and want to know a few basic questions... Call it Trolling Basics 101...


When trolling with cranks on Planer Boards - how much line do you typically let out before you attach the planer board?


What speed is typical for Walleye? other species?


What size cranks are your "go to" weapons? other lures?


Thanks.

 

[Kurtr]

my go to plugs are flicker shad and all the others are really dependent on conditions and what the fish are telling me to do

 

[martinslanding]

When I pull cranks I am never much deeper then 12-14 FOW … I watch the boat speed depending on the size of the crank and depth usually between 1.5 and 2 MPH most of the size cranks I use are comparable to #5 shad raps.

I also will troll bottom bouncers with spinners, I usually use 1-1/12 oz. and try to keep the speed just over 1 mph depending on conditions.

These practices are usually my starting points after trial and error these are subject to change depending on fish activity

 

[RangerNation81]

Many are just learning all of this and want to know a few basic questions... Call it Trolling Basics 101...


When trolling with cranks on Planer Boards - how much line do you typically let out before you attach the planer board?


What speed is typical for Walleye? other species?


What size cranks are your "go to" weapons? other lures?


Thanks.

As far as boards go after you let out the line needed to get to your desired depth attach your board and let out line until your board is away from the boat! A guy can let out as much or little line as he wants!! The further out you put your board the more lines you can run off that side of the boat! My go to cranks have been number 7 flicker shads! But like any fisherman I've got "several" options in my boxes

 

[shorthairsrus]

Planer board let out just like am going to troll behind boat

size of crank depends switch em up till u see what the hot bite is. I use lead core on at least two rods regardless of depth

speed 1.8 to 2.4 generally with the 150. Electic for spinners below 1mph

 

[SDMF]

Line released is independent of boards and all based upon "The Bible" and what it says to do in order to get selected crank to target depth.

Typically start @ an arbitrary 2.5MPH GPS speed then bob and weave like a drunk who's worked hard at it. If fish come on the outside of the weave, I speed up the whole process, if they come on the inside, I slow down. Frequently "pump" the rod as well to trigger reaction bites from tailgaters.

Bouncers again kind of an arbitrary start depending upon what's attached to it. Bouncer/bare hook w/minnow or crawler I start ~.7MPH, Spinners upon same get started @ 1-1.2MPH. I either pull w/electric or drift w/bouncers.

 

[Rowdie]

If your new to cranks I would focus on the basics first. First learn to troll in depths of 9-14 ft. That will simplify a lot of variables and you will learn how much line to put out. Speed is 1.7 to 2.5. I like to 2.2 and my buddy is usually right under 2. In current just make sure your plugs are working as ground speed on GPS is obviously too fast with and vice versa. I would stay away from planners at first, until you figure out the right depth your lures run. Once your sure your crank is in the zone, just attach the board, and let out as much line as you desire depending how close to the boat you want it. In areas where there are other boats, planners are a pain.

Choice of cranks is a topic where everyone has different opinions. I have been running them since the early 90's, and it seems like some of the best ones I used then don't do as well today... not sure why? Rapalas are some peoples favorite, and I've done well with them at times, but are not my 'go to' cranks. Wally divers and bombers were my favorites when I started. I caught one yesterday on a discontinued (color) bomber model A. Flicker Shads are my first choice most days now though.

Once you've become comfortable you can try deeper running cranks and move deeper. Leadcore and snap weights are a learning curve I'm still trying to master. I've went away from lead, just because I don't want to drag more rods with and don't need lead in less than 20 feet.

 

[fishin_4_eyes]

When I'm pulling lindy's or bottom bouncers I'm going right around .8 MPH. When pulling spinners just fast enough for the spinner to spin. When pulling cranks anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 MPH. One of my fishing buddy makes fun of me a lot he says the boat has two speeds 40 MPH and .8 MPH.

 

[eyexer]

when pulling bouncers I don't give a darn what the speed is. I pull by feel and speed up and slow down until I find what the fish are wanting. That changes throughout the day sometimes. I can tell by feel or watching my rod what my speed is. With cranks I generally run 1.8-2.4 mph. 90% of my fish cranking have come in that speed range. But occasionally will have to get up to 3 mph to catch fish. but that's rare. At last count I had over 400 cranks. Which is really stupid when you consider 99% of the fish I catch come on reef runners. I have thrown nearly everything made at them on a consistent basis and nothing has ever come close to the production of reef runners for me. That being said, the majority of my cranking is done in late summer and fall when fish are deep. I crank down to 25-35 for the most part. So the choice of cranks may have to do with the depth of the fishing. But the few times I have cranked up shallow reef runner little rippers have produced the best with one exception. Lake Darling. The spring crank bite up at grano has been fabulous in the past. 12' of water give or take. trolling any fast moving crank you can throw at them. I've had days where all they wanted was shad raps. But I've had days where the only thing they would bite, while running six lines with different cranks on each, was cordell wally minnows in white bottom purple back. One day it was crazy. tried every shallow crank I owned except the wally divers. fished for a few hours and nothing. tried the wally diver with the purple back and hit two fish immediately. threw on the only other one I had and within forty minutes had a limit for three guys in the boat and every fish caught on that lure.

 

[Norske]

Determining proper speed for a crank bait is easy. Drop it over the side with about 10' of line and watch its action change as you vary your speed. When you find the sweet spot, extra line out doesn't change the bait's action, but it does change the depth the bait will reach. Not how your rod tip pulses at the best speed. That makes a good reference.
By-the-way, floating Rapala minnows aren't supposed to wobble their tails side-to-side, they are supposed to roll left-to-right with the tail almost straight behind the head of the lure. The package used to have instructions printed on it.

 

[greybeard]

Looking to do more crank pulling this year. I have a couple rods with counter set up with fire line but thinking I might switch to lead core. Any thoughts, suggestions? Never messed with lead core, braid works fine for me on Devils Lake but I seem to struggle getting depths right on Sakakawea.

 

[eyexer]

what I don't like about lead core is it is speed dependent. you can achieve the same thing using snap weights if one doesn't want to invest in lead core equipment. I spooled a couple rods up with lead core and have never used them.

 

[greybeard]

I would imagine lead core has more resistance meaning higher speed makes it harder to get deep? Compared to braids for instance?

 

[eyexer]

think of it like a weight on an end of a rope while spinning around. the faster you swing it the more it raises up. the slower you swing it the closer to the ground it runs. If you want to slow troll cranks at various depths in shallow water it works very well. I can place cranks at any depth without it. your just limited to cranks that run that dept. with lead core you can run lipless cranks and go slow. but you can do that by just snapping on a snap weight. and you can even elaborate on that by using different weights of snaps.