Runnin Cranks

[demasterangler]

If someone has the time or can point me in the right direction , I would

like to know about Crank baits ( when they talk about runnin Cranks at Tobin LK.)

what kind, what gear , etc. How deep etc.

We have some larger reservoirs with big walleyes , very hard to catch in the fall .

So I am willing to put jiggin and riggin aside and try something new ..

Thanks DMA

[Ray Champine]

I prefer to run my cranks using Off Shore inline planer boards.

You will absolutely need a copy of "Precision Trolling". That will give you the info you need about line out to depth the crank will dive.

The rods don't have to be anything special. Alot of people like to use 7' Ugly Sticks in Medium power. Cabelas, Bass Pro, and Scheels all have good rods that are marketed for trolling. I like to use rods that are 7' to 8.5' for pulling boards.

A good linecounter reel is a must. That gives you the repeatability you need to duplicate successful letback lengths. Daiwa and Okuma both make good linecounter reels.

I like Reef Runner and Daves KaBoom crankbaits.

Also you will need rod holders to hold the rods while you troll.

Hope that helps,

Ray

P.S. here is a link to an excellent article Juls wrote about trolling and planer boards. http://www.walleyecentral.com/articles/?a=192

[Optimax90]

I fish a huge reservoir in North Dakota that can run up to 140 feet deep. We run alot of leadcore and snap weights on this lake to get the dephts that we need to run. I will even run snap weights with my my tail dancers to get down to 50 feet when the walleyes go there. You can start by buying yourself some trolling rods with line counter reels. I like the scheels rods and the Diawa line counter reels. Good combo for the money. Look for a rod with a soft tip but good back bone. The soft tip will help keep the fish on when they strike, and it helps when they fight too. I like to run 10lb fireline with snaps only, stay away from swivels. I don't know why but snaps work well for me I found swivels tend to get less strikes when we used them on our baits. Another tip I can say is buy a trolling book like the Precision Trolling book or the Trollers Bible. It will help you with geting those baits right were you want them. Rapala baits are my favorite with Reef Runners being my second choice. And don't be affraid to practice trolling it takes some time to master but when you figure it out your in the game. Oh yeah trolling in the fall is a good time.:raisin:

[Waxy]

If someone has the time or can point me in the right direction , I would

like to know about Crank baits ( when they talk about runnin Cranks at Tobin LK.)

what kind, what gear , etc. How deep etc.

We have some larger reservoirs with big walleyes , very hard to catch in the fall .

So I am willing to put jiggin and riggin aside and try something new ..

Thanks DMA

What kind? Well, how much money do you have lol! Go down to The Fishin Hole, Wholesale, even C-Tire or Walmart and look around, it's endless lol. My suggestion for the waters around AB and SK would be to focus on stuff in size 5 to 7, just make sure you cover off diving depths from about 7-25 feet between all the cranks you end up with. As for models, I really like the shad raps and jointed shad raps, but a couple x-raps, a couple reef runners (deep and shallow), and a couple original rapalas (the shallow runners) are also good options. Don't worry too much about color, but think perch and whitefish/shiner (silver), because that's the primary forage up here.

You won't see too many planer boards up here, not to say they won't help you catch fish, but especially if you're just starting out, I'd skip that for now. It just adds unneccesary complication and expense, and there'll be plenty of time for that later lol.

For gear, you need a 7-8.5' med action rod, and a line counter reel. The rod isn't really critical, but it should be decent quality. If you can't see your cranks swimming action in the rod while trolling, then you're wasting your time, that is the most important thing. It should also be fairly soft, you want the rod to flex easily when the fish strikes and set the hook you. You can get by with a regular reel, even a spinning reel, but using a line counter just makes life WAY easier, and will help you catch more fish more consistently. I like to use 10lb Fireline because it runs the cranks really nicely and it's used to calculate the dive curves in the Precision Trolling book.

You'll need a rod holder setup. This is also critical, you don't want to be holding your rod. I'd recommend the Folbe rod holders, they're awesome. The key to cranking IMHO, is to let the rod and rod holder do the work, don't hold the rod, and don't pick it up until the fish has hooked itself and there's a steady pumping. I've seen far more bites lost by guys grabbing the rod to "set the hook" than I've ever seen by just leaving it in the rod holder.

The Precision Trolling book is an excellent investment as well, you can't go wrong there.

So there, nothing to it, just spend about $500 and you'll be cranking lol!

The only thing is, I think you'll find the cranking much better during the summer months than you will in the fall. Come Sept-Nov, you're best bet is either bouncers and spinners or jigging/rigging IMHO.

Waxy