How Do You Get Crankbaits Down Deep?

How do you control crankbait depth?

Move your crankbait too slow or too fast and it’ll run too shallow. The bill has to bite into the water at the correct angle for the lure to run as deep as possible. The length of your cast is the next thing that affects running depth. A longer cast will let the bait get down deeper.

How can I make my lures deeper?

We’d suggest trying a 20 foot leader (shorter leaders do better in current), attach a 3 or 4 oz. Snap Weight, and then let out line until you feel the lure tick bottom. Those river fish relate to the bottom, so it’s Snap Weight setupimportant that you get your lures down there.

What is the deepest diving crankbait?

The Salmo Freediver
Weight: 7/8oz – Diving Depth: 17/30ft
The Salmo Freediver is truly a revolution in super deep diving crankbait fishing. Capable of diving over 40′ while trolling, the Salmo Freediver is the deepest diving lure available on the market today.

Can you add a weight to a crankbait?

You can alter the performance characteristics of hard baits like jerkbaits and crankbaits by adding weight to them. Most anglers are familiar with adding weight to a jerkbait to cause it to suspend, a technique that is important when fishing cold water.

Can you troll crankbaits with bottom bouncers?

Bottom bouncers are great for trolling crankbaits, since they enable you to get your crankbait down to the right depth quickly.If you were to use lead core line instead, you would need to troll your crankbait 150 feet behind your boat in order to get it down to the right depth.

Why is my crankbait floating?

Floating crankbaits are useful when fishing water that has heavy concentrations of weeds, or water that is strewn with timber or bottom clutter. When your crankbait makes contact with something — be it weeds or wood — a brief pause will allow it to float up and away from the snag.

How much line should you let out when trolling?

Trolling Depth Trick #3
Consider the following example: If you’re trolling a tandem rig tied with two five-ounce bucktails (5 x 2 = 10), and you let out 100 feet of line (double 50, so multiply by two again), according to the Rule it will run at about 20 feet below the surface (5 x 2 = 10 x 2 = 20).

What is the best speed for trolling?

So, what is the best trolling speed? The best trolling speed depends on several factors including the type of fish, water conditions and lure choice. In general, trolling speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph, as measured by GPS, are a good starting place for most species like walleye, trout and salmon.

Do crankbaits have to hit bottom?

For professionals like Skeet Reese, Todd Faircloth and Mark Menendez, mismatching crankbaits to water depth — especially in the shallows — has become less an exception and more the rule. “As a general rule of thumb, you want a bait that will be in contact with the bottom at all times.

Do Bass remember lures?

Or maybe it’s wishful thinking on his part – an angler with a strong hope that bass really can’t remember lures. Illinois bass anglers tend to latch on to a favorite lure and use it over and over, Holland said. But Jones meticulously tested bass memory for lures, and his study suggests that indeed, bass do remember.

What is the best color crankbait?

Use white crankbait lures on cloudy or rainy days. When bass are eating crawfish, try a green or brownish colored crankbait. If the water is stained or muddy, use brightly colored crankbait with as orange or chartreuse to help the fish find the bait.

How do you fish a crankbait from shore?

The best way to fish a crankbait from the shore is by making the crankbait bang to the rocks or structure of the bank and other structures. Moving the bait with a sweeping motion is highly recommended. Avoid setting the hook aggressively in order to protect your fishing gear.

How fast do you troll crankbaits?

Typical crankbait trolling speeds are 1.5 – 3 mph, and there are times when it makes a big difference. If you are marking bait and fish but not hooking up, don’t be afraid to speed up or slow down. Making “S” turns is also a good way to test several speeds at once.

Can you troll with a crankbait?

When trolling crankbaits, use a bait casting reel and a medium heavy rod, six to seven feet in length. I prefer to use Magnathin in the ten-pound test (walleye color). The new superlines will also work. Longlining crankbaits is a very simple technique that will produce fish.

How fast do you troll bottom bouncers?

A good trolling speed for bottom bouncer fishing ranges from 1.0 MPH to about 1.5 MPH. Speeds this slow are going to require a small gasoline kicker motor or an electric trolling motor.

How much line should you let out when bottom bouncing for walleye?

The basic rule: one ounce of weight for every 10 feet of depth. A 2-ounce bottom-bouncer is pretty versatile, but a 3-ouncer may be necessary to get your spinner down to the bottom when fishing around 30-feet deep. You want to keep your line at about a 45-degree angle for the best action and feel of your presentation.

What depth do you fish for walleye?

Walleye are generally caught between 10-40 Ft. A typical mid-sized lake in the Midwest would likely hold Walleye between the depths of 10-15 Ft. during the Spring, 15-25 Ft. transitioning to Summer, 25-40 Ft.

How do I know when my lure hits the bottom?

When they are in the water column, you should feel the vibration of the lure as it moves. If you feel anything else, you have either hit the bottom or some debris in the water column. If you just graze the bottom, you will feel a tick. If you are dragging the bottom, you will feel an uneven extra weight on the line.

What depth do you troll in?

Pick out another lure and go through the same process. Try deep-, medium- and shallow-runners, so that you have a lure or two that will run at every depth from 5 to 20 feet deep (or more, depending on how deep fish will hold in your local waters).