Crankbait for EYES , how to troll them, store them???

[dh99]

HI guys


I started trolling crankbaits this year for walleye on a local man made lake(small reservoir) and I enjoyed it. I used to always jig for eye but this lake has no specific structure and trolling seems to produce more fish.


Crankbait trolling is new to me. I have collected quite a few over the year but probably not as many as most guys have. I have around 5 plano cases full of them, ranging from thin fins, hot n tots, flotting, jointed rapalas, husky jerk, tail dancer , reef runners(new going to try next year). My question is how many do you guys carry and how do you store them all. Oh and how do you hide them from the wife I store them in the plano cases and I put elastic around the trebles to try and keep them from getting tangled up. It also saves space too. My cases are divided by diving depths 0-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20 and over. But my collection is getting to big and I am going to need a bigger boat to carry all this tackle.

Another question, how long do you generally troll before changing you crankbait when fishing for eyes. I know it is all going to depend on the lake you fish, time of year etc... but generally how long. This is new to me and just wondering what the others are doing out there.

Thanks DH

[roughrider]

I have 10 Plano boxes stuffed with cranks,mostly seperated by lure design,shad baits,long baits ,deep divers ,floaters etc.I have the dive curves for those baits written on the plano box top,so i can reference line out and depth with a quick glance. The book itself is in a plastic bag in case i need it.

Everyone has their confidence baits,I suggest leaving these in the water all the time along with something different. It never fails,you pull your go to baits,catch nothing,put them back out and fish on. A charter captain on lake ontario suggests leaving your go to baits out there ,just rotate them around the boat till the fish turn on,this works well on Quinte also.

roughrider out

[dh99]

Roughrider

I like your idea with the dive curves on the box I was actually goign to make a table with the correction facotr for my line and carry it around intead of damaging my book, but your idea is great.

I just need the room in the boat for all those plano boxes now.

DH

[Scum Frog]

I store my cranks based on running depth - topwater, shallow, med and deep.

[eye-tracker]

I have 10 Plano boxes stuffed with cranks,mostly seperated by lure design,shad baits,long baits ,deep divers ,floaters etc.I have the dive curves for those baits written on the plano box top,so i can reference line out and depth with a quick glance. The book itself is in a plastic bag in case i need it.

Everyone has their confidence baits,I suggest leaving these in the water all the time along with something different. It never fails,you pull your go to baits,catch nothing,put them back out and fish on. A charter captain on lake ontario suggests leaving your go to baits out there ,just rotate them around the boat till the fish turn on,this works well on Quinte also.

roughrider out

I do almost the same as RR, I sort by type of crankbait now that I have over 30 large plano boxes full of cranks.

I photocopy the dive curves for each crank and then place them in a zip lock bag. I then place each dive curve in the box that has the baits.

I run my favorite baits and then have one wild-card I change up about every 15 minutes...walleye are notorious for turning on and off at certain times of the day, you want all your lines in the water when they turn on the bite .

Fish on...

-Sheldon Hatch

[roughrider]

Roughrider

I like your idea with the dive curves on the box I was actually goign to make a table with the correction facotr for my line and carry it around intead of damaging my book, but your idea is great.

I just need the room in the boat for all those plano boxes now.

DH

I have a large bag which holds 9 boxes,my books,hooks etc.,Cabela's carries them. Don't forget the golden trollers rule,always buy 2 of each,when you have confidence lures,4 of each.

roughrider out

[walleyesummit]

I also use Plano Boxes.....I lost count how many I have!

I store my stuff in two ways, by type and Manufactuer. For example I keep all my Rapala stick baits in the same box, all of my Renowsky's together and all my Reef Runner rip shads together. I then label the top of the Box so I don't have to sort through them in the boat.

To keep things less cluttered (after things are dialed in) in the boat I have 2 "ready" boxes with the proven baits and that is all I take out. It forces me to make decisions and ensures I give all the baits the right amount of time in the water.

I like to run a "control" bait that has taken fish before. It stays out and I switch between type (slow, moderate, fast) until I find something that works. Then I try and dial in depth zone and last is colour.

Cranks are a fun and fast way to cover water.