How to pull Bandit crankbaits for crappie
Whether you are a seasoned angler or a novice at crappie fishing, you need to add a supply of Bandit Crank baits to your Crappie tackle box. There is no doubt about it, Bandit Crank baits catch crappie. These hard-bodied baitfish imitators catch Crappie from early summer through the fall.
If you are a novice angler and all of the various Colors and sizes are a bit confusing, Bandit, with the help of our prostaff and professional anglers from across the nation, have designed the top colors and added extra sharp Red VMC treble hooks packaged and ready for the crappie fisherman. Available in 200 and 300 sizes.
Equipment needed to be successful in pulling bandits
1. Poles: B’n’M Prostaff trolling rods in 8,10,12,14 foot lengths.
2. Reels: line counter reels but regular bait casters or spinning reels with high line capacity will work also.
3. Line: Vicious 10 pound high Vis line.
4. Snap rings (tied to the line to snap on baits).
5. Rod holder for multiple poles front and back. Trolling racks such as (Driftmaster T-5100 Troll Master trolling bar) work well across the back of the boat.
6. Strong trolling motor with fully charged batteries.
7. Depth chart of the lake or area fishing.
8. Crankbaits, Bandits baits are the leaders in trolling for crappie and they have a good supply of 200 and 300 in a variety of colors:
Cranberry, Sardis Gold, Plum Point, After Shock, Popsicle, Grenada Shad, Chart Sparkle, Hotty Totty, Black Bubblegum – Crappie, Pink/Silver Sparkle – Crappie, Awesome Pink – Crappie, Orange Crush - Crappie
9. GPS to monitor speed and maps to view lake bottom contours.
10. Long reach dip net.
Water temperature
Before I go to the lake to fish, I try to find out from internet and other fisherman about lake and weather conditions that impact fishing. Water temperature is a key factor in trolling for crappie. If I’m going to pull crankbaits, I like water temperature to be above 75 degrees.
Covering water
GPS will allow you to mark hotspots and create routes to follow. MMC cards are critical to follow contours like underwater points, creeks, humps, flats, etc...Pulling crankbaits you cover a tremendous amount of water in a day’s time, and you can learn a lot about the lake by watching your sonar as you troll, observing depth changes, cover, baitfish and larger fish. It helps with learning a new lake, or if you have no idea where the fish are holding.
Where to start when you get to the lake
Look for thermocline to determine depth. Looking for the large schools of shad on LCR is the primary key to catching crappie. Most fish will be suspended in 9-15ft range in depths of 20-40ft I prefer to start in the middle of major coves or creeks and work out to the main lake try to stay close to the creek channels that lead out. Most of the time you’re going find fish before you get to the mouth. If you catch a few crappie, turn around and go back the other way. Make mental notes to yourself about where the fish are in this creek because more than likely they will be positioned in the same area in other creeks. If you have no luck in the feeder creeks, start trolling on the big flats on the main river. Crappie school-up, feed and chase shad in these areas. Sometime the crappie suspend out in the middle of the lake, holding on big flats. Try trolling in water 20- to 35-feet deep. If I don’t locate the crappie on the flats, I’ll start trolling the points. If they’re not on the underwater points, then I’ll troll the river channel or the secondary creek edges. But I’ll catch most of my crappie this time of year out on big flats in open water.
Setup
B’n’M poles, 10-pound Vicious Hi Vis line and line counter reels pulling eight-different color crankbaits at once is my most used setup. Cast or let the crankbaits out behind the boat. Typically start at the back of the boat and use two 8-foot B’n’M Pro Staff Trolling Rods one on each side of the boats pole holders with the next longer poles (10 ft) to the inside. The first line will probably run out 130 feet. On the opposite side of the boat, I’ll have the line out about 120 feet. On my next rod holder, I’ll have a 10-foot rod and run that bait at 110 feet on one side and 100 feet on the other side of the boat. The two inside poles will be a 12-foot B’n’M Pro Staff Trolling Rod this helps clear the motor. I’ll have the line out 90 feet on one side of the boat and 80 feet on the other rod on the other side of the boat. Then I’ll have two 14-foot Pro Staff Trolling Rods on each side front of the boat the 14 foot pole get on the outside of the 8 footers on the back sides I’ll have one line out at about 80-100 feet and on the other side of the boat I’ll have my line out 80-90 feet.
I’m stair-stepping my baits. On one side of the boat I’ll run my crankbaits more shallow than on the other side of the boat, until I learn at what depth the crappie are holding. Once I determine the depth where the most crappie are holding, I’ll tighten my spread of baits and probably run them within 5 feet of each other. I never want to run my baits at the same lengths of line although Hi Vis line helps to see your line it can get tangled in turns. If I keep about 5-10 feet of separation on the amount of line I have out on each pole, I won’t get tangled when I catch a crappie from behind the boat the line that the crappie is on should come to the top of the water just reel him in. To effectively troll crankbaits, make sure you use different length poles, and troll your crankbaits at various depths to keep your lines from tangling.
Colors and size
Cloudy day colors should be darker, personal favorite Black bubble gum or Cranberry. Sunny Colors should be translucent, and bright colors or have sparkles, personal favorites are Hotty Totty, Pink/Silver Sparkle and Grenada Shad. In clear water, whites, grays, chrome and natural colors work best. Focus on fishing deep flats and running major river ledges and channels with 300 and shallower cover with 200. As a rule Bandit 200's run 8-12ft, 300's run 10-16ft
Speed
The ideal speed seems to be 1.5 to 2.5 miles per hour. By using a GPS I can monitor speed at a glance. I will always start at the lower speed and work up until I have the speed that catches. There are days when the crappie will take the bait better when it’s pulled slower and other days when the crappie prefer the baits pulled faster. That’s one of the pieces to the puzzle you’ll have to put together to catch crappie trolling bandits, just like you’ll have to determine what color of crankbaits the crappie want each day you fish. On certain days, the crappie like some colors better than others. So, when I start fishing, I’ll vary the colors of crankbaits I’ll use, as well as the speed at which I’ll troll. I’ll change the depths at which I’ll troll. Then, as I begin to catch crappie, I usually can determine the depth where the crappie are feeding, the color of crankbaits they prefer, and the speed at which the boat needs to travel for the crappie to take the bait the best. As I begin to put this pattern together, I’ll change each component part – color, depth and speed – to make up the pattern to determine exactly what the crappie want on the day I’m fishing. Once you have a pole start catching crappie that indicates that pole is either at the right depth or the color of lure on that pole is the one the crappie prefers on that day. Once I determine the color of lure the crappie want and the depth at which the crappie want to feed, I’ll begin to adjust the speed of the boat. Using this system, I can maximize the number of crappie I’ll catch each day.
Closing
You can catch huge numbers of crappie using this technique because of the large amount of water you cover. The more looks your lures get, the more fish you’ll catch. In addition, you will catch the larger, more aggressive fish in each school. Smaller fish are slower and have smaller mouths, making it harder for them to eat a crankbait. Therefore, this is an excellent technique for targeting trophy-class crappie. In closing don’t be discouraged if you try and don't succeed at first. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different technique or ideas that you might have about long lining crankbaits. Your fishing ideas may work for you and not the next angler.
