Crappie Cranking

[ten_scoach]

How's the trolling for crappie with cranks in the summer on the upper end of bull shoals? I have done well on Stockton and pomme but am looking for some time on bull shoals. Thanks for feedback.

[Ham]

I'm sure it's gonna work for you. You'll have to put up with bass, white bass, walleye, gar, and possible stripers grabbing your crankbaits, but other than that you'll do fine.

[ten_scoach]

Would I dock be a good starting point?

[ten_scoach]

Sorry, auto correct.....K dock?

[Ham]

I try not to fish that far up lake, but lots of people make that area work well.

[ten_scoach]

Thanks ham. Coming in from Branson, what might be a good starting point? I've had my best luck on bandit 300's and flicker shad number 5's at 1.5 mph on Stockton and pomme. Thanks for the help gettin started with your direction! Much abliged!

[lonkm]

what sort of water are you trolling? near brush piles, coves, points. I have no idea where to start. Thanks Lonnie

[Ham]

i can offer very minimal advice on trolling. I've done very little of it, but with success every time I have tried it. It just doesn't really trip my trigger.

I have not trolled in the K dock area, but I would troll points and flats near drop offs into deeper water. I'd look for fish on my electronics and try to run baits at or a few feet above that level. I'd keep my speed between 0.5 and 1.5 mph.

Please let us know how you do.

[Sam]

I troll the Bandit 200 in the color Bry said - same lure, just one size different. I do a lot better kicking the trolling speed up to about 2.4 mph, which runs that plug 16 feet deep. Try to stay in 18-20 f.o.w. on the edge of big flats near the main channel. Thing is, I'm catching walleyes not crappie - though we usually catch a few crappie too when trolling that way. If you can go real early, or even better fish on a cloudy day with some wind, you'll catch more walleyes than crappie (plus a bunch of mostly-short bass).

When I'm actually after crappie, I'll slow-troll a swimmin' minnow at .9 mph on a 3/16 oz. jighead along banks with flooded trees in, say, 12 to 24 f.o.w. Or, cast the same rig to brushpiles that show on the scope. In my experience anyway, that's a lot more productive for crappie on Upper B.S. than a plug.

[lonkm]

thanks to every one. I will try all methods and let you know what happens.