Outdoors Angle: Trolling Crankbaits

Steve Carney Outdoors
Steve Carney Outdoors

The Flag Outdoors Expert Steve Carney has your weekly Outdoors Angle right here!

     As we slide into the Fall fishing period, trolling crankbaits are the best way to put fish in the boat all the way through ice up. This is an aggressive style of fishing where you long-line troll behind the boat and cover water fast. There are three styles I use when Fall fishing. The first and most important area to cover is the shallow tops of mid lake flats. Here, a very thin style, shallow running crank works best. The best shallow baits run about 3 to 6 feet and should be your first task. If you don't have any results in the first hour, drop down to the flat edge and switch over to a mid-range crankbait that runs 8 to 12 feet. Give that mid-range bait about an hour. If no results, change over to a deep running crank that runs 11 to 18 feet. Between those three choices you should run into some action.

     Spending time on the water and learning what each crankbait will do is critical to Fall success. Each bait has its own personality and they all troll differently. Once you are intimately familiar with each bait you will know immediately what bait to turn too. It's all about head knowledge at the end of the day.

Steve Carney is The Flag WZFG Outdoors expert. He can be heard every Thursday morning at 8:05 on AM 1100 and 92.3 FM WZFG. Check out his weekly podcast on am1100theflag.com and hear his Outdoors Angle reports every Friday on AM 1100 and 92.3 FM WZFG. You can also visit stevecarneyoutdoors.com for more information.