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Which five crankbaits???


Stick in Mud

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Hello all-

While I'm originally from MN, I have been in school or out of the state every autumn since time immemorial. Now I'm back home with a little tiny amount of money and a free weekend for chasing some fall walleyes on the Pond.

So, since I only have enough money for about....five crankbaits, which five should I buy? Or is five really not enough to cover it? I might be able to steal a few more dollars from the gf if I promise not to bug her next week.

So, most of this fishing is going to be at night. Should I worry about lure profile, color, wobble, size, brand? I'm a river guy at heart, so this lake stuff is all a bit new.

And thank you in advance for the help!

Carl

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I'm not sure how valid my advice will be as I'm fairly new to this as well. But the discussion has to start somewhere and I'll jump in.

#1 - Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Firetiger

#2 - Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Clown

#3 - Smithwick Suspending Super Rogue in Lazer Craw (I would say Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Orange Craw but that lure is no longer available)

I'll just leave it at 3 baits to start. One thing to remember is the 3 baits I mentioned all suspend, and they all have rattles, and troll down to that 10' mark or so. 1 is a medium color (firetiger), 1 is a chrome, shiny color (clown), and 1 is a dark color (lazer craw). Moon, cloud cover, and brightness of the night will determine which one to pull.

There are plenty of other baits that fit these criteria as well and I'm interested to see what kind of responses are posted.

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Some have said that in the darker (no moon) conditions, use a darker profile bait. And consequently in the full moon (brighter light) use a brighter profile bait.

I'm just regurgetating information because i haven't tried this theory out yet.

Also plan on coming home with only 3. smirk.gif the rocks seem to find them raps.

2 os us were up there 9/29 and we lost 4 raps trolling, and this was during the day. grin.gif

I would get a silver minnow HJ in 9 or 10 or 12 or a Perch color to match the forage.

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Quote:

Also plan on coming home with only 3.
smirk.gif
the rocks seem to find them raps.

2 os us were up there 9/29 and we lost 4 raps trolling, and this was during the day.
grin.gif


I'm down 1 crank so far this fall. I wasn't happy. frown.gif

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Start with the 3 Hanson mentioned. Add a blue/chrome and a perch pattern to get to 5. Could be either #12 husky jerks or rogues, have a few of each.

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Husky Jerks size 12 or 14. Try silver/black. Don't forget about shallow running shad raps, size 5,7,9. or the new minnow raps. The crayfish color, clown, firetiger, chart./silver, black/gold, Tenn. Shad (one of TO's favorite) I know Borch, we talked about this when we were out last Sat. I have some of the discontinued Orange HJ in size 10/12/14.but haven't used them yet.

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#7 Shallow Shad Rap - Perch, Fire Tiger, or Clown

#13 Floating Rapala - Blue and White, Black and Gold

#12 HJ - Tennessee Shad

#9 Salmo Minnow - Dace, Real Roach or Hot Perch

#5 Salmo Hornet - Shiner, Viking or Pearl Orange

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

My list is a little different but not a whole lot. The 5 lures whould differ based on Moon phase and water temps. But not taking that into account here they are...

1. HJ 12 in Firetiger

2. Suspending Super Rogue in Clown orChrome/Black

3. Thunderstick in Perch or Firetiger

4. #13 Floating Rapala in Clown or Chartruese

5. Floating Rattlin Rogue in Firetiger or Silver

If you have a few extra dollars I'd add...

1. SSR #7 in Shad

2. #9 Salmo Minnow in Hot Perch

With these cranks you can cover water from 3-12 feet and have some options regarding float/suspend, quiet/noisey, bright/natural and tight/wide wobble.

Good Luck!

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How come nobody can keep the list to five??? LOL! wink.gif

It seams for each model, HJ-12 for example, a guy needs 3 or 4 different colors of that particular lure. Multiply that by different manufacturer's and models, multiply that by different sizes, and multiply again by colors and yowzer! Thats a lot of cranks. smile.gif

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A lot of cranks AND a lot of $$$$$!!

Thanks again guys for all the help. I will be heading to Fleet Farm to pick some up. We are going to be up by Myr Mar, so I'll let you know how the fish are biting up that way as well.

Does anyone cast cranks? I have a few Rapala Long Casts that I throw around the rocks here in Saint Cloud and Sartell, and I've caught a few in the spring casting them on Mille Lacs, but I assume that trolling is just less work and covers more water?

And what is the best way to connect the crank? I think I have some Berkley cross-lok snaps...or should I tie directly to the fireline?

Carl

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I know. I just started purchasing Husky Jerks 2 months ago. Anywhere from size 10 to 14. I don't even want to know how much I've spent. Not to mention the tackle box I need to purchase to store these in.

I guess you have to remember the saying"You gotta pay to play"!!

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Hi Carl,

Fleet Farm had some Thundersticks for $3, and even in the colors mentioned above. Just to clarify, you'll be looking for the shallow runners of all these baits, not the deep ones.

Connection: I was direct tying, no issues with that, but you can do a cross lock. Another option is flouro, using a uni knot to join the Fireline to the flouro. However, based on the limited $$$ situation, go cross or direct, as the flouro is not cheap.

Casting: In the daytime if you can find some of the weed edges up there towards Myr Mar, sure wouldn't hurt to try throwing to the edges. Most the action now is night, and for most it's like you said, easier and able to cover more water.

Good luck, Chris

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SO MANY choices , so little time.....

I may throw a "wrinkle" in your choices. ha! Although we don't normally troll (Contact Us Please), the places we have tried it, the jointed raps in #9 perch normally have a hand in the "catching" part. The other one that was a success a couple weeks ago ,on the lake we were on ,was a suspending rattling rogue in silver-black.

I always do a price comparison in several stores before I buy. You may be able to squeeze out 6 baits for your 5 price if you shop around grin.gif. Check out Sportsmans warehouse as well as fleet wink.gif. You don't have to start with 50, but you probably will end up with that many, or more, once you get started and find the bargains.....and a bigger box to hold them....and a bigger boat....more poles and reels....it's a disease. ENJOY being "sick" like the rest of us. grin.gif

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This is like asking a kid what he/she would like for Christmas! Your going to get a different answer every time!

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Crosslock snaps don't tie direct. And yes you can cast even at night. If you continue to pickup fish trolling a certain spot stop and cast it. It's much more efficient. We caught some nice eyes doing just that last year.

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#1 - Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Firetiger

#2 - Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Clown

#3 - Smithwick Suspending Super Rogue in Lazer Craw (I would say Rapala Husky Jerk size 12 in Orange Craw but that lure is no longer available.

Exactly what Hanson Said!

I'd get 2 of each of these and go with the Kiss plan

Firetiger is good for transitional light, or if the waves are affecting moonlight penetration. This bait is generally supposed to be better earlier in the evening.

Clown with the chrome sides is the best bait for bright moonlit nights. Moonlight reflects off the sides and the fish pick up the flash.

Dark nights are best with the Smithwick Rattlin Rogue Lazer Crawfish or darker baits. I'm actually painting baits this year to give me more dark bait options for those darker nights.

Ryan

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I personally went from one tray of cranks to four in the course of two weeks. Suddenly all of those husky jerks look like they can catch fish, and look at the red bill on that craw colored floater, and ooh are those shallow shads on sale, and look at the new Matzuos. I just can't control myself, but lures always catch more fishermen than fish.

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Tell ya what. I was lucky when I fished just walleyes. The last few years I've fished mostly bass talk about spending $. I still have a couple boxes of walleye cranks along with 3 boxes of bass cranks. The worst part is I think I have probably caught 20 bass on cranks in the last 5 years and they were probably only on 3 baits. But boy they look cool in the store. confused.gifP.S. CRANK BAITS FOR SALE!

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I went with TroyMcClure to fleet farm the other night and they had #5 shad raps in Orange Craw (leftovers from a FF 50th aniversary special edition). They were on sale for 1.99 so I instinctively picked one up. I would think that would probably work alright with correct rod positioning and length of line. I will give it a shot next Thursday.

BTW - looks like today would be another beautiful day on the lake.

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Quote:

BTW - looks like today would be another beautiful day on the lake.


Yep!!!! Gonna be a nice night out there tonight. Sure hope the fish are bitin'

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