Pro’s Pointers 8: Trolling crank baits

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Hard bait can provide some big bites, and in this week’s Pro’s Pointer, MWC World Walleye Champion & N.D. Fishing Hall of Fame Member Johnnie Candle and Lee Timmerman focus on helping you find the right bait for the right depth.

“Trolling crank baits in the middle of summer can be a very effective way to catch a variety of species of fish,” Candle said. “One of the hardest things to do is to determine how deep our crankbaits are guided.”

“There’s a couple of ways to do this,” Candle said. “The old school way is to just look at your lures. The larger the bill on your crank bait, the deeper it will dive, but there is hours of trial and error in determining if that lure is actually in the strike zone.”

“If you’re looking for a shortcut, there is an app for that,” Candle continued. “It’s called precision trolling data. Now the folks at Precision Patrolling have spent countless hours dragging lures through a course and manually measuring the diving depths of hundreds of lures so we don’t have to guess. It doesn’t matter if you want to do it the old school way, or take a shortcut with new technology, just get out there this summer, drag some crank baits around and have yourself a ball.”

Next week, Pro’s Pointers moves from Lake Sakakawea to Devils Lake.