Is there something that would allow me to get to depth (10 feet) with crankbaits without letting out so much line? Has anyone has success using snap weights? I fish some fairly small lakes so keeping the baits closer to the boat would be really helpful.
Leadcore or snap weights but the easiest would be a deeper diving crank. Flicker shad 7 dives 10 foot with 65 foot of line , Jointed shad rap 7 will go 10 foot at 50 foot of line back . I dont think its really possible to go less than that . What kind of crank are you pulling now ?
I used to fish a small lake that had a really well defined weedline at 10 feet. If you could get your cranks right on that edge near bottom it was game on. After much experimentation I found that Shallow Shad Raps or standard floating minnow raps on an 8 foot leader behind a 2 ounce bottom bouncer allowed me to get the baits right down there and close enough behind the boat that they would hug the weedline was the ticket for that situation.
Do they still make the Dipsey Divers? I’ve used them in the past to get down to 25 feet with a minnow rap.
If I want to get 10′ of depth on a crank, I simply would run braid with a leader to the crank. Some distance from the boat will likely help to avoid having fish spook. If you want to run real small cranks at 10′, leadcore is an option. It is easy to fine tune with speed adjustments as well as it tracks the boat better than anything else.
If you really want to fish crankbaits nearly in the shadow of the boat, 3-way rigging them is an option. For me this is primarily reserved for small stick baits in current seams on the river where visibility is low and being on the spot is crucial.
Old school response: A couple of appropriately sized split shot or rubber core sinker should do it.
I’ve used snap weights for a long time, they’re very easy to learn how to use and they work. Walleyes love smaller cranks that won’t even dive to 10 feet longlining as is the case with many smaller cranks.
I think that there is another advantage to using snap weights rather than longlining too even if you’re pulling a crank that will get down 10ft. when longlining. Snap weights will follow contours better than longlining meaning that your cranks will stay in the fish zone longer which in turn means more fish in in the boat.
Even when I troll cranks in water 8-10 ft. deep, I use snap weights just because they follow contours so well.
Is there something that would allow me to get to depth (10 feet) with crankbaits without letting out so much line?
I troll crankbaits behind a bottom bouncer with great success. Troll anywhere from 5 feet to 12 feet deep running about 40 to 50 feet behind the boat. I can watch the setup going thru the water with my forward looking sonar aimed to the rear. Raise and lower the rod tip to fine tune depth as I’m trolling.
Off Shore Tackle Tadpoles work good. Slower you go the deeper they dive.
https://www.offshoretackle.com/graphics/divecharts/dive2.jpg
3 way with a 2oz weight
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