TAKEOFF
TECHNIQUES photo by AnDy hAGEDon
HOW TO LONGLINE A CRANKBAIT
Get deepeR and staY theRe lonGeR With this advanced ManeuveR
By Tyler Brinks
FlW tour pro Mark Rose is one of the best in the world with a deep-diving crankbait. in situations when he needs to go even deeper than a crankbait can reach on a standard cast, or he needs it to stay in its maximum strike zone longer, he uses the longlining technique, which is done by casting and then moving the boat in the opposite direction with the trolling motor, letting out a long length of line before starting the retrieve.
“ it works best during the hottest times of the year when fish are very deep or when there is a lot of fishing pressure moving fish deeper because they are finicky,” Rose says. he breaks down the details on how to longline like a pro.
Bait Selection
Rose uses one of three crankbaits that can reach depths of more than 20 feet: the strike King 6Xd, 8Xd and 10Xd. he says he most often reaches for the 6Xd.
“ the bait is much more compact, and you can still get it down to 30 or 35 feet with longlining,” he says of the 6Xd.“ i will use an 8Xd and 10Xd if the fish are eating bigger forage like gizzard shad.” according to Rose, the 10Xd can reach 40 feet deep with the right gear, a long length of line and proper boat positioning.
Tackle
Rod – Rose developed the team lew’ s custom pro speed stick ledge series specifically for ledge fishing, and it includes two rods that he uses for this technique. Both are 7 feet, 11 inches long to allow for longer casts. he uses the Big crankbaits( medium-heavy) model for the 6Xd and the Magnum crankbaits( heavy) model for the 8Xd and 10Xd.
Reel – Rose fishes either rod with a lew’ s BB1 speed spool series, opting for 6.4:1 retrieve ratio for the 6Xd and 5.1:1 for the 8Xd and 10Xd.
“ the torque of the bigger baits is just too much, and you need that slower retrieve or you will wear yourself out. trust
me,” he adds.“ the other thing i like about that reel is that it has a large line capacity [ 160 yards of 12-pound test ], and with this technique you do not want to have any backing on your reel. You want it filled all the way up because you’ ll need plenty of line.”
Line – line size and, more importantly, line diameter are critical according to Rose.
“ i use 12-pound seaguar tatsu fluorocarbon for the 6Xd and 15-pound for the 8Xd and 10Xd. this line has a very thin diameter and helps get the bait down as deep as possible without sacrificing any line strength,” he says.
Strike King 10XD
Strike King 8XD
Strike King 6XD
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FLWFISHING. COM I MAY-JUNE 2018