If you look at the posts from the last 2 weeks, the info is out there. Seems like the P-10s and Bandits are catching most of the fish. I think location, depth, and trolling speed are more important than bait or color. If you put it in front of them and they are hungry they are gonna eat it. Sometimes though it is a "reaction bite"?

 

All have their pros and cons. Every lure has its day. Bandits catch fish but their hooks and rings are cheap junk. Rapala run true out of the box and are great. Reef runners need "tuned". Bay rats are high quality. All lures work with the right presentation. I mostly run rapala, bay rat, and reef runners. Just start picking up what works. After a few $1000 you will be eligible for the 10 step lure rehab program. We meet at Erie outfitters on a regular basis to drink coffee and buy more lures.

 

Super G, bandits did the damage for us last spring in the islands. Colors, that's tough. The humble pattern was always out swimming in our spread as well as blue and chrome and some of the customs.

 

I understand your curiousity about cranks,but let me explain something that pisses me off as well.every time of year,temp. change,and water temp. has its own bite.p-10,s w/ weight works when water temps drop.they don,t have much action and are shallow diving.the weights are to get them to your target depth.i,ve used them at night in shallow and out in the deep during the day and they suck.use them nov. thru march w/ weights and they,re golden.reef runners are good for warmer water,have more action and dive deep when pulled faster than 1mph.rapalas have less action,work well at night spring and fall and can be weighted to pull almost year round.ever since I bought my boat over 20 years ago,i have spent THOUSANDS on cranks.i have just about every storm thunderstick,rapala husky jerk, smithwick rattlin rouge,bombers,yo-zuri,s,mystic minnows,renosky,s.etc...the bottom line,quit asking stupid questions of your fellow humans as its the walleye,s that are the only vote that matters.THEY decide whether your wasting your time or not.the people on this sight are wonderful sportsmen just like you and me and value the time they get on the water.the advice they give is about what they actually did to be successful.this is your starting point. if you think your program will work,go ahead and try it.if you deviate from the advice given,then you will have to bear the consequences.I HATE THE FACT THAT AFTER SPENDING ALL THIS MONEY ON THESE LURES ,I NOW HAVE RE-INVEST IN SMITHWICK P-10,S AND BANDITS. I JUST SPENT A $100 AT THE BAIT SHOP BUYING PINK LEMONADE AND MARVIN P-10,S AND TOPPING OFF MY BANDIT COLLECTION.why in the hell won,t these fish hit one of the hundreds of lures I already own?i don,t know,ask the walleyes, they vote.i just know that after taking off work and driving 2 hours to the lake that MY TIME IS VALUABLE.$100 to be successful=priceless.if you choose not to spend, don,t expect to be successful. itried 18 different lure and set-up combo,s fri. and sun.and marvin and pink lemonade p-10s 20/40 w 2oz. pulled 18 of our 19 fish,bandits-2 pullbacks ans 1 landed fish,0 on husky jerks. I don,t mention what didn,t work because NO ONE CARES.the best thing you can do is LISTEN to your fellow fisherman and quit argueing with fish.for the people who own bait shops,pay attention to these forums and give good advice to those asking"whats hot right now",you can sell out of these hot lures FAST.i can,t wait for the day when storm thundersticks become the hot bait as I have a buttload of them.they have occupied enough space in my boat a nd haven,t produced in years.and now I have to re-invest in more lures.just part of the frustration EVERY BOAT OWNER HAS.if you have a crank collection that has less than 500 lures and not all the lure styles mentioned,you haven,t even scratched the surface.not trying to belittle anyone but I find these stupid questions as frustrating as spending $100 every time the fish change their mind.if asking stupid questions in the future,follow the 3 step approach.1-compliment the poster on their catch 2-thank the poster for taking the time to share their info.3- ask the stupid question. hope this helps,sorry for the rant.

 

thanks nightranger for your entertaining rant.Got a good laugh to start the day.

 

Some good points nightranger. I am not out several times a week. So when I am out, I want to give myself the best chance of success. If you are in the middle of the lake getting skunked fishing next to few boats that have a specific bait that is catching fish, you would almost give your right arm for a couple of those successful bait. And that is why these Lure companies stay in business.
I too picked up all the "Marvin" colored P10 that Cabelas had in stock this weekend, and then had them in the water yesterday. I was glad I had them...and so was my 9 year old. Could another bait or color have worked? Maybe, or maybe not, or maybe not as effectively.

To get back to your beginning question. I would start with a good selection of P10s, Bandits, and Reef Runners. You would have most your bases covered for each season. Then add as needed...and continue adding...and continue adding...for the rest of your life. Good luck with your purchases and walleye hunting.

 

If I could only buy one crank bait right now it would be a selection of bandits. Their price point is on the lower end, the action on the bait is good, and we've been able to produce fish all year round on them. I don't think you need to go out and buy 1000 baits, but just like any hobby that you do often you'll end up with a ton of sh!t. I think you could get by with 30 or so bandits and still be able to do well on the water. There's a post in general discussions about what colors worked best for us last year, I'd spend a little time looking over those.

We put Marvin in the water yesterday, and didn't pull a fish. And we pulled two tickets in four hours. So I think it's less about the specific color, and more about the variety of color patterns.

BTW buy them in pairs, you'll thank yourself many times over.

 

Well good morning to you nightranger! [emoji6]. If I rephrased my question in the context of your response I guess it would be something like the following: Hey fishermen, what crank baits are the walleye telling you they like?

What I'm really trying to get at is this - there are deep divers and shallow runners made by a variety of companies. Based on your collective experience, is there a difference in performance or quality - to capt j-rod's point? And color? Or is it the latest marketing campaign that's making a crank bait productive. I also have my share of "pencil plugs" from "back in the day" on Lake St. Clair and Detroit river, Heddon flatfish, hot n tots, and many others. They all were the hot crank at one time!

Just looking for suggestions on how to spend those holiday gift cards from Cabelas or head to Erie Outfitters and add to my piscatorial relic collection!

BTW - according to Travis Hartman the average catch rate for walleye on Erie is 0.5 fish per hour of fishing (2014). Hoping to increase my odds to the higher side of the average!

Thanks for your comments guys!

 

Thanks for clarifying, I'm really happy with bandits. And I haven't had the hook breaking issue, but I take an extra moment to make sure I'm grabbing the shank of the hook when removing paint holds up well and I haven't had an issue needing to tune them at all. Also haven't broken one.

 

Youre question is pretty broad.. Bandits are great ...
... Humble Bee, Blue Chrome, Tutti Frutti/Wonderbreads/Barbies......
For Best Prices and Great Info .... See Craig at EOutfitters!
That being said... There is No Substitute for "Putting Your Time In" and Trying What Seems Right to You! Thats Fishing...

I saved from this site... from 1 or 2 EXPERIENCED SUCCESSFUL walleye fisherman

My Lake Erie strategy with cranks when getting on the water during any season
1) Location: Find fish on the fish finder. doesnt do any good to fish where there is not fish. Help from friends, old spots, etc

2)Setup Starting Speed: depends on water temp; Colder water temp slower speed.. Adjust from there.
What Lure depends on speed. I agree with you, some lures are better than others at the same speed. Ice out = 1.0 mph. Summer time=2.5-2.7 mph
slower speeds bandits and DHJ,
medium speed (1.3-1.7 mph) , P10 with weights,
faster is the RR700-800.

Lure depth. Cover the column. keep lures above fish. 4 ft for stained water.
8 ft for clear water

Color vs Depth. light penetrates less at deeper water. Keep higher the purples, chartreuse/ run a bit deeper w pinks and oranges.
So throw darts at it and tell me where I may be going wrong.

Color: Let the water clarity/sun tell me what lure to run.

I start with different belly colors on each one, and all will be different but all will have at least one of the following colors

purple, red, pink, bright green, chartreuse, lavender, blue or orange, black, White

 

I think the main message from nightranger is that fishing crankbaits, especially in the spring is tough. I learned this the hard way. My first early season trolling trip in April 2015 resulted in being skunked. We had a full assortment of Perfect 10's, snap weights, etc. I still, to this day, have never caught a walleye on Lake Erie trolling a perfect 10. I've caught Saugeye casting them on inland lakes though. We started having limited success last year when the Bandits became popular. By limited success, I'm talking about going out for 1/2 day and catching 4-5 fish while running six lines using the colors mentioned on this site. Another lure that always seems to do well is a blue chrome Deep Down Husky Jerk size 10. I do not have high expectations, and 4-5 fish is a good day. I have about a dozen perfect 10's, a dozen reef runner 800's, and a dozen bandits. I usually buy a couple crankbaits every time I visit the lake to build my collection over time. I will also add that it's a lot easier to catch walleye running worm harnesses or spoons behind jet divers or trutrip 40's in May. Also, if people are complaining about a 'tough bite', I stay home. I have no reason to believe that if the people who fish more often than I do can't get them to go that I can do better. If most people are catching a limit, I'll catch half a limit, and if most people are talking about catching so many fish they're throwing them back, I might get close to a limit. For me, knowing when it's 'hot' and what the general presentation is puts more fish in the box than knowing a specific lure. I have this desire to 'find my own fish', so this year, I upgraded the electronics to a HDS-9 and am installing a thru-hull Airmar transducer in the hopes that I can drive around on a slow plane, hopefully 15mph, and mark fish. If that works out, I expect to do better this year.

 

If you have a good selection of perfect 10, bandits, and husky jerks,in deep situations, you will pull fish on most days that the bite is pretty good. I purposely skipped reefs even though they catch well cause they are a pita. Shallow husky jerks, and renoskys will get you through shallow situations. For me , that's what gets 75 percent of the time in the water. After that, the wallets the limit.. also, you asked about the cabelas brand, etc. I would skip those, and learn to fish the basics well first.

 

.

 

Pull meat. Save money. Two tackle trays, one for crawler harnesses, other for bottom bouncers. Keep it simple, works all during the year.

 

3$ a dozen or buy some pain relievers for your back pain when catching yourself..

 

LOL! I remember getting grief from my dad when they were 75 cents a dozen! If I wanted to go fishing I had to pick crawlers. So after every heavy rain we scoured the neighborhood lawns for them after dark and stocked up!

Last summer all my fish came on spoons and dipsy's. Many half crawlers left on the harness, and no hits on the cranks. After re-reading my original post and the trolling methods part- I understand all the comments about the broad question! (What I was thinking was) I was curious about using the deep diver cranks and how to troll them. So it says Reef Runners need 135 feet of line out for them to dive down 25 ft - are you letting that much line out to get to the depth, or using clip on weights? In reading some of the posts - it looks like using clip on weights is common practice? Rapala's always seemed like a high quality crank and have been productive for me when casting from shore in the fall. I was really just curious about when it comes to trolling, and not having used very many cranks, is there one that seems to produce better results due to action, quality, appearance/color, etc. I think I have the answer to that above! Thanks to all for your comments! Very helpful! Now if I could just get my boat out of the indoor storage place and catch some of those jumbos that would be great!

 

Cranks are easier to manage if you weight them to get the desired depth. 135' behind the board is a long ways back, and gives the fish a lot more opportunity to get off. The one issue with weighting cranks is that it brings several variables into the equation, one of which is the uncertainty of just how deep your lure is now running once you added the 2oz (or whatever size) weight. Sure, you can use the old rule of thumb that each ounce added will net you approximately 4' of depth, but at what speed? That 2oz at 1.0mph right now is likely adding more than 8'...and likewise at summer speeds of 2.2mph and up that 2oz is going to likely add less than 8'.

Now....before I get yelled at by the weighted crank aficionados....I will say this much:

Does it really matter how much depth you are achieving? The fish will tell you whether or not you are doing it right, so this is why you see guys saying things like "P10 20/30 and 20/40 eventually ended up 20/70 by the end of the day" and such. It's not an exact science, and that's why they call it "fishing" instead of "catching."

And yes...there are a heck of a lot of ways to catch a walleye. Big crankbaits are just one of the ways, and IMO they are highly desired by many because they can and will limit the amount of bycatch that you must deal with particularly in May and June. Like you....I very much enjoy catching fish behind mini-discs and spoons, slide divers with spoons, and with shallow running cranks off downriggers.

Adding to that...dudes like to puff their chest out with a custom crank hanging out of the mouth of a 11# walleye....always hoping (I think at least) that there will be a phone call some day from a lure company offering a sponsorship opportunity.

 

walleye bites are different at every place on this lake. there is no substitute for good homework.paying attention to the details can be monumental in having success while on the water.one generality that seems to be true with all the other great tips these people on this forum have shared,is that the dirtier the water the better bold,luminecing colors do,the cleaner the water the better the chrome,flat white or other flatter colors and reflective metallic do.knowing why the fish are there and whats on the menu can be the difference maker.DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE GETTING TO THE WATER.i never imagined the day when I would get up at 4am to read posts for a 6am fishing trip.i always criticized my sisters for taking so long to get ready for school,but now I do it for fishing and think nothing about it.it always amazes me at how a well formulated plan a,b and c can be so quickly dismissed once someone else starts catching them on something else.never be afraid to try a unique lure or set-up once in a while,you,ll never know till you do if they work.next- if your going to communicate your program to others,try to give complete info .like lure , color, water temp. and clarity,speed and any unique things that must be done to mimic your success. one thing I noticed about this years bite was the p-10 bite was several tenths slower than the bandit bite and worked better using all electric and going with the wind. the bandits worked better trying to slow down the gas motor and trolling into the wind.every boat performs differently so choose to do your homework on bites your boat can best hit the speed of.