When Jeremy Starks won on Douglas Lake, he kind of let the cat out of the bag (while putting the bass into it!).
He used a technique sometimes called long-lining for getting his crankbaits down further than could be done with a standard cast and retrieve.
It is possible to to get a crankbait to dive in excess of 40 feet by using this technique, thus allowing you to get an effective bait in front of bass who have made their way to the depths.
The History Of Long-Lining
It probably isn’t possible to credit a single person with inventing this technique—but it is certainly nothing new.
Crappie, walleye, muskie and pike fisherman have been using it, and slight variations for a very long time. The first time I ever heard of anything like this technique was a crappie trip a few years ago—although my guide didn’t really have a name for it.
Long and short, this technique has been around for quite a while, but don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it—depending on the bass tournament rules, it might actually be illegal.
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty of doing the technique…
How To Long Line Your Crankbaits
Long-lining requires two things: A very long cast, and a trolling motor or outboard.
There are two stages to the technique—making the aforementioned giant cast, then using your motor to move away from the bait while leaving your reel in free-spool so as to let out more line and get down deep.
The reason this works is because it lengthens the retrieve time and allows the bait to continue diving further and further.
On a conventional cast, you may hit 70-75 yards or so, which is a good cast by anyone’s standards, but it limits you to only 75 yards of retrieve.
By using your motor to move away from the bait, you can extend the retrieve to 150 yards and more. With the right gear (which we will get to in a moment), you can get out to 200+ yards and really get down and dirty! A retrieve of this distance can take you 5-10 minutes, but will allow the bait to get incredibly deep.
Getting The Right Gear
To get the most out of this technique, a few notes need to be made about gear.
The first thing you will need is a good, long rod. Medium-heavy action, and 7 feet or more (If you are just doing recreational fishing, go above 8 feet. Most tournaments do not allow sticks longer than 8, so if that is what you are doing, 7-11 is going to be your max.)
Bassmaster actually recommended the Duckett Micro Magic Series rods, and I couldn’t agree more. That’s a great stick for this technique.
Next, you are going to want a good cranking reel. As for gear ratios, I prefer 6:3:1, but 6:4:1 is probably even better. My reel of choice is the Quantum Smoke PT casting reels.
Line is next on the list, and you have a lot of choices here. I would definitely use Fluoro, and we prefer P-Line Voltage to do the job.
Choosing The Right Crankbaits
There are a lot of crankbaits you can choose from to get the job done here, and I will not try to tell you what to use.
Here is what you need to keep in mind though.
First, it has to be a deep diver. Second, it should have a good weight transfer system in it to assist with making the long casts required. Lastly, make sure to use short-shank hooks. You don’t want to toss out 70 yards to start the long-lining, only to find you have a treble hooked to your line.
As long as those criteria are met in your choice of lure, you should be just fine to go for it.
So, to wrap it all up, it may take some getting used to, but it can be a very productive technique—especially with summer right around the corner. Practice now so when the bass start diving in the Dog Days, you are ready to get down there with them!
See ya on the water…