Bandit lures

[Midnightrider1818]

When you guys fish with these do most of you troll or do any of you cast and retrirve. Also do you add weight to line to get lure down deeper. How do you guys rig these

[troy1976]

mostly troll them. attach them directly to line with a good quality snap swivel. do not need to attach any weight as they will dive to around 20-25 foot depending on speed and length of line out. Im sure you could cast and retrieve them as well but havnt personally tried that. They can be run anywhere from 20 to 150 foot of line back on the trolling gear. just try to run them 3-5 foot above where you are marking fish. Precision trolling has an app that will give you dive charts for different lures. I would highly reccomend it.
When I say foot back measurements I am talking about the line out off of the line counter reels to help clarify

good luck

[Gradyfish]

Here is how I run mine. Snap, no swivel, to get a Bandit down 22' using 10lb. Mono you have to let out 195' of line, in that case I would attach a snap weight. I prefer not to run 195' lead plus an additional 100' of line to my board if it is not needed. Plus when you are trying to get deeper you will need to run snap weights or another method to get the extra depth.
I would not hesitate to cast and retrieve when I need a deep diving crankbait, especially like fall night bite fishing.

GradyFish

[Frank]

I troll bandits, basically the same as troy1976 . I'm sure you can cast them but you will never achieve the depths you get trolling. I use 12lb berkley big game which has a smaller diameter than xt that the charts say get you to certain depths, with x amount of line out. I have never achieved the depths that the chart says ,because a have purposely ran over shallower water to see when I hit, 22' is the deepest I get. I have trolled them from 1mph to 3mph doesn't seem to matter what speed.I have not noticed a big difference 1 way or another.

[Pauken23]

This time of year I usually troll them on the outside boards and mess around with the line I troll off the side or on the inner boards. By mess around I mean Jets or inline weights pulling spoons or harnesses. If they're producing more than the other stuff I'd go all out. If you're new to trolling try just throwing a Bandit on a pole off the side of your boat (or one off each side) and just mess around with the distance back. So basically get your boat going as slow as your motor will take you (or anywhere around 2-3mph) and pull a Bandit right behind your boat anywhere from 50-150ft back. I guarantee if you just troll around the lake in one direction you'll get some fish and can advance from there. Just my thoughts.

[Fishin Crazy]

Quote Originally Posted by Pauken23 View Post
According to the precision trolling app this is the Bandit Deep Walleye dive chart:
32ft line is 10 ft down
50ft line is 13ft down
60ft line is 15ft down
70ft line is 16ft down
80ft line is 17ft down
90ft line is 18ft down
100ft line is 19ft down
117ft line is 20ft down
145ft line is 21ft down
195ft line is 22ft down

That's where the chart stops. I know the lure says 27ft but this is for the width of 10lb mono so basically 30ish braid. You can obviously assist this with in line weights but to go deeper I'd just switch to jet divers with stinger spoons or something personally.

[Frank]

If the water is a little dirty,or choppy,I have caught them without boards, but clear water and pretty calm,I use boards. I have caught as many big fish without boards as I have with board's. Weather and water determine if I use boards. Unless I have more people in my boat.then it's to spread the lines out

[Frank]

When I'm dredging , that's what I call it when I'm running 140' of line. I look for a bite in shallow water around 24' and it is there. Depending on the time of day and spot. Don't Mark many fish but the chunks move away for all the shorts.so they have a chance to get something. Just very small pods but of different quality. Who says you have to be in 50' of water. I go against the grain.I am looking to catch big fish not really numbers. Just me. I'm happy with 6 bites all day as long as they are chunks. To each his own and God speed. There's a many variables as there are fishermen, I say keep it simple. Drag a lure around and you will catch something

[Pauken23]

I too have caught as many fish on my line I usually run off the side as planer boards. Boards have the advantage in terms of staying away from the boat but a line off the side lets you adjust faster, reel in faster, and actually feel the bite so you won't drag around shorts or junk. My line off the side is usually my deepest going with the outer boards as the highest.