Crawler harness question

[sherman51]

I don't really know if 2 blades are better then 1. I fish the central basin and went out on a charter a couple of times before going on my own. he used all 2 blade harnesses on his boat. so I figured he knew more than I did so I have always used 2 blades on the central basin. but back when I fished the western basin I ran single blade harnesses off my riggers. and we did catch fish. if I were fishing the western basin now I would start with 2 blades.

I think it is more personal preference than anything else. but I catch fish with 2 blades but we fish more for bigger fish in the central basin. if your catching fish with 2 blades you can always tie up some single blades and run them on one side of the boat and see which does the best for you.

[wakina]

I don't really know if 2 blades are better then 1. I fish the central basin and went out on a charter a couple of times before going on my own. he used all 2 blade harnesses on his boat. so I figured he knew more than I did so I have always used 2 blades on the central basin. but back when I fished the western basin I ran single blade harnesses off my riggers. and we did catch fish. if I were fishing the western basin now I would start with 2 blades.

I think it is more personal preference than anything else. but I catch fish with 2 blades but we fish more for bigger fish in the central basin. if your catching fish with 2 blades you can always tie up some single blades and run them on one side of the boat and see which does the best for you.

I neglected to say that I only fish in the Western Basin and the information that I provided should be considered as such.

If you tie up singles vs doubles to compare, then it would be my opinion that you should use the same size and color blade on both the single an the double or at the very least the same color patterns if a smaller blade would be used on the double. I would run them on the same side of the boat because some days due to current, winds other unknown factors only one side of the boat will produce fish and the other side will not so you may get a false comparison between the 2.

[Eyezcrazy]

I neglected to say that I only fish in the Western Basin and the information that I provided should be considered as such.

If you tie up singles vs doubles to compare, then it would be my opinion that you should use the same size and color blade on both the single an the double or at the very least the same color patterns if a smaller blade would be used on the double. I would run them on the same side of the boat because some days due to current, winds other unknown factors only one side of the boat will produce fish and the other side will not so you may get a false comparison between the 2.

You made a good point about running them on the same side of the boat for the reasons you stated.....I was thinking the same thing!

[MasterKraft]

I always have my wife pick the beads for me when I make up casting harnesses. If nothing else at least the fish gets to see something pretty cruise on by holding a big juicy night crawler. So 9 out of 10 harnesses I tie contain pink and purple beads. Lol

[MasterKraft]

Not sure if everyone knows this but go to the Hobby Lobby and they have hundreds of different shapes and sizes and colors of beads for making jewelry. You get about 100 for .99-1.99. There is a whole aisle that is just beads. You can make some very unique harnesses up needless to say.

[Hoytman86]

I always have my wife pick the beads for me when I make up casting harnesses. If nothing else at least the fish gets to see something pretty cruise on by holding a big juicy night crawler. So 9 out of 10 harnesses I tie contain pink and purple beads. Lol

My wife, father and I sat down at the table in the motor home last 4th of July weekend to tie up some harnesses. I just put all the stuff I had on the table and told them to pick a pattern and I'd tie them. The next day Dad and I hit the water. We caught a 2 man limit of eyes in about 2-3 hours, 9 of those fish coming on my wife's color scheme. It would've been even quicker if I hadn't spent all my time getting the barnyard animals off of all the baits that he and I tied!

When I was looking at blades in Field and Stream and she said "Those are pretty", every pack they had was in the cart!

[wakina]

I want to say that the following post is only my opinion and is based upon my experience and experimentation with worm harnesses!

If you are having trouble with size 5 and 6 Colorado Blades blowing out at less than 2 mph(SOG/GPS) move up at least one size in the clevis department. Apply the same theory to the hatchet blades if problems occur at higher speeds. The blade must be able to clear the line if using a metal clevis or the body that goes over the line if using a plastic quick change clevis. If the tip of the blade closest to the line/clevis comes in contact with the line or plastic clevis when lifting the blade into a horizontal position(right angle) from the hole in the blade to the line or plastic clevis it will interfere with the rotation of the blade and that creates about 75% of the twisted leaders caused by the ensuing blowout.

Always check the plastic clevis to blade mating point when re-baiting and especially after landing a fish. Your landing net is the worst enemy of your blade quick change clevis setup.

Once the season has moved into the mid June time frame and the temps have moderated to warmer you should speed up your presentation some to 1.6 to 2.0. If you want or need to troll at a faster speed then it is time to switch to all Hatchet/Tomahawk blades, willow leaf blades or spoons. You can run both the Colorado and the Hatchet/Tomahawks at the same time with no tackle issues so long as you stay away from speeds greater than 2.0 mph with Colorados. I have ran hatchets as fast as 2.4 with out issues but the clevis must be large enough to facilitate unrestricted spin.
Depending on the day of course, I most often run both Hatchet Blade Harnesses and spoons in the same spread with about equal results from both type lures.