I've got myself a 12 foot jon boat. Great boat, great for small lakes and ponds. One of my favorite baits to through is the crank bait. I throw square bills, medium diving and deep diving. Here is the problem.. It's not the lure, its not the line, or the rod. It's the boat. So I cast the crank and I start retrieving. The boat spins into the direction I casted my bait to as I'm reeling it in. I understand the bait has resistance. I cast out to the left and right of my boat because I don't want to put a 6xd into my brothers back by casting strait behind. Does anyone have any ideas how i can address this problem and make crankin' so much easier. I need to fight the fish, not the boat.

This happens with me in a canoe as well. Not much you can do about it except using your anchor (or trolling motor if your boat has one).

nothing you can do but get a bigger, heavier boat.  In my kayak if i know i will be throwing a crank i anchor so that the pull of the crank is against the anchor so i dont move too much or if i can, i lock it in with my stakeout pole.

If you have a trolling motor turn it on 1, that's what I use to stay put in the wind. Or you a pole anchor

i went pond hopping in a jon boat last week. 16 footer with 3 of us in it. my friends who boat it was had anchors on both ends he would drop while we fished a spot. pull them up when we moved spots. he had a trolling motor but we only used it to move spots not control the boat while fishing. we had paddles as well. first time i ever truely pond fished from a boat. the first pond i almost rolled the boat over and fell in the water while boarding it, luckily i saved myself lol. still made for some good laughs for them though

I got a trolling motor, thanks for the advise. I found a pro control product that converts a transom motor into a foot controlled motor so ill probably do that and just work against the bait.

Thats a big problem with jon boats. I put the trolling motor on the bow on 14 foot boats then I have to put the battery and all other weight as far back as possible. The boat is still front heavy but I think it fishes easier .

If you want to remain stationary, Anchoring (or tying off to something) is your solution and is common practice.

 

Fishing from a canoe, I will often "use" my bait to fish down a bank or to cover a flat.

 

Baits that offer resistance like cranks & spinnerbaits will actually pull me along in the direction I'm fishing.  So I plan for it.  You'll need to account for any wind or current as well.

 

A-Jay

I have the same issue in my kayak. Sometimes with no wind even a jig will mess with my angles!