Crankbaits

[Teri C.]

Bored at work...wondering about how to correctly fish a crankbaits. I have been doing pretty well tossing a crank bait to the shoreline and bringing it back to the boat. Caught most of my fish this spring this way. What I need help with is deeper water cranking. I searched thru some of the posts and learned a little but I don't have time to read all.



Question: When you locate fish in say 10-20 ft of water do you pass by with the boat, stop the boat and throw past the spot and crank? I wouldn't think you would cast out enough line to crank to your depth and keep it there long enough. I would think you would be back at the boat by then. Can you run it that deep by casting, most aren't rated for that deep? Do you do another pass by that spot trolling? Any tips on cranking would be appreciated.



I generally fish shallow if you can't tell. Deep water fishing is coming around with me but I usually use plastics.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Plastics are easier to get to that depth big billed cranks can get that deep but it is a strain. The walleye guys have special gear to troll that deep with cranks for eyes that involve down riggers, planer boards etc. Personally, I would use a lipless crank to get that deep, the strain on a billed crank is pretty hard. Also remember, the lighter the line the deeper it will run but snag it and it's all over. Also gotta make looooong casts if you are not trolling (which is illegal in some lakes).



TOXIC

 

[Larry Harp]

No matter what the package says no billed crankbait runs as deep as it claims. Super thin braided line will help but then backlashs can be a nightmare. I use 20# Spiderwire Stealth and that seems to do fine.

Try Rattletraps to get down deeper. A 1/2 oz Rattletrap will sink about 1 foot every 1 1/2 to 2 seconds so in 10 seconds you're in about 15 to 20 feet of water.

You can also try 1/2 oz or 1 oz spinnerbaits to get down deep also. Something bright with a big colorado blade would be my choice.

Remember the longer the rod and the thinner the line = longer casts and deeper retrieves and more time in the strike zone.

Good Luck

Harpo

 

[fatrap]

Believe it or not I fish a spinnerbait like a plastic worm on deep bass that won't hit a deep crank or a jig n pig.

fatrap

 

[Kevin Barbieri]

I use the Storm Wild Eye Shad with a build in lead head. Its a plastic but works like a crankbait in that way. Killer on Stripers and Bluefish but I also use them for Smallies and Largemouth.

 

[Mike Levesque]

Crankbaits!! Now we're talkin'!

As you may have guessed, I'm a crankbait-a-holic, and if told I could only use one lure from now on, it'd be a crankbait.....

Teri, Sooner made some great points, all true....

I've tried the Spiderwires and Firelines but have gone back to mono, between the 2, if I had to use one of the braids, it'd be the Fireline by Berkley.



Teri, along shorelines, I love throwing a crankbait, but if possible, try instead of throwing to the shoreline,and cranking it back, try throwing down the shoreline, parallel to the shore, sometimes it'll keep your bait in the "zone" longer...... works more often than not for me. Also, just use those advertised depths on the packages as a guide,

I find they don't run as deep usually as advertised, which is ok, I just compensate with deeper running baits, retrieved slower... don't be afraid to bang that crankbait on bottom, rocks, or whatever, sometimes you'll get a nice strike on the short pause after you hit something...... good luck with 'em Teri, egMike

 

[Larry Harp]

Mike, just curious what do you like about Fireline? I'm trying my first spool now and so far I'm not in love. I use 30# Power Pro for pitching and flipping and wouldn't switch for that application. I thought I'd shop around for a new line for the casting rods and loaded some Stealth and Fireline both 20#. The Stealth is okay, seems to backlash easily on long casts but picks out easily. The Fireline seems like wire and makes a weird noise both on the cast and the retrive. I did catch some nice fish using it so I can't be too PO'ed at it.

Harpo

 

[Jon Puhalski]

The new Rapala DT10 and DT 16 actually do go to the depths advertised and stay there longer than perhaps any other crankbait on the market. The DT 10 is a breeze to cast and retrieve. Not much different than a smaller bait like a Bomber 6A. I've been using these baits extensivley this season and everyone I've thrown runs true straight from the package.



One of the biggest tips I can offer to crankbait success, is to have your bait hit something. Hit the bottom, hit a rock, bounce off a tree, or tick the top of the grass. Bass just have some insane desire to kill a bait that was runnig straight, then crashes into something. Barring your ability to hit something with your bait, give it some short occasional pauses. The other time you may expect a strike is when the bait approaches the boat and the retrieve angle is changed. Who knows why this happens but my theory is they have been following the bait for some time and when it changes direction, they may sense it is trying to escape which is a no-no in the wild.



Try those new Rapalas DT (Dives To) series.

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'll second the recommendation on the DT series baits. Love them. I was very surprised at the ease of the DT10's.



My theory, on why the bass just love to hit a crankbait that hit's something is this. When a baitfish senses danger, and flees, it flees in any direction that it can to save it's own life. Therefore, it is probably not that unusual baitfish run into things trying to flee. When a bass sees/feels the vibration of 'baitfish' (as in crankbait) hitting something, it may well think it's about to be eaten by another fish. And that will on many occasions trigger a feeding response, even from a fish that is not actively feeding.



Anyway, that's my theroy and I'm sticking to it.



Will probably get my first real taste of trying the DT16's this weekend. Fish are moving out, and down deeper.



Tex

 

[Mike Levesque]

Harpo,

What I liked better was in my case, it seemed to tie better (easier) knots, my son still uses it on a spinning outfit for channel cats though, also, I didn't really have much complaint other than prices, and am not knocking the spiderwire and fireline, I just ended up going back to what is comfortable for me, mono.........hey, I remember the Fireline DID make a different sound, now that you mention...... Mike (eg)