Crankinstein

I'm going to be doing the review on approx. 10 crankbaits and I'm going to be using three different rod/reel combos (2 mid range price, 1 high end). The crankbaits are going to mostly be high end because I feel like most people here are already familiar with/already have used SK, Rapala, etc. I'm hoping to eliminate some of that estimating we have to do about a baits value when we spend $10-20 on a single lure and also try out some small high end brands that most people may not be familiar with. The list I'm working with so far is.. Duo Realis M65 Megabass MRX cyclone and Griffon Savage gear bone crank Jackall Bling 55 and D Cherry Lucky Craft mini MR

I actually use a MH/fast as well and I haven't had any issues with trebles tearing out. I'm in a similar debate though because I'm starting to throw a few more medium divers and would like to have just a little softer tip so I'm shopping around looking for the perfect rod. I don't really care for the rods that are just like a noodle. I'm going to make a post here in a month or two about my crankin set up and I have about 10 crankbaits I'm going to test out and review and hopefully that will be ready as well.

That's an awesome Curado I!! I actually have a spare 90mm carbon handle from hedgehog that I ended up not using but unfortunately I have no new reel to put it on right now. I would consider the idea of getting one of those new *** concepts reels but they don't have any lefties yet.

so much crankbait info in this thread! I love it, thanks again for bringing it out of the archives.

I generally try to match the shad size which can vary depending on time of year and what lake your on.

That's awesome! That little KVD 1.0 is quite the lure, It has a special place in my tackle box. I really like the chrome sexy shad color.

I def agree with the KVDs and DT6s for standard cranking. To the post above me I also caught my personal best on a KVD but it was a 1.0 and strangely enough it was also an 8.5er, Theres a pic of it in my gallery. I've also used that cranky M and I think its a solid lure as well. I would also recommend the Luck E Strike Rick Clunn series cranks, they are awesome. The RC freak jr has the most amazing action I've ever seen from a crank bait, it has a "deep diving square bill" and is an absolute fish catching machine(I had two 30+ fish days using just that lure). I just placed an order for some Duo Realis M65s which I've heard are supposed to be pretty good, I will let you guys know how they are after I fish them later this month.

Great looking reels!

Their *** rods are great for the money and their really light. They have good action too. I'm curious to see what their reels are all about. Just saw they have another new series as well, the green series. I picked one up at gander and it felt pretty nice, I think the *** black is still lighter though. The green retails for $120.

+1

I bought some Costas on that auction site for $75. If you search around on there long enough you can find some good deals.

I think Bryan Thrift was using a 6/0 beast hook when he fished the air frog for his TW vid. I'd recommend checking it out, he shows how he works it and rigs it. I have'nt picked any up yet but as soon top water heats up later this year I may buy me a couple.

I did'nt like the crank that much but I did like the scatter rap countdown. I fished it during a tournament and it worked very well, I caught all my fish that day on it. I used three different retrieves. One was a a jerk bait style retrieve, one was a steady crank bait style retrieve, and the last was a slow steady retrieve almost like a spybait. In all cases I used my graph to figure out the depth the fish were at and then "counted" the lure down to that spot. I liked that the lure did'nt snag up a lot and had good versatility.

I caught my first bass this year on a Rapala husky jerk fishing real slow with 7-10 second pauses in between jerks. It was actually the exact same lure I caught my first one on last year too. In addition to that I also have 2 drop shot rigs, a jig set up, fluke, shad rap, and a DT6 on my deck to cycle through if I can't figure them out. I have a feeling the husky jerk and the drop shot will be my go to set ups early on.

I must have been the only person in gander that didn't notice this deal until I got up to the register, luckily the clerk gave me a card and I scratched 10% which was pretty cool. Unfortunately I wasn't buying a whole lot, just a couple DT6s, pack of jig heads, and some zoom trick worms. Always cool to save a little cash though so I can't complain. Looks like you had quite the hall and I definitely agree with going back and grabbing more when you saw the 50% I would have done the exact same thing. I love those *** rods btw, I just bought my second one earlier this month.

Yes! another fan of the missile baits Fuse 4.4 I love those things on a shaky head.

Actually just bought my first pair of Costas two days ago. I was wearing some amber vicious sunglasses last year(malice model) which worked pretty good however my eyes never seemed to get fully adjusted to the amber lenses so I'm trying some smoke ones with the Costas. I know a lot of guys prefer amber when it comes to your ability to sight fish but my lakes are always murky so I'm gonna roll the dice and shoot for comfort this time around and see how that works. Good thing is I bought my Costas(Corbina model) from a friend of mine who just got a new pair so I got a really good deal on them. I'm looking forward to getting on the water and doing some fishing with these bad boys and see what all the hype is about.

I generally tie mine direct. I've used swivels in the past and when my bait gets hung it seemed like the swivel would always bend and I'd loose the lure, tying direct seemed to result in me generally pulling my bait free a lot more often. As far as action goes I never really noticed any glaring differences. I can see a purpose in swivels when your changing out baits frequently trying to match the right color or depth to conditions but once that's dialed in I'd say tie direct. Using different knots like a loop knot or rapala knot can also offer some more of that free motion but I usually find myself tying a palomar knot most of the time.

Awesome collections!! and what makes them even better is they all seem to be lefty(just like mine) so I can visualize myself fishing them.

I've been using a small piece of plastic tubing and its worked just fine. The only real difference is there isn't a taper on one end so its a little tougher to slide the o rings on. The added benefit to that though is your free to slide the worm in or out as much as you need.

I agree with the posts above about the natural movement however I think the rig could be worth experimenting with. The traditional drop shot is a subtle presentation used to intice bites when more aggressive techniques don't work. Throwing creature baits or glide baits at a bedding bass however usually finds us trying to make a bait move or look a way that threatens the bass resulting in a strike. This is where I could see something like this being used on a drop shot or Carolina rig in an effort to create more movement possibly on a bait with more action than a traditional worm. The end result would probably be a new rig entirely and could be a cool idea. I say test it out and experiment and see what you find.

definitely check out some cranks with different bill styles too. Luck E Strike RC Freak and Freak Jr have a deep diving square bill lip that offers some great action. River 2 Sea cranky M is another good one. If your looking for more main stream brands I'd recommend Rapala DT series as well as SK KVD series plus the original SK series as well. As always replace hooks and make sure your baits are running true. For colors I'd say fire tiger, craw, sexy shad, and natural shad are all good starting points depending on water color and available forage. You can always sub a few colors in and out depending on what you local lake has to offer.