Speed of retrieve.

[broncoboxer]

I've read so much about slowing down lure presentation.  How it gets finicky bass to bite.  How when nothing works, just S L O W down.  In fact, I've been reading Charlie Brewer's book on Slider fishing.  If you're not familiar with it, he can't say enough about fishing slow. 

Because of this, it surprised me when I read an excerpt from the book "Best Bass Tips."  It was written by Steve Price.  It's one of the Falcon Guides. 

Anyway, the section on crankbait fishing espouses an entirely different philosophy.  I'll write it below and I'm real interested to hear what you guys think. 

Here goes:

Speed Reeling

One of the most misunderstood aspects of fishing crankbaits involves speed of retrieve; a majority of anglers generally believe these diving lures need to be reeled back slow to only moderately fast, in order to reach their maximum depth and produce their most effective vibrations.

Most of the time, this is a false assumption, and any bass fisherman who who limits himself to a slow retrieve with a crankbait is severely limiting the lure's potential to attract strikes.  By far, the most effective retrieve with a crankbait is absolutely as fast as you can turn your reel handle.

No less authority than four-time world bass fishing champion Rick Clunn learned this lesson some twenty-five years ago, and has used it more successfully than any other fisherman.  The man who taught Clunn the lesson was none other than Fred Young, the legendary creator of the first modern crankbait, the Big-O, whom Clunn drew as a partner one day in a professional tournament.

"He gave me one of his crankbaits to use," Clunn remembers, "then sat in the back of the boat and watched me fish it unsuccessfully for a couple of hours.  Finally, he asked me for my rod, and when I gave it to him, I never believed anyone could crank a lure back so fast.  He told me I would catch 75 to 80 percent more bass by retrieving a crankbait as fast as possible, and over the years I have realized he was absolutely right."

The reason a fast retrieve works is because it changes the appeal of the lure.  Instead of a slow-moving bait plodding along the bottom that bass have a chance to study, it becomes a fast-moving object that bass hit purely on reflex, even when they're not necessarily hungry or actively feeding.  Fast reeling causes your crankbait to dive faster and thus reach the bottom--where bass are located--and stay there longer, too.

Another basic rule of crankbait fishing also applies when you're reeling fast, which is hitting rocks, stumps and other cover as much as possible.  In fact, the practice of bumping your lure off a stump becomes even more effective when you're reeling fast, because the lure ricochets off much more erratically and causes more commotion--which simply helps get the attention of a fish.

[BenoBreath]

I'm not a big crankbait thower, but I'll try this method

next time I do.

 

   Thanks for sharing.

   BB   

[Hammer 4]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..?  Or, am I missing something..?

[broncoboxer]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..? Or, am I missing something..?

To the book's credit, they do mention this later in the chapter:

There are two primary exceptions when speed reeling is not necessarily the best choice for crankbaits.  These occur at either extreme end of the temperature scale, when the water is either too hot or too cold.  The reason is simply that in such conditions bass do not move as fast and won't go after a fast-moving lure.

[Randall]

I drive people crazy who fish with me sometimes because I either fish painfully slow or as fast as possible. I rarely fish anything at a medium speed because I find it the least effective speed to fish anything.

I am the same way when selecting lures. I want baits that can be reeled as fast as possible or as slow as possible. Even better if they do both. If a bait just works at a medium speed you will rarely find it in my tackle box. I even have a lot of baits (maybe 1/4 or more of my tackle box)that I have either designed or modified to either work at a blazing fast speed or painfully slow speed because I couldn't find any that would work the way I wanted.

[Hammer 4]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..? Or, am I missing something..?

To the book's credit, they do mention this later in the chapter:

There are two primary exceptions when speed reeling is not necessarily the best choice for crankbaits. These occur at either extreme end of the temperature scale, when the water is either too hot or too cold. The reason is simply that in such conditions bass do not move as fast and won't go after a fast-moving lure.

Maybe this should have been added to your first post.. Thanks.

[Randall]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..? Or, am I missing something..?

To the book's credit, they do mention this later in the chapter:

There are two primary exceptions when speed reeling is not necessarily the best choice for crankbaits. These occur at either extreme end of the temperature scale, when the water is either too hot or too cold. The reason is simply that in such conditions bass do not move as fast and won't go after a fast-moving lure.

Or to it's discredit. : My favorite times to burn baits is in water over 90 degrees and water under 45. It gets strikes often when nobody else is catching fish. In July and August in the heat of GA I do almost nothing but burn swimbaits, buzzbaits and crankbaits in hot water. Not just burning them but reeling as fast as you can turn a high speed reel.  Bass still have the ability to make a short burst of speed in both hot and cold water. Rattletraps being burned in cold shallow water is one of the most common winter patterns in lakes where bass stay shallow.

[Randall]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..? Or, am I missing something..?

Winter time bass are not lethargic. They simply digest food slower in cold water (cold blooded) therefore they can feed less often. They still have almost the same ability to make a short burst of speed. Reaction strikes on fast moving baits, most of the time, depended more on a reaction that is triggered rather than how hungry a bass is. So,reeling a crankbait fast is often a good option in cold water.

[broncoboxer]

To stir the pot a little..If wintertime bass become lathargic, and won't really expend much energy to chase a bait, why then would you use a "fast" retrieve for a crank..? Or, am I missing something..?

To the book's credit, they do mention this later in the chapter:

There are two primary exceptions when speed reeling is not necessarily the best choice for crankbaits. These occur at either extreme end of the temperature scale, when the water is either too hot or too cold. The reason is simply that in such conditions bass do not move as fast and won't go after a fast-moving lure.

Maybe this should have been added to your first post.. Thanks.

Yeah, maybe so. But my fingers were getting tired.

[NorCalFishinguru]

Well stop the production of low speed "cranking" reels I guess, lol. I think cranks work well at high speeds because they truly do trigger a reaction from the bass that sees it out of the corner of their eye or feels it coming through the area. Plus if everybody is retrieving at standard medium pace that the bass have grown accustomed to, something a little different just might produce a strike.

[central_fl_fishin]

Start fast then slow it down, or start slow and speed it up.  There is no certainty in any presentation as we can't read the fishes mind.  You have to find out what they want.

[tnbassfisher]

Good read. Always thought doing this was a bad presentation.

[Catt]

Rhythm: movement, fluctuation, or variation marked by the regular recurrence or natural flow of related elements.

Speed at which a lure is retrieved

Rate of Fall: speed at which a lure falls through the water column

Length of pauses: Stop-N-Go retrieves with cranks or spinners, shaking a worm or jig

Rhythm is a very important part of establishing lure patterns; ever have a buddy out fish you with the exact same lure?

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Agree with Catt. That article is not right nor is it wrong.Changes in presentation techniques are something that we as bass fisherman can never stop learning or experimenting with. Also got to remember that certain crankbaits by design or action perform better at higher or lower speeds as can be said about most types of baits. Ever speed reel a spinnerbait with small willows at a blazing pace and crashing it into brush or swim a worm or jig crashing it through weeds?

[Grey Wolf]

What's the big deal ? You adjust your techniques to what  and how the bass wants the bait presented to him.

[angler1]

I'm no professional so take this for what it is, with that said, I think there is a time, place, and condition for everything. I never lock myself into any kind of retrieve speed, I will vary it until I find what works. It seems to me that every pro has his own method for every bait and they are all different, however they all swear by it in their articals. It use to frusterate me when I would read an artical for pointers then in the next months edition someone would write something completely different about the same topic. Keep you minds open and you will always increase you chances on becoming a more sucessful angler. Stick to only one single way to fish a certain lure b/c a pro said it will catch fish and you will close the door on opertunity. I read magizines all the time however I only read the articals for suggestions, not answers. Its like watching a fishing show, 10% of the show is about technique, 10% is about catching fish, and 80% is about promoting the products they are using. This is all my opinion so take it for what its worth. Sorry for the rant.

[Fishes in trees]

Once upon a time, I believed everything I read about reeling cranks slow.  Then one day I came across a bargain - Shimano Curado  reels in the 3.8 - 1 gear ratio.  $70 per hit.  I got 3.  After half a season, I came to the conclusion that these were just too slow for me.

They sat unused for a year, maybe 2, then I realized that these were the same size as other Curados, just a different gear ratio.  The reel maintenance guy on this site - Reel Mechanic, put some 5-1 gears in them for a reasonable amount of money (I forget exactly how much, but it seemed reasonable)  They work great.

I can remember back when 5-1 reels were considered high speed.  Now they are slow.  Lots of companies don't make 5-1 ratios any more or just have one model.  That's all I use.  I think I can reel fast enough with this ratio and when I pay attention I can go slow enough.   All my baitcasting reels are 5-1 now.  It's just easier.

I think if you are talking speed retrieve & cranks the question becomes what kind and where.  Throwing square bills & Timber Tigers, 2-8 feet of water,  on 17 or 20 lb test into sunken brush, bushes, stumps and thorn trees seems to call for moving the bait at a pretty quick pace.

On the other end of the spectrum, when I'm hanging off a fairly clean point in a stiff breeze, throwing Shad Raps on spinning gear with 8 lb test, slow down once you get down seems to be the rule.

I fish flooded forests alot.  There are lots of trees topping out 2 to 8 feet down in 14 to 25 feet of water.  Retrieve speed in this situation gets variable and problematic.  I might go slow and fast and slow and fast during the same retrieve, depending on what I think I'm feeling.

To summarize, I don't think there are lots of rules about how fast you retrieve your crankbaits.  Vary your speed until you catch some.  One or two or three doesn't necessarily make a pattern.  Stick with what works that day.  That's your starting point for the next time you throw cranks.

Thanks for reading my current thoughts on this subject.

[K_Mac]

I once saw this demonstrated on one of my local lakes. My wife and I had been catching decent fish on the edge of a long point, using Crigged and Trigged plastics, and jigs. A young guy pulled in and started fishing the edge on the other side of the point. He started throwing a deep crank and burning it back as fast as he could turn the crank. I said to my wife "there is no way he is going to catch anything at that speed." : The words were barely out of my mouth when he caught his first fish. I don't remember how many he caught, but he put on quite a clinic for us.

[Mottfia]

If you watch the pros, a number of them use that type of retrieve. That should say to how well the technique can work at times

Mottfia

[SirSnookalot]

What's the big deal ? You adjust your techniques to what and how the bass wants the bait presented to him.

Sums it up well. 

I pay zero attention to reel ratio or retrieval speed as I'm always varying the speed.  I've noticed this year my best production is coming from a slow retrieval.  Experimentation is the best teacher.

[George Welcome]

The sooner one learns that bass live by no rule, the sooner ones catch to cast ratio will increase.

[Catt]

The sooner one learns that bass live by no rule, the sooner ones catch to cast ratio will increase.