Deep Caranking??????

[Big T 74]

I have thrown a deep diving crankbait on table rock a little bit and I haven't caught a single fish for how long I've been throwing them. Can anybody give me some tips and what tacke and baits they throw. From 15-20 ft

[Smallmouth Hunter]

Deep cranking is probably not going to be the best technique for this time of year, but I have never fished table rock so I can't say for sure. The bass are sluggish cause the water is so warm and there isn't as much oxygen in it. If you really want to deep crank I would say to make sure your crankbaits are running a foot or two deeper than the depth of the water your fishing. This will give it more action cause it will be running into the bottom (I think this is true - that's what KVD says). You should also use shad colors.

[dodgeguy]

find rocks and crank it over them .stop when it contacts and let it float up then restart.a lot of times it will get blasted on the restart.

[papajoe222]

There are a number of excellent baits that will cover the depth range you're targeting.  My preference is a Norman DD22, Luhr Jensen 'Hot Lips', or a Rapal DT series.  Of the three, I throw the DD22 more often than not as it doesn't seem to hang up as often as the Rapala and is easier on the forearm and wrist than the Hot Lips.

The thing to remember about deep cranking is that this isn't a tactic to use when trying to locate fish as it'll tire you out. Not to say they aren't what I would classify as a search bait, quite the opposite.  Just as when fishing shallow cover, you need to choose spots with either a history or a good potential of producing fish.  If you're not graphing baitfish in the area or actual fish, the spot had better be a proven one.

I'll target breaklines and transition areas when searching out a new spot and if I can find forage or irregularities on the structure, I run over that spot from different angles until I'm confident it either holds fish or has excellent potential.

If you're targeting suspended fish, be sure to use a bait like the DT's or Suspending Fat Free Shad from Bomber that will stay down or rise slowly when paused as just cranking through suspended fish rarely draws a response.

Keep at it.  Once you gain confidence in this technique, you can boat multiple fish from a spot in short order.  Good luck.

[Bluebasser86]

The Rock is a tough customer to get bit on a deep crank. Biggest thing I've found down there is to get in some stained water. A lot of that lake is very clear and those fish see so many baits it's just tough to get one to eat a deep crank when they get a good look at it. I like places with standing timber, the bait deflecting off the tree trunks and limbs will get you a lot more bites. I fish my deep cranks on a 7' 8" Mojo "Big Crankster" with a 5.1 Pro Qualifier with 10lb C21. 

[Bankbeater]

Try stopping the retreive and giving the crank a quick jerk, and then starting the retreive again.  Try doing this a couple of times each cast.

[jhoffman]

never just chuck and wind a crank

[Smallmouth Hunter]

never just chuck and wind a crank

Yeah definetly add some pauses and speed variations into your retrieve

[ColdSVT]

I like three colors when it comes to deep crankin

1. Tenessee Shad

2. Chart/black back

3. Citrus shad

 

I like to find off shore humps and or rockpiles but I especially like running them as close to a steep drop as can making sure I am hitting the bottom. I also love stading timber. I like to bounce 6XDs off from fallen or standing trees in 15-20ft of water

 

I will also parallel cliffs if the lake presents them

[ULG]

iv had alot of luck with the crank, yank, pause retrieve and not neccisarily in that order or cadence but thats just in my experience, make sure ur hittin something, make as much contact with watever u can. just my take on it. but experiment with all varibles u can control and think of til u find the right combo that appeals to the fish on any given day. crazy thing about that approach is that it will change daily and also change throughout a single day! but never be content on a single retrieve, experiment and let the fish tell you how and what they want. as far as color, its a toss up, 2 ways to look at it, give them something that fits the forage for sure but then do u want to go against the grain to something that grabs thier attention or something that they have seen a million times, sexy shad is hard to beat in any of the major product lines, citrus shad or something with a little chart flair to it is always good and then the brighter all chart baits, its a never endding battel but all i can say is throw the everything u got at em til they can tell you what they want

[rangerjockey]

I would agree with bluebasser, If you want to catch crankbait fish on Table Rock I would be up the rivers and in some stained water if I could find it.

 I've had a decent bite on the bluff walls at times but you have to be able to bounce it off the rocks and ledges to get bit, at least in my experience.

[mattk22]

The Rock is a tough customer to get bit on a deep crank. Biggest thing I've found down there is to get in some stained water. A lot of that lake is very clear and those fish see so many baits it's just tough to get one to eat a deep crank when they get a good look at it. I like places with standing timber, the bait deflecting off the tree trunks and limbs will get you a lot more bites. I fish my deep cranks on a 7' 8" Mojo "Big Crankster" with a 5.1 Pro Qualifier with 10lb C21.

Love my Big Crankster Mojo. Killer deep water rod.

[Fishes in trees]

I've fished Table Rock occasionally over the years.  I can honestly say that I've never caught a fish on a deep diving crank bait when water was "Table Rock clear"  Way up the James or the White, when the water had some stain to it, then, yeah, a crank bait bite could happen.

 

For me, Table Rock has always been a Brewer Slider/Shakey head lake.  Fishing deeper (past 1 feet or so) my only success has been with  3/4 ounce football heads paired with a Chompers twin tail grub.  Early spring, there is a jerk bait bite, allegedly, but I've never been there when it was happening.  Same thing with A-rigs, in that allegedly suspended fish A-rig bite happen, but I've never been there when it was happening.