Shallow Water Crank Baits

[CDMeyer]

I have never caught a Bass on a crank bait, and our lake is set up where it is not really deep and finding schooling bass is near impossible.  So I was reading in a Bassmaster magazine that a person should throw a crank bait to the shore and then drag it off into the deeper water.  Does anybody have any tips on fishing crank baits in the shallows?

[destroyer350]

I throw kvd 1.5 in and around cypress trees and brush piles.go with sqaure bills they deflect better of structure

[tomustang]

Depend what your shallow means, there's wake (surface), ones that goes down at least a foot, and plenty in the 1-5ft range. All classify as shallow.

[ChiCityBasser]

I throw a Strike King 1 XS or a BPS Egg shallow running crank which both run over the weeds in the shallows. The BPS lure gets a little deeper running maybe 1.5-2 ft and bass smash it as it comes over the weeds.

[Fishes in trees]

Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but to my mind there are multiple different types of shallow cranks, for different shallow situations.

 

First you've got your ultra shallow baits - wake baits, Mann's Minus 1's, stuff like that.  Then you've got your standard square bills, like the Strike King baits mentioned earlier, or my favorites the Timber Tigers in various sizes, DC4, DC5, DC8.

 

Also there are various cranks with rounded bills that will only dive to 4' or so.  Not to leave out your lighter crank baits, like the original Rapala minnow, or a short billed Shad Rap, or a Rattle Trap type bait, where you adjust your speed to tick the tops of the weeds.

 

Depth of the weeds would determine which bait to use.  Some of these baits come over weeds better than others.  None of them come through weeds very well.

 

For shallow weeds, there are other baits you might want to try.  For starters, a tx rigged senko, or swimming a trick worm or a  smaller hollow body swim bait fished with a belly weighted hook, or maybe a buzz bait.

 

The point here being don't get married to the idea of fishing a crank bait through shallow weeds, IMO there are better options.

[floridabassman]

i use a 6th sense flat sided square bill, or a kvd 1.5 for shallow crankin. I usually fish it with a stop and go retrieve, when i hit a stump or rock i pause my retrieve. If you don't get a hit. take another cast right back to the structure. the square bill wont hang up easily so don't be afraid to bring the bait through the structure. It can be one of the most effective ways to catch bass. 

[Revival]

When i have gotten hits on my KVD 1.0/1.5, it was on a steady retrieve.  I will definitely stop if I hit structure though.  Something about that wobble on those square bills makes the bass hit it!

[Hattrick7]

I agree with the KVD cranks. I fish a small lake with no real cover or structure and that 1.5 usually gets bit.

Retrieve at different speeds. I would also retrieve pause then retrieve a little faster to mimic a scared baitfish. I usually get hit close to shore as the bass like to corner the baitfish there normally.

I would get at least one KVD 1.5. You can get them at Walmart for 6 bucks. Sexy shad is good all around IMO. Good luck!

[Stren_g]

Kvd 1.5 is my go to shallow crankbait. Don't be afraid to bounce it off of stuff. And be prepared to lose a few, that's part of fishing a crankbait!

[Revival]

Kvd 1.5 is my go to shallow crankbait. Don't be afraid to bounce it off of stuff. And be prepared to lose a few, that's part of fishing a crankbait!

 

Like they say, "if you are not losing some, you are not doing it right!"  I have lost more than i can count so i must be doing it correctly! 

[Stren_g]

Yes sir!