Are You Kidding Me, And Then...

[boostr]

Went to a resi today where I never have any luck catching bass, and is the bane to my existence.   Plus I went because my son wanted to go fishing.  So I took three rods with me, and headed to the resi. I started with "my" crankn' rod which consists of a 6'6" M F Fenwick Eagle with a Lews SS1S 5:4:1 winch loaded with 12# Trilene Super Strong XL, and a Flouro leader. I know you are probaply saying to yourself,  mono on a rod for crankn'?  I'm only using shallow divers, in this case the Manns -1 in Baby Bass plus I need the mono stretch to compensate for the fast tip, if that makes any sense. Started fan casting at a boat ramp, or for this resi a canoe or kayak ramp. Three cast later I catch this:

 

I was like "Are you kidding me this place gives me no love, its the same as usual."

 

Headed onto the dam, and I see yearlings and baby bass all along the rocky stone embankment. So I'm thinking this might be good. So with the same set up I started casting perpendicular to the embankment, and then my retrieve stops. I'm thinking  I got snagged into some underwater branches, so I sweep my pole to the side, it gives,  continue crankn', and then I see this bass jump out of the water. I was in shock, but immediately I  lower my rod so I can keep this bad boy from jumping again, and try to spit the lure. Once I got him corralled, and in my hands I see how well the treble hooks were hooked into him. I grab my fish grips, some pliers, and unhook em'. Weighed him at 2 1/2 # 

 

 

Where the hell did my chin go?

 

I think "my" crankn' set up should work pretty good for the shallow divers and square bills. I think if I went with flouro all the way, and with that fast tip I would of lost him. This will also give me the braggn' rights that I've caught a bass in every body of water I went, to  target bass specifically

[Bluebasser86]

Went to a resi today where I never have any luck catching bass, and is the bane to my existence.   Plus I went because my son wanted to go fishing.  So I took three rods with me, and headed to the resi. I started with "my" crankn' rod which consists of a 6'6" M F Fenwick Eagle with a Lews SS1S 5:4:1 winch loaded with 12# Trilene Super Strong XL, and a Flouro leader. I know you are probaply saying to yourself,  mono on a rod for crankn'?  I'm only using shallow divers, in this case the Manns -1 in Baby Bass plus I need the mono stretch to compensate for the fast tip, if that makes any sense. Started fan casting at a boat ramp, or for this resi a canoe or kayak ramp. Three cast later I catch this:

 

I was like "Are you kidding me this place gives me no love, its the same as usual."

 

Headed onto the dam, and I see yearlings and baby bass all along the rocky stone embankment. So I'm thinking this might be good. So with the same set up I started casting perpendicular to the embankment, and then my retrieve stops. I'm thinking  I got snagged into some underwater branches, so I sweep my pole to the side, it gives,  continue crankn', and then I see this bass jump out of the water. I was in shock, but immediately I  lower my rod so I can keep this bad boy from jumping again, and try to spit the lure. Once I got him corralled, and in my hands I see how well the treble hooks were hooked into him. I grab my fish grips, some pliers, and unhook em'. Weighed him at 2 1/2 # 

 

 

Where the hell did my chin go?

 

I think "my" crankn' set up should work pretty good for the shallow divers and square bills. I think if I went with flouro all the way, and with that fast tip I would of lost him. This will also give me the braggn' rights that I've caught a bass in every body of water I went, to  target bass specifically

I've always used mono for cranking. I think what confuses me the most is why you're using a fluoro leader to a mono mainline?? Abrasion resistance?  Just because your rod doesn't say "cranking" on it somewhere doesn't mean it won't work. I used a 6' 6" M/F rod with a 5:8.1 reel for fishing squarebills around cover for a long time and lost very few fish with it. 

 

Congrats on getting one at your arch enemy lake. I fished mine last week for a few hours and never caught a thing. 

[boostr]

I've always used mono for cranking. I think what confuses me the most is why you're using a fluoro leader to a mono mainline?? Abrasion resistance? Just because your rod doesn't say "cranking" on it somewhere doesn't mean it won't work. I used a 6' 6" M/F rod with a 5:8.1 reel for fishing squarebills around cover for a long time and lost very few fish with it.

Congrats on getting one at your arch enemy lake. I fished mine last week for a few hours and never caught a thing.

Thanks. Yeah, I was using the fluoro leader for abrasion resistance because of all the rocks and small boulders that build up the Dam embankment, but maybe I don't really need it. Next time I'll go without it, and make sure to check for wear after every few casts To me personally I liked the way the set up handled, and was budget friendly. I wouldn't know what a cranking stick would feellike anyway. That's why I put "my" crankn' stick for what I put together.

[Bluebasser86]

Thanks. Yeah, I was using the fluoro leader for abrasion resistance because of all the rocks and small boulders that build up the Dam embankment, but maybe I don't really need it. Next time I'll go without it, and make sure to check for wear after every few casts To me personally I liked the way the set up handled, and was budget friendly. I wouldn't know what a cranking stick would feellike anyway. That's why I put "my" crankn' stick for what I put together.

Get a good mono or copolymer line and forget the leader. Copolymer has great abrasion resistance. Berkley Big Game is very affordable line and makes great line for cranking. 

[kikstand454]

Yeah. ....don't worry about wheather your set up is "right" or not. Its what works for YOU that matters.

Yesterday I went out without a cranking setup. We ended up on a ledge with a hump in 15' - I picked up a t-rig set up ( 6'6" mhf, 15# yozuri, bps proqual 6.4:1- the exact OPPOSITE of a good deep crank setup. ..!) and on my third cast with a fat free shad- I caught an 8.46# hog! It worked fine! ( though it did wear me out! )

Use what you have and have fun! Nice fish! Way to stick with it! !!

[WIGuide]

Nice work! It's always a great feeling to catch a good fish especially on an evil lake!

[Siebert Outdoors]

Nice catching!!  Especially on a lake you do not like.