Crankbait Question

[Eccs]

So I have been buying crankbaits this winter as I want to start crankbait fishing this upcoming summer. I`ve been watching videos and reading articles on it but none that I have found talk about what style crankbait to use and when. For example when to use squarebills or medium diving crankbaits etc. I am a bank fisherman primarily so when do I use my squarebills running 2'-4` and when do I use my wiggle warts running 8`? When do I want them bouncing off the bottom and when do I want them running just off the bottom? 

[fisherrw]

I bounce monster of my cranks off the bottom. It's a lot more risky to get them snagged up but it seems like it produces more fish for me.... I use strike king squarbills and spro rock crawlers

[Ozark_Basser]

I have zero confidence in a crankbait unless it is deflecting off something. Whether that's the bottom or a piece of cover or whatever. I would use them to target suspended fish, but I have some lousy electronics, so I don't target suspending fish to often unless I'm covering water with a jerkbait. You are not going to know where bass are located unless you can see them. So its probably going to be a waste of time, for the most part, to throw a crankbait if its not on deflecting off the bottom or wherever.

Wiggle warts aren't just the best option from the bank. You're gonna lose a lot of them. Running crankbaits into objects, although effective, can cause them to hang up, especially from the bank where you are cranking uphill. You could run them on twenty pound mono and they would probably run like most square bills. Throw them to or past where you think a fish is and make sure you are deflecting off something. Paralleling banks is probably your best bet most of the time, but there is way too much to be explained in one post. You just have to find out for yourself.

[junyer357]

I was taught when i began using cranks "if you aint hittin rocks you aint hittin fish" majority of my bites on cranks come after defecting off a rock n a bass hitting it. Yea you will hang up on them, often alot. Most times if you can just get past whwre its hung up it will pop up. Easier said than done at times fishing off the bank though so i wouldnt start with lucky crafts. H2O makes pretty good cranks for themoney though.

[CRANKENSTIEN]

Lots of good advice.  If you aren't hitting something you can jerk your cranks, stutter your retrieve...  Watch KVD he does that a lot.   I wouldn't spend much on cranks with bank fishing until you learn what is out there and were you can safely retrieve them back. Then go for it.

[JT Bagwell]

I am one that almost always likes to make contact with something when fishing crankbaits (wood, rock, grass, etc.)

 

Now there are rare cases where I am cranking along a ledge or something to that effect but generally I am all about hitting something.

[Bankbeater]

Vary your retrieve when bringing the bait in, and shake your rod tip.  If the bait floats you can give the reel handle a couple of cranks then stop winding in.  Let the bait float almost to the surface and then crank some more.

[ksboy]

You can buy the H2O baits mentioned above at Academy Outdoors. They are very good baits and seldom cost more than $5. I buy their small squarebills for $3 most of the time. They run good and have really nice paint jobs for an inexpensive lure.