Finesse Deep Diving Crankbaits?

[hoosierbass07]

  Are there any deep diving crankbaits out there that can used with spinning reels and dive to fifteen or twenty feet?  Maybe I should ask - are there any finesse deep diving crankbaits?  I'm going thru my crankbaits that have caught bass and have not at clear water strip pits and I just realized most of my crankbaits are square bills and nearly all have caught zero bass but the round bill crankbaits, like the Rapala DT6, have caught a decent number of small bass and a Strike King crankbait that dives around ten feet (I think) did catch me a larger than normal bass in 2015.  

 The strip pits I fish at do go down to 30 feet (some places a little more).  I don't want to chug a crankbait as large as my hand on a baitcaster.  I realize 30 feet is very deep for bass fishing.  I don't want do that kind of crankbait fishing.  But I would like to reach the fifteen to twenty feet depth and I would prefer to use spinning reels.  Anything out there that might suit me?  

 

 

[iabass8]

10 minutes ago, hoosierbass07 said:

  Are there any deep diving crankbaits out there that can used with spinning reels and dive to fifteen or twenty feet?  

 

 

All of them...

10 minutes ago, hoosierbass07 said:

   Maybe I should ask - are there any finesse deep diving crankbaits?  

 

I assume you mean smaller than your traditional size deep divers. 

LuckyEStrike Freak

[hoosierbass07]

22 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

All of them...

 

 I bought a Little John DD last year and tried it once from my kayak on a spinning reel.  That thing is heavy and shook the heck out of my spinning rod.  lol.  I don't want anything as big as the Little John DD.  

[iabass8]

6 minutes ago, hoosierbass07 said:

 I bought a Little John DD last year and tried it once from my kayak on a spinning reel.  That thing is heavy and shook the heck out of my spinning rod.  lol.  I don't want anything as big as the Little John DD.  

Then you are going to need to re-evaluate your spinning rod. The Spro Little John DD weighs 1 oz so you will need to use an appropriate rod. They also make a Little John Baby DD that's 5/8oz and under 3in in length. Your looking at the LuckEStrike Freak at 1/2oz that goes 8-20ft. DD cranks have lots of drag and you really need appropriate/specific equipment for fishing DD cranks. Options are extremely limited for tiny DD cranks. You can throw DD cranks on spinning outfits if you really want to but you need the correct rod to do so. 

[Sam]

Well, you may have to do the following to get your crankbaits down to the 30-foot level with your regular crankbait setup.

A word of caution: When fishing deep crankbaits you need a "heavy" rod due to the pressure you will be putting on the rod when setting the hook and battling the fish. Use fluorocarbon line of 12 to 14 pound test to allow the bait to get and stay deeper longer. If necessary, use lead around the treble hook shafts or suspend dots to get the bait to stay deep.

A "floating" crankbait will not work for you to go deep as you will not be able to cast the needed long distance to get the crankbait to the desired depth after starting your retrieve, unless you can reel very fast. But you will loose so much territory getting the crank down to the desired depth that it may not be worth the effort.

Here is my suggestion: Set up your rig as you want it and trolling motor to the spot where you were going to cast the crankbait. 

Drop the crankbait straight down to the bottom. Then let out some line and using the trolling motor move away from where you dropped the crankbait, letting out line until you reach the desired location you want to stop the boat.

Start reeling, remembering that you need to reel slow to keep the crank in the strike depth for as long as you can but fast at first to get the crank on the bottom. You want the crank to drag along the bottom if possible. You want the crank to hit and deflect off any structure on the bottom.

If you cast the crankbait you will use about half, if not more, of the line's yards getting the crank down to the lower depth. The bait may be in the 25 to 30-foot depth for half, if not less, than the total yards of your cast. If you do this try to reel the crank fast at first and then slow down when you hit bottom or think it is deep enough. This technique may produce strikes, too. Give it a shot.

Just try to figure out how deep the crank was when you get a hit so you can determine the pattern.

Let us know how you do.

[A-Jay]

 As the previous responses here have indicated, effectively fishing a crank down to & below 20 ft on a spinning rig might be kind of tough.

One alternative to a crank that can easily be fished on spinning gear and will easily & very effectively fish down to 20 ft (and below if you want) is a 4-5 inch swim bait on a jig head.  The bait offers plenty of thump and catches Bass.

There are several great options ~ here's a couple

 

A-Jay

 

[hoosierbass07]

1 hour ago, iabass8 said:

Then you are going to need to re-evaluate your spinning rod. The Spro Little John DD weighs 1 oz so you will need to use an appropriate rod. They also make a Little John Baby DD that's 5/8oz and under 3in in length. Your looking at the LuckEStrike Freak at 1/2oz that goes 8-20ft. DD cranks have lots of drag and you really need appropriate/specific equipment for fishing DD cranks. Options are extremely limited for tiny DD cranks. You can throw DD cranks on spinning outfits if you really want to but you need the correct rod to do so. 

 

  Hmm.  I have a St. Croix Mojo Bass MH spinning rod that is a broom stick and rarely use.  I wonder if that would be able to get a crankbait down to around 15-18 feet.  I'm OK not getting down to 30 feet or even 20 feet, but I want to get deeper than ten feet and would like to get my crankbaits in the 15 foot range for 2016.  

 I know my Shimano Chronarch would handle the deep diving crankbaits, all I would have to get is a heavier crankbait rod for those heavy crankbaits.  But I fish from a kayak mostly and don't want to mess with my baitcaster this year.  

[HoosierHawgs]

Shad Raps, Berkley Flicker Shad and Minnows, Strike King Lucky Shad are the only ones I can think of. Don't like your square bills? Package 'em up and ship 'em off to me!

[Jrob78]

Another thing you might consider is using a c-rig to get a small crank deeper.

[HoosierHawgs]

Just now, Jrob78 said:

Another thing you might consider is using a c-rig to get a small crank deeper.

Or a Booyah Boo Rig

[OkobojiEagle]

Luhr-Jensen Hot Lips might be an acceptable option...

 

oe

[Bluebasser86]

The shad rap, flicker shad and minow would be the best options I can think of. Going to have to make really long cast with thin line to touch 20' though.

[Big Bait Fishing]

countdown minnow

[Big C]

I would say lipless crankbait, and just count it down.

[chadmack282]

Why not a fluke on C-rig?

[Angry John]

Rapala makes some minnow type baits that are not huge or heavy that go deep.  The tail dancers might be worth a look.

[MattStrykul]

Carolina Rig the Crankbait.....but you didn't hear that from me. 

[scaleface]

11 hours ago, Big C said:

I would say lipless crankbait, and just count it down.

Thats what I would do .

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/128259-dup-realis-80-spybait-in-alabama/

[faygo1979]

I throw some of the rapala dt models on a  ml or m spinning rod with out any issues But if you are looking for more finesse I would look at some of the Berkeley models like the Berkeley flicker shad.  They make some that dive past 10ft with out any issues.  I have a H spinning rod that I will throw some deep divers or troll musky lures with and it is not over powered.

 

Frankly anything you can do with a bait casting reel you can do with a spinning reel for bass fishing.   you just need the right rod and reel combo.

[Fishes in trees]

Finesse cranking is pretty simple.   Step A - 7' to 8' medium to medium light spinning rod     Step B - Medium or larger size spinning reel.   Fill it with lighter braid or Fireline or Nanofil.   I currently have one with Fireline and 1 with Nanofil.   Use the skinny stuff, something that has the diameter of 4 lb mono.   I use a short - foot or so Fluorocarbon leader -it probably isn't necessary but it makes me feel better.   I generally use 10 or 12 or 15 lb leader material.    With a rig similar to this, you can throw quarter ounce cranks a long way.  I get great distance using medium sized shad raps - forget the number right now.    It is pretty simple - throw and retrieve.  If wind is an issue, make sure you go with the wind rather than against it.

With Shad Raps, once I get it down to as deep as I think I'm going to get, I lay off the straight retrieve and just start popping it, very much like a jerk bait cadence.  Strikes are pretty obvious, i.e. all of a sudden a fish is on.   There really isn't any hook setting to do, just keep it tight once the fish is on and let the hooks dig in and stick.

I have a big boy version of this rig, a 7' MH spinning rod and an old, large, Diawa 2600 filled with 30 lb braid and I throw half ounce or heavier divers into some serious wood cover with few issues.   That is the one I use most of the time.   I will break out the lighter rigs for very clear water.

 

 

[J Francho]

You aren't going to throw it on spinning gear, but you can peg a bullet weight to a crank. Usually takes less than 1/4 oz. to sink it.  Reel it down to running depth, then let it sink - you can use the countdown method here.  Then gently pump the rod as you reel up slack slowly.  It's called "jacking a crankbait."  There's videos out there for it.

[WRB]

Didn't read through this thread because no deep diving crank bait can dive deeper than 20' with a 50' cast. You can troll using lead core line or 3-way swivel rig with a 1 oz weight and get down deeper than 30'.

easy way is use a Scrounger head jig with a fluke or Sluggo trailer and let it sink down to whatever depth you desire, crank it back. You can also do the same with a sinking lipless crank bait.

Tom