Schooled by a Red Crankbait...

[Luna2406]

      Went out to a lake I usually do very well on, this day it was raining the whole time i was there and the water was the clearest I had probably ever seen it. I was pretty confused because I'm used to stained water. I decided to try the usual baits for a cloudy day and I was getting nothing. My buddy decided to throw a red craw square bill and he was just having a field day! When is the best time to use this red cranks?? I heard they also work best in shallow water??

      I thought for clear water its best to use natural looking baits, which i tried and after about 4 hours I began to catch them as well! So what would be the best attack for a cloudy/raining day with very clear water?? 

     For the record I was able to come back and tie my buddy on the last cast of the day! haha he wasn't happy about it at all! Good ol' trusty bluegill square bill saved the day!!

[Senko lover]

Sometimes, the fish tell you what they want and it defies logic and everything you've been told.

Something about a red crankbait seems to drive them crazy sometimes; I experienced the same last week.

[Bluebasser86]

I usually don't opt for red cranks I'm clear water, unless it's cloudy. 

Stained water is prime time for red cranks for me.

[ww2farmer]

I put the red crankbaits away 3 weeks ago when the water started clearing up, and have been throwing bluegill and perch colors since. BUT what we think and what the fish do are often two different things. In my defense though............I have caught 2 fish over 6lbs, and another pair pushing 6lbs in the clear water on my color choices.........so what do I know LOL.

[flyingmonkie]

To me it's mainly about water temp and forage.  I usually only fish red cranks in later winter early spring, as bass are more likely to be eating crawfish.  Post-spawn through fall, I'm almost always throwing a shad pattern crank.

[papajoe222]

You were fishing what we call history. Lures or areas that have produced for you.  You were also following general guidelines.  Both are good places and things to try, but when they aren't working something 'outside the box' is often the ticket. 

It sounds like something changed later in the day and your bluegill bait became the color of choice.  I see this a lot when conditions change throughout the day. A good bite will die and changing baits or sometimes just the color of a bait will get you back into fish.

Always remember that there are no 'set in stone rules' in fishing, just guidelines.  If there were, catching would be a whole lot easier.

[Catt]

Bass do not read color charts

[Luna2406]

2 hours ago, flyingmonkie said:

To me it's mainly about water temp and forage.  I usually only fish red cranks in later winter early spring, as bass are more likely to be eating crawfish.  Post-spawn through fall, I'm almost always throwing a shad pattern crank.

I have a lot of trust in shad pattern cranks, even in lakes where I don't think there are any shad. I do find myself hesitant to throw it in lakes where I'm not sure shad is available, do you think it really matters? I feel like they will go after it just because they can lol

[Jaw1]

I reserve red cranks for early spring and stained water, usually throw a shad pattern the rest of the time. That being said I really have a hard time making myself use firetiger colored baits but people catch fish on them every day so what do I know

[smalljaw67]

Chalk that up as a learning experience and keep it logged, clear water and overcast skies with rain. Things like that don't happen often but when they do it can make your fishing a lot better. In the 90s I wasn't into chartreuse colored cranks until my buddy did the same thing to me, hammered them on a chartreuse pearl Big-O, ever since that day I buy whatever square bill model in a natural finish as well as a chartreuse or chartreuse/black back version.

[Fishinthefish]

Last year I had a day with clear skys, clear water. Threw natural colors in the morning and had a great bite. Water was in the 70s somewhere I don't remember exactly. The bite died so I tested out my buddies new rod he had, put on a white twister tail grub, 1/8th oz jighead and just wanted to see how well it cast, sensitive the rod was. 4 fish on 4 casts, and ended uonwith roughly 11 lm and 1 sm in two hours if memory serves correct. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than to be good.

[Paul Roberts]

It is also possible that the color(s) had nothing to do with it. Lotsa potential variables.

[stk44]

13 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

I put the red crankbaits away 3 weeks ago when the water started clearing up, and have been throwing bluegill and perch colors since. BUT what we think and what the fish do are often two different things. In my defense though............I have caught 2 fish over 6lbs, and another pair pushing 6lbs in the clear water on my color choices.........so what do I know LOL.

I would say that's a pretty solid defense.

[L a r r y]

Don't think that just because one particular color or presentation should be thrown at a particular time of the year.  Go against the grain at times, and find what works.  Some used to say that chatterbaits were a cold weater/weather bait.  I threw one from Jan to Dec last year, and I caught fish everytime I went out.  If you got them in your tackle box, use them.  They will not catch fish if they don't get wet, and  you get to say that you caught such and such on this and that at this particular time, and you may get amazed that it may be your PB.  

Fish more....Stress less

[scaleface]

I   dont often  use red cranks , its simply a color I have not stocked up on . That being said , my two biggest bass last year were  caught at night on a red craw shallow diving Rapala Crankin Rap . I didnt use it because it was red but because I wanted a dark shallow diver .

[Bluebasser86]

My first bigger bass of the year was on a custom painted Rayburn Red 1.5.

I like red moving baits though, I even carry some of my bladed jigs with me in reds.

 

[Luna2406]

@Bluebasser86 I recently got into chatterbait and I've caught some of my biggest off them. Haven't seen any red ones tho, those are pretty sweet!

[L a r r y]

I am loving those red chatterbaits also....By chance, is it G-14 classified on the brand of those?