Looking for a new crankbait

[cjam93]

Hey guys so I have been trying to find a new line of cranks to try out. Right now my crankbait box is filled with tons of different cranks from different brands and I would like a little more uniformity. It can get confusing trying to remember depths and different things like that with all the different ones. So I am interested in a few different ones and I wanted to see what everyone's opinions are on them.

 

So I am looking at the Berkley Diggers, Rapala DT, Norman Deep Little N's, and the 6th Sense 250MD. I am looking for cranks in the 6-10ft range. I liked the looks of all of these, I just would like to hear from people that have used these different ones to see what they thought about them. Thanks so much!

[papajoe222]

How do you want the bait to perform?  If you're looking for a crank that will dig bottom and stay down when paused, the DT series should fit the bill. I'm not familiar with the Berkley line, but the Norman baits are a good, buoyant choice for fishing timber and ticking the tops of grass beds. 

[Bluebasser86]

I've been very impressed with the new Berkley hardbaits. Haven't used the Digger much, but the Wild Thang has been a very good crank. Gave up on the DT line, tired of breaking baits for no apparent reason. Norman's are solid proven baits, but I've never had much luck on them save the Fat Boy and their crappie crank. 6th Sense baits are great, but I haven't used that particular one. 

[cjam93]

I want a crank that I can fish fast or slow and deflects well. Getting down fast is important, but I would like them to float back up to help avoid hang ups.  I have fished the DT's before but didn't catch much on them. Honestly I figured I just didnt give them a fair shot and switched away from them to quickly. I saw the Deep Little N's only weight 3/8oz so I was a bit concerned about how well they cast.

[Turkey sandwich]

For keeping track of running depth, just write it on the bill with a fine point sharpie.  

 

As as for my tastes, I still like a lot of the classics.  I still throw the entire Fat Free line and the old Fat Raps.  Both of those are actually still some of my best producers. I still throw a bunch of Bandits and Normans, too. I also have quite a few DT series that I like.  

 

I think most crankbaits can be pretty productive if you learn their actions and fish them properly.  The biggest mistake I think most anglers make is that they're afraid of banging them into things, or snagging and either ripping free or allow the bait to float free.  

[chitura]

My favorites are the lucky craft and yo-zuri crankbaits.  The yo-zuri flat sided cranks are especially productive.

[smalljaw67]

The way to remember the diving depths is to be organized. I have boxes for shallow divers , boxes for mid depth an 1 box of deep divers. What I do is section off my boxes, for example, my mid-depth boxes have 4 rows of compartments, the top two rows are for baits that run 6' to 8' and the bottom two rows are for 9' to 12'. Doing it like that allows me to grab a bait at a glance when I know the depth zone I want to cover and it makes it easier than trying to remember.

I almost forgot, I too am looking at this thread to see what anglers are saying, my mid depth boxes reflect my age. I have a ton of Bomber 4A, 6A, Flat A, and Deep Flat A cranks not to mention the Fat Free Shad and square bill Fat Free Shad.  I'm looking to branch out a little, and the Berkley hard baits look very nice, I remember the Frenzy baits, I still have some minnows that are really good so I bet these are going to be good also.

[junyer357]

Middle n is my fo to crank after i need deeper depth than a normal squarebill. Good colors, relativly inexpensive (compared to many now), and have been durable fishing rocks for me. 

[Hurricane]

I love the DT6..

[frogflogger]

All of the above mentioned cranks work - I didn't see any spro's mentioned - they have done a very good job from shallow to deep - as has strike king -  if you have confidence in a particular lure try more of their models

[A-Jay]

  Although this is a little deeper running bait (9-14 ft) the Spro "Mike McClelland" RkCrawler 55 Crankbait has been very well received by the local large & smallmouth population. 

Really shines crawling over hard bottom structure (rocks & sand) and comes over & through big bottom wood well too. 

In clear water conditions where crawfish are routinely on the menu I have at least one of these tied on.

btw - the picture does not really show it well but at least 4 of these baits are translucent which seems to be part of the appeal.

A-Jay

[cjam93]

Thanks guys for the replies. I do like Spro I have had some good days on the little john and the md. I will give the rockcrawler a shot most likely. 

 

 

Has anyone else tried out the Berkleys? I am really liking the looks of them

[JayKumar]

Many good ones out there, the DTs and Strike King 6XD are great.

[Scarborough817]

i am a big fan of the ima pinjack 200 

[Jaw1]

I'm a DT fan and I also catch a lot on bandits. I bought a few of the new Berkleys but I haven't been very impressed yet, but I haven't given up yet

[scaleface]

I want a new crankbait

One that wont snag

One that I can throw in the brush

and not be a drag

I want a new crankbait 

One that looks cool

One that catches fish all day

Everyone in the school

One that dives any depth

that I want it too

One that looks as good used

as it did when it was new

Im in love with you .

 

 

 

 Now Huey Lewis will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day .

 

 

[blckshirt98]

I've bought a mix of brands as well but i've done so well with Strike King's cranks that i bought enough Strike King squarebills to fill up and dedicate an entire Plano crankbait box to them.  As a shore guy I don't fish deep cranks much, but if I did I'd go Strike King there as well.  I think they have the best color selection, are affordable where you can throw them into crud without having to worryif you lose it, and they're available everywhere where you can usually find them on sale a few times a year to stock up.

[Chance_Taker4]

6th Sense, Skirmish and River2Sea are the only crankbaits I own. All three brands cover all the types of crank fishing you will need.

[tander]

I am a real big fan of the Bandits crankbaits. There are one of the least expensive baits out there but they really work !!!

[idabass]

I didn't see anyone mention wiggle warts. I have not thrown one yet but people claim they work when nothing else will. Picked up three during the twh sale this last weekend. Hoping they produce as well as some say.

[smalljaw67]

I just saw this and ordered 12 of them, $71.88 for a dozen cranks of good quality is a win-win!!! TW has the Bagley Rattlin' Diving Kill'R B and the Ratllin' Kill'R B for $5.99, the Rattlin' Kill'R B is a square bill and the diving dives to 6'-8'. These are plastic versions of the balsa baits but since they are plastic they added a rattle but it is a good one. I got the square bill last year and it proved its worth very quickly and it was $7.99 so to find them now being sold at TW for 2 bucks less, I got the diving model. The nice thing is the rattle is very low pitch, and that is great because it doesn't spook fish in clear water, in fact the bluegill color was a clear water killer, we caught both smallmouth and largemouth with them so grab a few diving models before they go or the price goes up, they are good baits for sure at a great price.

[primetime]

It is hard to beat the colors and quality and price of the academy cranks...They have flat, rattles,silent, Medium, Kind of medium, More Medium, some on sale, some like the new Berkley lures and you could put some of their lures in a box and give it a cool Japanese Name, put it on the shelves at Dicks, and get 9.99 and people would give their cranks 4.5 stars...

Someone would say the paint chips after catching fish....Just give it a 5 then, paint missing = the lure I borrow....

I can't believe how well built their lures are, and for $3 they offer 40 colors and all have legit VMC hooks, really good colors, and $25 free shipping and you get your order overnight????? I am so glad they came to Florida...

I am sure if you are a die hard crankbait fisherman you may find something wrong with them, but for me they fish every bit as well as any other plastic crankbait....Strike King may be the best of them all if you look at hook quality, sizes, and keeping it simple which you are looking for.

Rapala should have a home in all boxes simply for the Shad rap, and DT series which some days just work well, but shad rap on spinning tackle, 8lb test, #7 hard to beat....

[Raul]

The last crank bait count of my various tackle boxes reached 900 units, guess which one has caught me more fish more consistently for more years ? :

Rapala Shad Rap rules supreme.

[cjam93]

Thanks guys for all the replies!

[WRB]

My only goal with crankbaits is catching bass and I use Norman DD14, Bomber 7A and original Wiggle Warts for mid depth between 6 to 10 feet.

Tom