Looking for a new crankbait

[WolfyBrandon]

I'm not the most experienced crankbait fisherman, but I have thrown my fair share of them. My go-to "currently" is the...


Bomber Fat Free Shad

I like it because it suspends, and has a good erratic action to it when twitched. It's been productive for me, and even caught my first double.

 
Rapala DT-#

I also like the Rapala DT series. They are made of balsa so they float, but can get damaged more easily. (I've had the lip come out of one, cracks in others, and puncture holes from toothy pike). It's still a good bait, you just need to be aware of it's limitations.


Strike KIng #XD

Fastest diving I would say is the Strike King XD series - which I currently have limited experience with. I've only recently built a collection of them, and used them a hand full of times (caught a few small bass on the 6XD and some large pike on the 10XD).


Berkley Flicker Shad

If your looking for a crankbait with a smaller profile I recommend the Berkley Flicker Shads. Size 7 dives to around 13ft, tons of colors to choose from, quality hooks, durable, and affordable.

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(I do plan to incorporate more crankbaits into my bait selection once the spawn is over in my local area (depending on the fishing), so if you keep an eye out for my reports you should see my results.)

WolfyBrandon
 

[Hez]

On 6/2/2016 at 8:40 AM, frogflogger said:

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

My first thought coming into this topic was "Spro" - I love their little johns, although they are not necessarily 6'-10' depth.

 

[Cranks4fun]

Late on the topic, but I just bought a Berkley Wild THang in Vintage Craw, mentioned above by Bluebasser, on clearance at A****** for $3.68. Looks cool. Gonna try later this week with my new Bagley Sunny B's. I have lots of new cranks to break-in!

 

[Columbia Craw]

If I had to pick one bait for mid range.....Normans Deep Little N.   The color pallet is unmatched. They are very affordable.  They cast well and hold up.  Now that they are made in Guatamala, there may be some question as to how true they run right out of the package.  We'll know soon enough.  If you truly want to try a bait that's different, look at the Luhr Jensen Hot Lips.  Be open minded and don't let the lip design sway you. This bait reaches it's max depth faster than any bait I have ever fished. When you want depth while keeping a smaller profile, this bait flat works.  I would love to see A-Jay give this bait a test.  This model is the Rodney Dangerfield of crankbaits.  I have no affiliation with either brand.  Enough for the tutorial.

[thefraz44]

I like the Ima Pinjacks, Berkley digger, Berkley wild thang, spro little john medium diver, spro rock crawler and a few others. I feel like balsa isn't very durable, so the Rapala DT series is a no go, at least for me. With that being said, the jerk baits by rapala are great because they aren't balsa. Now, the Imas are great because they are plastic, and are very versatile, they seemingly always produce fish. The Wild Thang is, as the name implies, very erratic in the water. I haven't had enough experience with the digger to write a report on it, but it's a solid lure. The Little John is pretty similar to the Ima Pinjack, so try both and see which one you prefer, I usually prefer either, but it depends on the situation. The rock crawler is a great crawfish bait, but it also is ok for shad. I like most 6th sense lures, I just haven't gotten around to trying the 250. Oh, and Norman low key makes some great baits, as long as you switch hooks to a gamakatsu, trokar, or VMC. My favorite hook is VMC because they're similar to the gammies, but they are way cheaper. I think trokars are ok, too, same with Mustad.

 

Tight lines,

Justis