Gear ratio for Crankbaits

[LxVE Bassin]

What gear ratio would be best for crankbaits that dive in the 10-15 ft. I’m not sure if I should get 6 or 5 speed. What would you suggest?

[fishnkamp]

Go with a 6.X to 1 so either 6.3, 6.4 etc depending on the what your favorite reel offers.  The 5.5, 5.6 to one reels are best used for deep deep diving cranks. Those big baits that dive 18 to 25 foot deep put a lot of stress on your hands and that is where you will benefit with the 5 series reels,  For all your shallow cranks, traps, wake baits, jerkbaits and cranks diving down to around 15 foot a 6.x reel will provide a more versatile setup. That is what I have found over the years.

[OkobojiEagle]

23"- 25" line retrieve rate

 

oe

[Log Catcher]

I would recommend going with a 5 to 1 gear ratio or about 20" per handle turn. To me anything faster than that is too fast for a crankbait. To me it is easier to use a lower speed reel than to use a high speed and force myself to try to reel slower.

[LxVE Bassin]

4 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

Go with a 6.X to 1 so either 6.3, 6.4 etc depending on the what your favorite reel offers.  The 5.5, 5.6 to one reels are best used for deep deep diving cranks. Those big baits that dive 18 to 25 foot deep put a lot of stress on your hands and that is where you will benefit with the 5 series reels,  For all your shallow cranks, traps, wake baits, jerkbaits and cranks diving down to around 15 foot a 6.x reel will provide a more versatile setup. That is what I have found over the years.

Would u recommends a medium heavy or medium powered rod? I know I want a rod with a lot of tip. 

[Log Catcher]

I don't know what length rods you want or like. I am using a BPS cranking stick in a 6ft length and it is an older rod. Probably 15yrs old. I can't speak for the new ones as I have not tried them.

[LxVE Bassin]

2 minutes ago, Log Catcher said:

I don't know what length rods you want or like. I am using a BPS cranking stick in a 6ft length and it is an older rod. Probably 15yrs old. I can't speak for the new ones as I have not tried them.

For this set up I’m hoping for the 7’6”  range, higher or lower, give or take.

[fishnkamp]

If you are looking at fishing down to that depth you need to make longer casts to get the bait down to the strike zone.  A rod like like a 7'3" to 7'11" is not a bad choice. Check out rods from Irod, Falcon, and Dobyns. They all offer nice rods designed for deep divers  

[lmbfisherman]

I’d go with a rod generally in the MH range for that depth.  I agree in general IPT should be looked at closer to mid 20s.  Which falls in general with 6 gear ratio reels.

[Boomstick]

I use a 6.3:1 for cranks and fish mostly shallow depth baits. I find sometimes you want to fish them a little faster, or want to pause then pull them in after hitting a stump and sometimes you want to just crank them in so you can cast out again, so the slightly faster ratio is welcome here.

 

If you exclusively fish deep divers, go with a 5:1 to 5.5:1.

[LionHeart]

At the end of a long cast, a 5 speed (lower 20 IPT) can get mighty slow imo.  Most people will recommend either 5 or 6 speed but I feel like 5 is a little on the slow side even for massive deep divers.  I say go with something around mid to upper 20's in IPT, whatever gear ratio that happens to be.

[Hulkster]

I use a curado 200i PG with a 5.5:1 gear ratio. its perfect. lots of power yet not too slow

[WRB]

On April 21, 2018 at 6:03 AM, OkobojiEagle said:

23"- 25" line retrieve rate

 

oe

Before you make a 40-50 yard cast or after?

Tom

[Brett's_daddy]

I just read that Kevin Van Dam uses a 5.4:1 gear ratio reel for ALL his crankbaits...shallow, medium and deep divers. He believes it gives you the best sensitivity to tell what the crankbait is doing. If it's good enough for KVD, it's good enough for me .

[OkobojiEagle]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

Before you make a 40-50 yard cast or after?

Tom

Since you asked... I do a comparative measurement between my reels by pulling about 20' of line off the reel, measuring the distance returned with 5 handle revolutions then dividing by 5.  Gets me what I want to know.

 

(My casts are more in the 30 yard+ range)

 

 

oe

[WRB]

IPT is important, not trying to make light of it. The issue most anglers over look is IPT is rated at full spool of line at max capacity, the lower the spooling capacity is the more the IPT is reduced as the spool empties during a cast, let say 35 yards. A reel with line capacity of 110 yards of 12 lb mono would be reduced by a 1/3 rd and so is the IPT after making a 35 yard cast; 24" IPT becomes 16"-17" IPT increasing as the lure is retrieved.

To over come IPT loss a reel with more line capacity off sets this issue, 300 size reel w/24" IPT with 220 yard capacity of 12 lb mono after 35 yard cast drops 1/6 th so the IPT remains 20"-21".

Width of the spool also affect how fast the IPT drops, standard width 100-200 vs 300 is what I based the IPT drop.

Bottom line is I use 5.8:1/24-26 IPT size 300 round reels for deep diving cranks for decades with any fatigue issues.

Tom

[NHBull]

I am running a 101 conquest and I believe it is 5.2 and 20-23 IPT.

i used to run 6/1 but had a hard time slowing down.  I love the feel of 5.2!

[Catt]

David Fritts, Paul Elias, & Mark Davis all use 5.1: 1 or 5.4:1

 

Just saying ?

[LxVE Bassin]

@Catt @NHBull @WRB it’s gonna be tough finding 5 speed since I am a lefty. I will likely have to get a JDM reel.

[NHBull]

2 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

@Catt @NHBull @WRB it’s gonna be tough finding 5 speed since I am a lefty. I will likely have to get a JDM reel.

I too am a lefty and JDM is your friend

[Catt]

18 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

@Catt @NHBull @WRB it’s gonna be tough finding 5 speed since I am a lefty. I will likely have to get a JDM reel.

 

Lew's Tournament MB Speed Spool 5.6:1 Left Hand $139.99

[Brett's_daddy]

I know I'll probably get bashed here but I just got a Kastking Whitemax for crankbaits, 5.4:1 ratio, 24" IPT. It comes in a lefty which i got and is one sweet looking reel. It only cost $36 shipped to your door. I just barely got it for my birthday so i haven't had a chance to try it out but I can't wait!

[J.Vincent]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

IPT is important, not trying to make light of it. The issue most anglers over look is IPT is rated at full spool of line at max capacity, the lower the spooling capacity is the more the IPT is reduced as the spool empties during a cast, let say 35 yards. A reel with line capacity of 110 yards of 12 lb mono would be reduced by a 1/3 rd and so is the IPT after making a 35 yard cast; 24" IPT becomes 16"-17" IPT increasing as the lure is retrieved.

To over come IPT loss a reel with more line capacity off sets this issue, 300 size reel w/24" IPT with 220 yard capacity of 12 lb mono after 35 yard cast drops 1/6 th so the IPT remains 20"-21".

Width of the spool also affect how fast the IPT drops, standard width 100-200 vs 300 is what I based the IPT drop.

Bottom line is I use 5.8:1/24-26 IPT size 300 round reels for deep diving cranks for decades with any fatigue issues.

Tom

I've heard this before somewhere, but never explained this well ! But now this has me thinking, and this is a two part question. 1) I have quite a few 6.6 Revo X Reels which are specd at 29 IPT, , they hold 145yards of 12lb test. Could I just underfill the spool at 100 yards and achieve an even slower IPT ? 2) and How would an underfilled spool affect the casting performance ? I know it will greatly affect a spinning Reel but what about a Baitcaster ? 

[OkobojiEagle]

There is nothing magical about 26" IPT, 22"IPT, 19"IPT or even 15"IPT.  They are simply measurements that can be used to compare different reels.  They are not indicators of the speed at which your bait presentation will be.... a more important factor is how fast you are turning the handle.  Paying attention to how you're presenting the bait and hundreds of repetitions will develop a successful retrieve cadence.  

 

The most important statement in Tom's response was "I use 5.8:1/24-26 IPT size 300 round reels for deep diving cranks FOR DECADES..."

 

oe

[WRB]

If you have ever tried riding a 10 speed bicycle uphill in high gear you know IPT factors into leverage. A deep diving crankbait is like peddling up hill due to it's water resistance preventing the lure moving foreward, shift down to a lower gear and your leverage increases significantly. Lower IPT is the same as shifting to a lower gear ratio, but you must crank faster to maintain foreward speed. 

I can retrieve a DD-22 using my 8.1:1 Tatula 100R with ease at 40 yards, more resistance at 30 yards and a lot of resistance at 10 yards because the IPC is increasing as the spool refills with line. Using a 300 series 5.8:1 the cranking force doesn't change much throughout the cast and retrieve or does the cranking speed, the lures pace stays the same because the leverage doesn't change significantly.

Tom