Getting Deeper into Cranking

[dgkasper58]

I am getting more into cranking and finding fish deeper.  I usually fish weedy lakes and pound the shoreline- for the past 2 years I have been moving out deeper working weedlines and deeper structure.  I want to keep moving out with the success that I have been having but have only a few cranks to get me there.

 

I fish a clear lake with a silt bottom (bowl shaped) - I want to be able to target fish at various depths and was going to be buying several DT models to get me there.  Main forage is bluegill/sunfish/crappie.

 

Are the DT models the best for this?

Does anyone recommend certain colors for certain depths?  I usually use natural colors with the water clarity and in the sun do well with shiny baits- just not sure if light penetrates that well down at 14'. 

 

TIA

[J Francho]

 

3 minutes ago, dgkasper58 said:

Are the DT models the best for this?

Does anyone recommend certain colors for certain depths?

DT are *one* choice.  There are many other brands that work as well, or better.  Almost all my cranks are MS American Shad, regardless of diving depth.  The main thing to keep in mind with cranks, if you're hauling water, you're doing it wrong.  Cranking is all about making contact with something.  Whether that's the bottom, cover like weeds or laydowns, or dock pilings, etc. depends on the location.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Strike King XD series and the Mann's EZ deep divers is all I use. For stained water deeper then 20' I stick with something with chartreuse in it. Gill patterns always get bigger bites for me it seems. 

[Harold Scoggins]

10 hours ago, J Francho said:

 

DT are *one* choice.  There are many other brands that work as well, or better.  Almost all my cranks are MS American Shad, regardless of diving depth.  The main thing to keep in mind with cranks, if you're hauling water, you're doing it wrong.  Cranking is all about making contact with something.  Whether that's the bottom, cover like weeds or laydowns, or dock pilings, etc. depends on the location.

MS American Shad is a favorite deep bait. (I think I have to empty the box and check for rust.)

[Steve1357]

Deep for me is Rat-L-Traps and Spots, letting them sink and sorta pulling them up a foot or two and keeping the line taught as they fall.

 

Don't they count as crankbaits?

[papajoe222]

Prior to buying baits, I’d check to make sure there is structure or cover out deeper than where you’ve been targeting. Then I’d choose a bait that runs deeper than what you find. 

 

[clh121787]

Not a fan of the dt series. The ones I buy have broken quickly

[ItsHardwick]

3 hours ago, clh121787 said:

Not a fan of the dt series. The ones I buy have broken quickly

This. I bought 3 this spring. No survivors. I fish cranks on rip rap a lot and it’s normally not a problem, but snapped the bills off all 3. Maybe I got a bad batch but I don’t know, I won’t be buying them again though. 

 

Strike King makes good deep divers for all depths in a variety of sizes and colors that are reasonably priced. 

 

I messed up and bought a few a Megabass cranks a couple months ago though, and I think I ruined it for myself and my wallet. 

[smalljaw67]

I fish lakes that are similar to what you described and none have been good for deep cranking. When you have a silt or muck bottom there usually isn't oxygen past 12' to 14', use your sonar and see if you are marking any fish on the bottom. I'll bet the fish you see off shore are mostly suspended, if that is the case lures like underspins with a swimbait trailer work much better than cranks, suspending jerkbaits also work if you have decent water clarity. Not all bodies of water make for good deep cranking, there has to be some type of structure or deep cover along with enough food and oxygen to hold enough fish to make for a good deep cranking bite.

[scaleface]

A  Berkely Dredger 17.5 will   kick up dirt  at 14 foot .

[Bluebasser86]

Strike King 5XD or 6XD are my choices for deep diving cranks. 

 

I also suffered at the hands of weak billed Rapala DT baits, no more for me. 

[dgkasper58]

On 9/22/2018 at 6:19 AM, smalljaw67 said:

I fish lakes that are similar to what you described and none have been good for deep cranking. When you have a silt or muck bottom there usually isn't oxygen past 12' to 14', use your sonar and see if you are marking any fish on the bottom. I'll bet the fish you see off shore are mostly suspended, if that is the case lures like underspins with a swimbait trailer work much better than cranks, suspending jerkbaits also work if you have decent water clarity. Not all bodies of water make for good deep cranking, there has to be some type of structure or deep cover along with enough food and oxygen to hold enough fish to make for a good deep cranking bite.

I catch a ton of fish with a carolina rig down there- Its just weeds throughout.  Lake gets down to 45 feet I mark fish 20' all day just want another way to go get em.  

 

I would not be hitting much structure other than bottom and weeds.

 

 

[Angry John]

Slow roll a keitech 4.8 fat.

[WRB]

What rod, reel and line do you plan to use with deep diving crabkbaits?

My personal favorite deep diving crankbaits are Norman DD14 & DD 22's, Bomber 7A's and Poes 300 because they work. The Poe 300 is silent and Norman DD22's have rattles both run 14'-16' or so. The DD14 and 7A run about 8'-10'. 

Berkley's Dreger series offers several depth ranges within the same series  crankbaits with less lure resistance.

You want a good casting line and FC isn't nearly as easy to cast as premium mono. I used Berkely Big Game 10lb and 12 lb mono for decades, it's inexpensive so changing it often isn't an issue and you can wear out line cranking hundreds of casts each outing.

Tom

[dgkasper58]

3 hours ago, Angry John said:

Slow roll a keitech 4.8 fat.

I have- I just feel that cranking will be much more efficient and let me cover more water as there is minimal Hot targets- just a lot of weeds.

3 hours ago, WRB said:

What rod, reel and line do you plan to use with deep diving crabkbaits?

My personal favorite deep diving crankbaits are Norman DD14 & DD 22's, Bomber 7A's and Poes 300 because they work. The Poe 300 is silent and Norman DD22's have rattles both run 14'-16' or so. The DD14 and 7A run about 8'-10'. 

Berkley's Dreger series offers several depth ranges within the same series  crankbaits with less lure resistance.

You want a good casting line and FC isn't nearly as easy to cast as premium mono. I used Berkely Big Game 10lb and 12 lb mono for decades, it's inexpensive so changing it often isn't an issue and you can wear out line cranking hundreds of casts each outing.

Tom

I hope my current crank setup will suffice- Nothing special but a Revo Winch 5.4 spooled 10-12lb Yozuri Hybrid on an old 7' cranking stick M action Mod tip.

[WRB]

Medium power crank rod may be unpowered for deep divers, I use a 5 or heavy power for them. Give it a try first! I don't deep crank weeds with deep divers, use lipless instead.

Tom

[Brock_v]

My favorite is the 6th sense clould 9 series They have models that dive from 6-25 in some great colors

[Brett's_daddy]

I wouldn't use deep diving cranks on a Medium/Moderate rod...check your lure rating, I have an Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Winch and it's rated up to a 5/8oz. lure but being an Abu it'll probably handle up to 1oz. and most deep divers weigh around 1oz. I would stick to medium divers with that rod, something that goes in the 12ft. - 16ft. range.

[dgkasper58]

5 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I wouldn't use deep diving cranks on a Medium/Moderate rod...check your lure rating, I have an Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Winch and it's rated up to a 5/8oz. lure but being an Abu it'll probably handle up to 1oz. and most deep divers weigh around 1oz. I would stick to medium divers with that rod, something that goes in the 12ft. - 16ft. range.

That's the depth I plan on targeting.  Too me- that's deep.

[WRB]

7 hours ago, dgkasper58 said:

That's the depth I plan on targeting.  Too me- that's deep.

Very few deep divers get beyond 16' casting 30 yards, 50 yards they will and fewer anglers can cast that far. Go to a 16' deep flat and give it try.

Tom

[blckshirt98]

You can also always use a lipless like a SK Red Eye Shad and let it sink to your desired depth.  If you're fishing from shore it's gonna be difficult/impossible to get those larger deep diving crankbaits to the depth you want.