Crankbait arsenal

[Boomstick]

So this fall, I have thrown a lot of crankbaits, and as a result of largely throwing them under a bridge (and hitting the bridge a few times) I have cracked a lot of the bills on my squarebills and dented up half of the cranks I regularly carry with me to the point they track strongly to one side. As money is tight now and the season is nearing its end, I figure I will hold off on actually buying new crankbaits until next year, but have been putting together my wish list currently.

 

I usually fish from shore which is usually fairly shallow but occasionally rent a boat, and even then I tend to fish shallow, so don't need a large amount of deep divers.

So what cranks have you guy had success with?

For me, my most successful cranks have been as follows.

 

#1) River2Sea Ish Monroe Biggie Smalls - catches fish all year and tracks beautifully as well.

#2) Norman Fat Boy - works great when the bass are actively chasing because of the wide wobble and the amount of water it moves. Caught my largest fish of the year on it.

#3) Lucky Craft LC 1.5 - another nice tracking crank, just haven't got nearly as many fish as I have on the Ish Monroes. Also the eyes seem to fall off too easily.

#4) KVD 1.5/2.5 - honestly my oldest son has caught more fish on the 2.5s these than I have but has had his most success fishing to date this fall with one. I normally have more success with the smaller sized cranks. I always keep a few KVD 1.5s and 2.5s in my arsenal at least because they're cheap, effective and can buy them locally.

 

I already know that I am going to try a Megabass S crank. They are expensive but I've heard so many good things about them that I have to give them a try.

[PersicoTrotaVA]

I like the strike king series 1 and 4S for shallow water as well. They don’t deflect as good but they have a different wobble and sometimes that can get fish that wouldn’t hit a squarebilled crankbait. 

[Boomstick]

3 minutes ago, PersicoTrotaVA said:

I like the strike king series 1 and 4S for shallow water as well. They don’t deflect as good but they have a different wobble and sometimes that can get fish that wouldn’t hit a squarebilled crankbait. 

Thanks! Ironically, I was at Dick's the other day because my oldest son smashed up the orange KVD 2.5 he was using pretty bad, and had a lot of success on it so I had to get him another one and I almost picked up a series 1.

[Cgolf]

Bandit 100, for my fisheries no other crank has even half the fish of a bandit. Bills on the bandits have held up well fishing over rocks on a river. 

 

Also like the Rapala scatter crank, similar action I would think to the S crank, don’t own one, at a much better price. 

 

As for strike king baits I have tried numerous series 1 baits and only caught one fish. Same with the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 SBs. The only KVD SB that consistently caught fish for me was the 1.0. 

[J.Vincent]

Storm Arashi SquareBills have been one of the best tracking Crankbaits I've ever thrown; and they have a more durable diving lip than anything else in my box. Next I would say anything Rapala and Strike King seem to hold up well and track nicely.....I also own a lot of the H20 by Academy and I like many of their Crankbaits because they usually have an oval split ring and nice detailing for a budget lure,  but they seem to be the least durable 

[WRB]

What rod are you using that you have so much trouble casting accurately? I can understand poor casting accuracy in low light or at night because of reduced distance perception, can't tell how far away the object is.

Bouncing crankbaits off rocks or cement during the cast will break them! You might consider a new rod with more moderate action that is easier to cast, if you don't have one.

Tom

[Munkin]

Buy some 1.5 blanks and paint them yourself.  They are like $1.50 each and rattlecan paint works for simple patterns.  Besides it will give you something to do over the winter. 

 

Allen 

[Boomstick]

6 hours ago, WRB said:

What rod are you using that you have so much trouble casting accurately? I can understand poor casting accuracy in low light or at night because of reduced distance perception, can't tell how far away the object is.

Bouncing crankbaits off rocks or cement during the cast will break them! You might consider a new rod with more moderate action that is easier to cast, if you don't have one.

Tom

I don't have any issues at all casting accurately, the trick was the bridge I've been fishing under a lot lately has a very little space between the water and is a very tricky cast. Usually I'm fine, but I have smashed a couple against it, and both of my kids got a few in there as well and they aren't quite as accurate casting as I am. I also don't have a particularly large collection of cranks (I usually keep my box full) so that leaves room to try out some new ones. I also don't have a huge collection of cranks to begin with, so a few broken ones adds up fast.

 

Yeah I could not throw them under the same bridge, but it has paid off at times too. Sorry if I was unclear.

[Matt_3479]

Honestly my most successful crankbait this year has been the berkley pit bull 5.5! It has been an absolute hammer this year on bass from my local ponds, to the northern lakes I fish. Been loving these cranks. So far they have been holding up well, paint hasn’t chipped or flaked too much, hooks out of the package have been super sharp! 

[Bluebasser86]

The Booyah Flex II is super durable and a really nice running bait. You can bang it into all kinds of stuff without breaking them and they have pretty unique colors instead of the same old thing everyone else seems to offer. 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-BOOYAHBAITS.html?from=basres