Geek out with me here about which 2 crank bait to get!

[pauldconyers]

I have to first off say I am a big fan of Strike King crank baits and so for now I am kind of looking to stick with this brand. I already have a lot of 3XDs (10-11 feet deep) and am looking to stretch out deeper with my crank bait fishing. Bought a 7'6" glass composite crank rod and plan on running Seagar Invizx on my 5:4 Orra Winch.

 

My budget won't allow me to just go out and buy everything under the sun and see what works so I have to be somewhat smart about what I buy and research the specs on them. I had WAY too much free time tonight and made this spread sheet to look at the sizes and depth of these SK cranks. I am looking to buy two different models that will best cover the water columns between my 3XDs and say 20 feet deep.

 

The BIGGEST I would consider would be an 8XD. So does that mean maybe some 5XDs and some 8XDs? Or maybe some Series 5 and some 6XDs? But in this scenario while a bigger body does a Series 5 run at too similar a depth than a 3XD to make it a wise purchase?

[Bluebasser86]

I run the 3XD, 5XD, and 6XD. Anything deeper than that I don't feel I can really fish effectively with a crankbait because it takes so long for it to get there and even on a really long cast, it's not at it's max running depth long. I can tell you a lot of other people use the same models because I find them all the time too. Don't worry too much about colors either. Not much of their color is going to be visible in the murky lake water at their max running depth anyways. 

[SWVABass]

I use the xd line up as well. They seem to cover what your looking to do well. I would follow @Bluebasser86 advice. Happy cranking!!

[Deleted account]

I'm so disappointed Paul, with all the rod, reel, line selection OCD rambling, I would have bet $ that not only did you have several excel spreadsheets, but that your fields would have been color coded. Oh, the SK cranks do a very good job covering the different depths. I personally like the fat free shads better, but the SKs are reliable workhorses.

[pauldconyers]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I run the 3XD, 5XD, and 6XD. Anything deeper than that I don't feel I can really fish effectively with a crankbait because it takes so long for it to get there and even on a really long cast, it's not at it's max running depth long. I can tell you a lot of other people use the same models because I find them all the time too. Don't worry too much about colors either. Not much of their color is going to be visible in the murky lake water at their max running depth anyways. 

I was kind of leaning towards the 5XD and the 6XD. Then I was thinking if the 6XD was the deepest I would go with and the 3XD was the lowest I should try to find something right in the middle of those two. That is kind of what lead me to looking at the series 5. Then I started thinking maybe I should go with a 5XD and an 8XD. To joy/pain of the off season and over analyzing tackle concerns because you can't be in the water LOL

[Russ E]

I also use the 3XD, 5XD, and 6XD.. 

The 3XD and 5XD probably get the most use.

The 6XD seems to catch more catfish and drum on the KC area lakes I fish.

I don't go any deeper than the 6XD with crankbaits. 

In my opinion there are better baits for deeper water. Plus a day of chucking and winding deep divers can turn into work.

I prefer to have fun on the water.

Like @Bluebasser86 I keep the colors simple. Most of the lakes I fish are stained or murky.

[Bluebasser86]

48 minutes ago, pauldconyers said:

I was kind of leaning towards the 5XD and the 6XD. Then I was thinking if the 6XD was the deepest I would go with and the 3XD was the lowest I should try to find something right in the middle of those two. That is kind of what lead me to looking at the series 5. Then I started thinking maybe I should go with a 5XD and an 8XD. To joy/pain of the off season and over analyzing tackle concerns because you can't be in the water LOL

I'd rather have a bait that runs a little too deep than too shallow, that's why I go with the 5xd instead of the series 5.

[pauldconyers]

45 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'd rather have a bait that runs a little too deep than too shallow, that's why I go with the 5xd instead of the series 5.

I guess I was thinking if the deepest I would use was a 6XD and I was certainly going to use a 3XD that I wanted something that fit right in the middle. It just seems like the depth difference between the 5XD and 6XD is minimal. Doesn't the series 5 also have a different wobble or action then the 5XD?

[Munkin]

In the 9-15 FOW no crank works better for me than the SK 5 series in Gizzard shad. For refernce I own LC, MegaBass, Imakatsu, and just about every other bait that will hit this range. For 8-10 FOW look into the Bandit 300 besides the SK but they are solid fish catchers.

 

Allen

[BassHawg2293]

I love my Norman crankbaits. Nothing against Strike Kings, but between Norman's and Bandits I feel like I get out cheaper and have great success at all depths. 

 

Plus I find them on sale pretty regularly. I bought a bunch at 4.49 not too long ago 

[pauldconyers]

4 hours ago, Munkin said:

In the 9-15 FOW no crank works better for me than the SK 5 series in Gizzard shad. For refernce I own LC, MegaBass, Imakatsu, and just about every other bait that will hit this range. For 8-10 FOW look into the Bandit 300 besides the SK but they are solid fish catchers.

 

Allen

Does the series 5 have a different "action" or movement compared to the 5XD?

[Bluebasser86]

12 hours ago, pauldconyers said:

I guess I was thinking if the deepest I would use was a 6XD and I was certainly going to use a 3XD that I wanted something that fit right in the middle. It just seems like the depth difference between the 5XD and 6XD is minimal. Doesn't the series 5 also have a different wobble or action then the 5XD?

The bill on the 5XD is a little wider than the Series 5, so I imagine the Series 5 has a little narrower wobble than the 5XD. 

FWIW, this was a 5XD fish, it's one of my favorite deep cranks. 

[pauldconyers]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The bill on the 5XD is a little wider than the Series 5, so I imagine the Series 5 has a little narrower wobble than the 5XD. 

FWIW, this was a 5XD fish, it's one of my favorite deep cranks. 

NICE CATCH!! I am leaning towards the 5XD, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a better option to pair up with a 6XD. Got a lot of 3XDs and 6XDs and want something to fill in that gap. Just seems like the 5XD isn't quite in the middle but may be the best bet? That or the series 5 I would guess.