Crankbait water temp

[DitchPanda]

For you northern guys like myself what temps do you look for in spring to start throwing a flat side or shad rap style bait? At what temp do you switch over to a traditional squarebill? For years I've thrown the lipless and jerkbait combo early but would like to get more info cranking this spring. I'm talking primarily for largemouth since they are slow starters after ice out at least in my experience 

[jbsoonerfan]

I'm not a northern guy, but I can tell you what I try depending on water temp. I will throw a deepish (6-beyond) till the water temp is nearing 50, once it hits 50 I will start trying a squarebill or shallow diver. I usually throw these on flats and points where I think the fish have moved up looking to feed, mostly along creeks next to flats. However, if I think they are still deeper I my run along that break line and throw to both sides of the boat "searching" for a depth they might be.

 

I am going this weekend and there is supposed to be some wind so I am hoping the water is nearing 48 - 49 so I can try to pick some off on points 

[Spankey]

I’m a Yank. Rat-L-Trap and Shad Rap is what I’m likely to throw first. But I use a Rat-L-Traps or Shad Raps all season with my other crankbaits. 

[walt-14]

Seems to me that I've had my best crankbait success the few weeks right around Easter most years.  I understand Easter can vary from year to year but I'm a guy that typically will really try to get out that Saturday of Easter weekend and I've always seemed to have pretty good luck throwing a crankbait.  If there is a place that you can find the avg temp for your bodies of water or bodies of water in your area right around Easter in years past, that might give you a better idea as to what temp might work well for crankbait fishing.

[Team9nine]

Shad Raps and Traps shortly after ice-out, usually low to mid 40 degrees. Don’t pull out squarebills until the water warms and the bass start moving into spawning coves well, which is mid to upper 50s and as mentioned above, kind of hits around Easter in these parts. 

[Bluebasser86]

39-40 is when I start throwing them (successfully), here.

[jbsoonerfan]

Sorry, I failed to mention a lipless. I throw them when I find grass, water temp doesn't matter to me lol

[DitchPanda]

I've had days when they smack a lipless reeled fairly fast when there was ice on the pond a few days prior so I'm confident with them..I just haven't given billed cranks there fair shake that early but I plan on changing that hopefully in april..what about cold water bladed jigs? Similar experience as Squarebills for water temp?

[Dirtyeggroll]

Have caught fish on squarebills in 38 degree water.

[scaleface]

The first warm snap of three or four days of spring-like weather, crankbaits and jigs are my go to lures in northern Missouri  .I really cant tell you the temp.  I dont use flat ones , I use a wide wobbling Arbogast Mudbug fished agonizingly slow .Wiggle Warts are popular , I just always used the Mudbug .. 

[DitchPanda]

Those mudbugs are a cool looking lure..I've never thrown one and I know they are no longer made but I believe my dad may have some new in box even..He for sure had a bunch just a few years ago..May have to see if I can grab 1 or 2 from him

[Bankbeater]

As soon as the ice is off the water I'm fishing with lipless crankbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, and chatterbaits.  The bite on each will vary from year to year.  Last year it was all about crankbaits and swimbaits, the year before that the bass wanted lipless baits.

Usually somewhere between the middle of April, and the middle of May the bite on moving baits slow down, and the bite on bottom contact baits starts picking up.

 

[Cranks4fun]

I have never tried a square bill in water under 50 degrees but I have caught and witnessed others catching smallmouth in water around 38 degrees with Rapala DT6's, Shad Raps, and craw-colored lipless cranks. You have to slow down and find the sweet spot. We even catch them in moving water with these sometimes.

  Largemouths?? I have not experimented much with cranks for them other than the shad raps. THey are cold-water staples in the crank dept. THey are also a multi-species bait in cold water. We've caught crappie, smallmouth, largemouth, and white bass using them. I have heard of guys catching big brown trout with them in cold water too.

 

[Bass Rutten]

The first crank I tie on, right at ice-out, on day one of the fishing season is a manns 1-minus or similar wake-bait, sounds crazy but a friend of mine has made me a believer more than a few times, I’ve had very good luck with them mid-day in icy waters reeling them pretty quickly. Square bills I will throw nearly year round. I don’t cast shad raps much but I will troll them later in the season.  

[DitchPanda]

So the shad rap deal is kind of a new old deal for me.. I have a bunch of 5s and 7s the shallow ones I used to throw for walleye that sat  in a box for 5 years at least.. I picked em up this fall and caught the heck out of bass even in that shallow water until the water temp was id guess low 40s..now over the winter I've spent some time modifying some of the 7s to make them rise slower and make them easier to throw on a baitcaster

 

[Paul Roberts]

For me, it's all about depth and speed. Where are they, what will get to them, and how willing are they to chase? My bass seem most willing to chase as water temps approach 50F in spring. At least that's when things really pick up.

 

My GoTo "shad/flat-side/potato chip" style bait has been an old Natural Ike. Why it works so well in cold water, esp, is that it gets down well (~6ft), is a super slow riser, and is purposely unstable, so it rolls/flashes a side on a twitch. A Tom Seward masterpiece! The twitch and pause (like a jerkbait) works really well in cold water, mid 40s down. A swim and pause picks up after water nears 50F. I have only have two left, and... I'm scared.  I've yet to try the shallow Shad Rap so, that may be next, and I'll probably have to modify them to get a slow riser.

 

Another that I've liked in the cold has been the X-Rap Shad.

 

17 hours ago, Bassjam2000 said:

The first crank I tie on, right at ice-out, on day one of the fishing season is a manns 1-minus or similar wake-bait, sounds crazy but a friend of mine has made me a believer more than a few times, I’ve had very good luck with them mid-day in icy waters reeling them pretty quickly. Square bills I will throw nearly year round. I don’t cast shad raps much but I will troll them later in the season.  

This is interesting. @Bassjam2000, how deep are these fish? 

On 2/7/2020 at 12:44 PM, scaleface said:

The first warm snap of three or four days of spring-like weather, crankbaits and jigs are my go to lures in northern Missouri  .I really cant tell you the temp.  I dont use flat ones , I use a wide wobbling Arbogast Mudbug fished agonizingly slow .Wiggle Warts are popular , I just always used the Mudbug .. 

I only have one MB left.  I really liked them. We did well with Bombers too though. They are similarly erratic beasts. My original WW's are all steelhead versions. I've picked up a few look-alikes, but... haven't used one yet. So many baits, and seasons are so short.

[scaleface]

4 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

 

My GoTo "shad/flat-side/potato chip" style bait has been an old Natural Ike

I have several of those .  

[Jermination]

northern guys should never rule out luckystrike flat cb series. I know they're pricy, but if you have the old discontinued gold color(i think it was called ghost brown or aurora brown) you're liable to get your arm broken

[Bass Rutten]

2 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

This is interesting. @Bassjam2000, how deep are these fish? 

Fairly shallow, 3-7 feet, or about where the first weedlines grow in the lakes in my area, and I'll extend this tactic out across flats too. It's just a reaction bite much like rat-l-traps except really shallow. Keep in mind I fish natural, weedy, midwest lakes and this bite may or may not not exist on other types of waters.