Making Crankbait Selection Easier

[rdj735]

I've been struggling with this forever. I have boxes of cranks from many brands, and in many colors, and, aside from a few of my favorites, can't seem to keep track of which ones perform which ways. 5'-8', or 7'-10'?  I've been considering replacing all of them with one brand so I can do better. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about it, but I don't feel like I'm being effective when I'm trying to run 9' deep and I tie on a crank that plows the bottom because it wants to run 12'. How do you keep track of how each of your cranks perform?

[jimmyjoe]

  I put them in order in a 3700 box. On the inside of the lid, I stick self-adhesive labels with the info that I believe is pertinent. The labels for the front lures are closest to the hinge, the ones for the lures in the rear are closest to the snaps. Pop the top, and  .... Voila! ..... right in order, scan and pick.        jj

 

 

   I don't have the depth on these labels because I'm a shorecaster, and don't use really deep divers.

[BBuck]

I categorize mine in different boxes by type and depth. I'll have all my squarebills in one box, shallow divers (0-6 ft) in another, medium divers (6ft-12ft) in another, and what I consider deep divers (12ft or more) in yet another box. Within the box I'll sort by brand or size if needed. As for ease of lure labeling, Rapala has probably the easiest to figure out. DT6 runs about 6ft, DT10 runs about 10ft, and so on. I hope this helps. 

[scaleface]

In 9 foot of water I choose the lure that runs 12 foot .

[schplurg]

I have a plano box with deep divers and one with not so deep divers. That's as far as I've gone with it. I don't know which are 5's or 7's etc and it never really occurred to me to find out. most are same brand but not for any particular reason.

[kdubracing]

Silent squarebill box, rattling squarebill box, 4-8' box, 9-12' box, 13-15' box and 17'+ box. Makes it much easier. 

[MN Fisher]

3700 box - each brand/type in it's own compartment

 

Each compartment with a label showing it's weight and depth range

[throttleplate]

i write with a black marker on the bottom for example 0-6 for depth, flot for floats, and sus for suspend.

[Spankey]

5 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

i write with a black marker on the bottom for example 0-6 for depth, flot for floats, and sus for suspend.

Been doing that for a few years myself. Use a fine point sharpie and write it on the bill or underside of the body. Majority I don’t do it but some for quick ID I do. 

[@reelChris]

8 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

i write with a black marker on the bottom for example 0-6 for depth, flot for floats, and sus for suspend.

I do the same thing except on the bill to avoid screwing up the painted pattern.  Sharpie stays on pretty well.

[Spankey]

A Few brands out there mark them. When I start to go over 10-12 feet on a handful I have them marked. 

[Dens228]

I'm another one that takes a sharpie and writes the depth on the bill. 

[papajoe222]

I have five different crank boxes. Shallow>Med> Deep>Squarebill> Silent. The only ones I bother marking are the deep runners and silent ones as those run various depths.

[Bankbeater]

I fish from the bank a lot so I have my shallow running crankbaits in one box, and my mid-depth crankbaits in another box.  I don't have a lot of hard baits that dive below 10'. 

[Ogandrews]

I have shallows, squarebills, and flat sides/cold water baits in their own boxes, and then mediums and the few deeps I throw in another box. If you were looking to just load up with mostly one brand, the rapala DT series is really hard to beat unless you need to get over 20ft. Majority of my cranks are DTs, such effective baits for everything under 20ft for a good price just change the hooks. Throw a couple bx brats, dt fats, Shad raps, and fat raps in there and you would have a well rounded crank Arsenal from one brand.

[Deleted account]

Organized is something I can't be accused of, I keep my cranks in 3700 boxes and I just know how deep they run from experience. I also tank test/tune all my cranks, usually in my brother's pool or a gin clear pond near me. When I'm cranking, I'm usually not doing anything else (until the fish tell me to bail on it) so I'll have 2 or 3 cranks each on 2 different diameter lines which gives me 4-6 initial depths, each of which can be tweeked by a couple of feet each. The above applies to true or classic cranking. If I am square billing, or covering shallow water with a crank it's more like spinnerbait fishing. I hate to say it (cause I dislike fishing them) but a chatter has replaced a bunch of my shallow cranking and square bill fishing. 

[Dens228]

Easy to keep the number down too.

A shad color, a bluegill color, a mirror or ghost color.  I never found a need to 10 different colors of each style.

[OkobojiEagle]

If you can't keep the attributes of your baits in mind... you're carrying too many.

 

oe

[ajschn06]

23 hours ago, rdj735 said:

How do you keep track of how each of your cranks perform?

 

I leave them at home and use a paddle tail swimbait that I can fish at any depth..

[scaleface]

I have one box for long billed baits . If I'm fishing 5 to 8 foot then my vintage Rebel Deep Weer R's , Bomber Models A's and Wiggle Warts get used . Norman Deep Little N's get the nod for 9 to 10 foot . I have some Rapala Crankin Rap CR14 that get used a lot from 10 to 12 foot . Anything deeper than that I use Berkely Dredgers . They run at the advertised depth with 12 lb mono and a long cast . So I'll use the 14,5 to about 12 foot . the 17.5 to about 15 foot . the 20.5 to about 18 foot and 25.5 for deeper water . The deepest I have caught fish on a diving crank is 22 foot with the Dredger 25.5 . Simple as that , no need "for me" to make it any more complicated . If they dont work then I do something different like bounce a Red Eye Shad off the bottom ..

[detroit1]

I guess i'm either old or smart, but i can tell just by looking at them. Maybe i am both..an old smartazz.?‍?

[Revival]

I have a friend that just writes the depth range on the lure with a sharpie.  Solved the same problem for him.

[rdj735]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, folks - I'll try some of them soon. It's amazing how many lures one can accumulate over 30 years of fishing. My first step should probably be slimming down my stock, as I truly only have four groups of colors that I reach for. I wouldn't mind having a box for every depth - but I expect to fish as a co-angler on occasion, and packing a dozen trays out of my boat and into theirs could be frowned upon ?