Small Crankbait Technique - User Error?

[AJ Hauser]

Hey fellas! Quick question on technique for you... I recently started fishing creeks and I have been having great luck with small crankbaits. The tiny offerings by Rebel (Wee-Crawfish, Wake-R) have worked well so far without issue. I'm using them on spinning tackle with 8lb test fluorocarbon line. This is probably a bit heavy, but I've lost several smallmouth while using 6lb mono. 

 

Last week I tied on two baits that I did have trouble with: one was a small (maybe 2") jointed floating minnow, and the other was a Crickhopper. The jointed minnow didn't kick, it just spun in the water on the way back to me. The Crickhopper kind of worked, but it kept kicking out to the side and then it too would start to spin towards me, like the jointed minnow. The lip on both baits is rounded, not squared. 

 

Is my line to heavy?

Am I reeling too fast?

Not fast enough?

Is the minnow defective? (It looks to be tuned straight...)

 

For those of you that fish smaller cranks like this, are these common errors that you have seen and fixed yourself?

 

Any suggestions would be very appreciated. The minnow was unusable but I caught fish on the Crickhopper, it was just very frustrating and I'm trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. 

 

Thanks!

[gunsinger]

I rarely use a steady retrieve on a cricket hopper.  I either twitch it on the top or crank it down and use a twitch retrieve.  It's such a small, lightweight bait, I would expect the lighter the line, the better but I seem to recall successfully working it on 10#.

[J Francho]

Are you losing fish on 6# due to abrasion, or are they just breaking off?  

[Spankey]

??? Do your lures have a split ring tie on or just the lure eye?

[AJ Hauser]

8 minutes ago, gunsinger said:

I rarely use a steady retrieve on a cricket hopper.  I either twitch it on the top or crank it down and use a twitch retrieve.  It's such a small, lightweight bait, I would expect the lighter the line, the better but I seem to recall successfully working it on 10#.

 

Interesting - thank you. It seems like sometimes it dives straight down and starts working perfectly, other times I have a hard time getting it started even though fluoro sinks and I was thinking that would help it get down faster. 

 

6 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Are you losing fish on 6# due to abrasion, or are they just breaking off?  

 

They're spitting the hooks when they jump, even small sticky trebles. Probably more user error but this led me to slightly larger fluoro so I could avoid the rubberband effect and I thought that the fact that it sinks would help get the smaller cranks a bit deeper faster. It is a very rocky creek though, so the abrasion resistance was a nice perk as well. 

 

Whaddya think?

 

3 minutes ago, Spankey said:

??? Do your lures have a split ring tie on or just the lure eye?

 

Great question - I just ran out to check and they both have small split rings. 

[Spankey]

Reason I’m saying what I’m saying is, you might need to tie a Rapala type knot so you don’t loose action of the lure. 

Just now, Spankey said:

Reason I’m saying what I’m saying is, you might need to tie a Rapala type knot so you don’t loose action of the lure. 

So my thinking is wrong now with the split ring being on there. 

[gunsinger]

Speed of retrieve could also be a contributing factor.  Do you notice any difference if you slow it down?

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, AJH said:

Whaddya think?

I don't think the difference in stretch between 6# mono and 8# fluoro is enough to matter, so it's probably something else.  As far as the baits not running true, that's usually from going too fast, or you're fighting too much current.  

[mhone]

I’ve noticed my Creekhopper will foul one of two ways. The front treble hook will grab the bill or the split ring will rotate back against the head of the bait. Both will make the bait spiral in the water causing line twist… not my favorite fishing frustration!

[WRB]

Rapala J05 & J07 don’t have split rings.

Your hook set technique needs work, crank to load up the lyre and use a rod sweep like any other crank bait. . FC line isn’t helping your issues using small crank baits in current.

Get rid of the split rings and use Rapala loop knot.

Tom

[Scott F]

3 hours ago, AJH said:

Hey fellas! Quick question on technique for you... I recently started fishing creeks and I have been having great luck with small crankbaits. The tiny offerings by Rebel (Wee-Crawfish, Wake-R) have worked well so far without issue. I'm using them on spinning tackle with 8lb test fluorocarbon line. This is probably a bit heavy, but I've lost several smallmouth while using 6lb mono. 

 

Last week I tied on two baits that I did have trouble with: one was a small (maybe 2") jointed floating minnow, and the other was a Crickhopper. The jointed minnow didn't kick, it just spun in the water on the way back to me. The Crickhopper kind of worked, but it kept kicking out to the side and then it too would start to spin towards me, like the jointed minnow. The lip on both baits is rounded, not squared. 

 

Is my line to heavy?

Am I reeling too fast?

Not fast enough?

Is the minnow defective? (It looks to be tuned straight...)

 

For those of you that fish smaller cranks like this, are these common errors that you have seen and fixed yourself?

 

Any suggestions would be very appreciated. The minnow was unusable but I caught fish on the Crickhopper, it was just very frustrating and I'm trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. 

 

Thanks!

Fishing creeks with crankbaits can be tricky. The correct speed is critical. If you cast downstream and retrieve upstream, the speed of the current alone is often just right. When you crank against the current, it’s now running too fast and the bait will roll over or not run right. Retrieve downstream, and you have to crank very fast as the current is pushing the bait already.  It’s not like lake fishing crankbaits at all.

[J Francho]

9 minutes ago, Scott F said:

It’s not like lake fishing crankbaits at all.

Amen to that!  Learning to "swing" spoons and cranks is a bit of an art.  I like to make a quartering cast, and as the bait swings into the current, you adjust the speed.  With floating cranks it's a little easier, since the depth is fixed.  Spoons and spinners are a little more difficult.  The more I think about the original issue, the more I think this is a retrieve speed issue, and as @Scott F said current plays a big part.

[AJ Hauser]

Son of a gun... @J Francho and @Scott F I had not even considered current because it appeared to be slow - but now that you mention it, the bait was swinging wide when I would cast to the opposite bank and try to reel it straight back to me. I'm going to have to take both of these to a lake and see if I have the same issues. @WRB it sounds like I better work on my hooksets too... I have often wondered about the proper technique for different baits but always end up shaking the rod violently like a lunatic instead of setting with an intentional method... so for cranks you reel down to the fish to load up the rod, then sweep - as opposed to snapping?

Do you keep steady pressure on the fish when they jump or play them differently with a crank as opposed to say a jigworm? 

 

@John6.47 I know exactly what you mean. I was also seeing the trebles getting stuck together even though I feel like this could be avoided by spacing out where the hooks are placed by just a tiny bit more space. Half the time the bait was working well (in spite of my inexperience), and the other half it was snarled up and rolling on top of the water as I reeled it back in. @gunsinger it did seem like there was a happy-medium when it came to speed, and I wasn't factoring the current in at all, which was probably why I couldn't find a consistent speed that was working (I was moving between runs and close to riffles so or pools so the current would vary). The bait may have been flipping over when it was fighting the current. 

 

Thank you guys so much, I think I have a few more things to practice with...

 

 

[papajoe222]

avoid a high rod tip when reeling, it's almost impossible to get a good set from that position with a crank. keep it low, sweep and reel and 6lb. line will get the job done.

[AJ Hauser]

1 minute ago, papajoe222 said:

avoid a high rod tip when reeling, it's almost impossible to get a good set from that position with a crank. keep it low, sweep and reel and 6lb. line will get the job done.

 

Thanks @papajoe222... I'm going to have to revisit that size line... what length and weight of rod would you be using for say smallmouth versus panfish versus trout?

 

Maybe that deserves it's own separate thread... thanks!

[papajoe222]

5 minutes ago, AJH said:

 

I'm going to have to revisit that size line... what length and weight of rod would you be using for say smallmouth versus panfish versus trout?

 

 

though not ideal for panfish, a med/light rated for 4-10lb. line and 3/16-3/8oz in the length of your choosing. (moderate /fast action if it's noted on the blank)

[gunsinger]

22 hours ago, AJH said:

Do you keep steady pressure on the fish when they jump or play them differently with a crank as opposed to say a jigworm? 

 

 

For me, regardless of the lure it’s “tight lines.”  Let the rod tip do its job. Loose lines mean lost fish, especially with small trebles. I don’t horse ‘em but I keep steady pressure. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by gunsinger
fixed spelling error.

[@reelChris]

Try adding a split shot about 6-10" in front of the crick hopper.  It will give it a bill down attitude and also give you a little more depth once you get it going.  

[Bluebasser86]

Smallmouth are expert lure tossers, you're going to lose some no matter how perfect your technique may be. 

 

Those tiny lures don't work well even on 8lb test. 6 would be the heaviest I'd go, they work even better on 4. You could try swapping the stock hooks for a more premium hook, but you're still going to lose some. 

[HaydenS]

17 hours ago, Scott F said:

Fishing creeks with crankbaits can be tricky. The correct speed is critical. If you cast downstream and retrieve upstream, the speed of the current alone is often just right. When you crank against the current, it’s now running too fast and the bait will roll over or not run right. Retrieve downstream, and you have to crank very fast as the current is pushing the bait already.  It’s not like lake fishing crankbaits at all.

This is what I was thinking, the current is making it spin around.

[AJ Hauser]

16 hours ago, gunsinger said:

For me, regardless of the lure it’s “tight lines.”  Let the rod tip do its job. Lose lines mean lost fish, especially with small trebles. I don’t horse ‘em but I keep steady pressure. 

 

Got it - thank you @gunsinger - I appreciate your input on this very much. 

 

14 hours ago, @reelChris said:

Try adding a split shot about 6-10" in front of the crick hopper.  It will give it a bill down attitude and also give you a little more depth once you get it going.  

 

This is an AWESOME idea! Thank you - one of the major issues I had with the Crickhopper was that every 3rd cast or so it would hit the water and the lip wouldn't pull it under until it was about 75% back to me - it was just rolling and flopping on the surface. This is worth playing with - much appreciated. 

 

12 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Smallmouth are expert lure tossers, you're going to lose some no matter how perfect your technique may be. 

 

Thanks @Bluebasser86, I hear ya. As far as technique goes it's far from perfect so hopefully as I get a bit better I land a few more. I have said many, many, many swears this summer...

 

Thanks all - I have more work to do!