Could you only fish crankbaits year round forever?

[casts_by_fly]

Hi All,

 

Winter took a new grip here and so I haven't made it out.  Like everyone, I'm perusing the forums and catalogs until I can actually fish.  Inspired by seeing some specialized crankbait rods that are more specialized than I can justify since I can't carry 30 rods at a time (YMMV), I wondered if a crankbait only strategy could work.  Crankbaits are year-round lures for sure.  But could you fish them to the exclusion of ALL else?

 

To put some bounds, standard crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, wakebaits (e.g. KVD2.5 wake), and jerkbaits are all allowed.  Swimbaits/glidebaits/spybaits and NOT in these rules.  What area of the country are you in, what type of lakes are you fishing, and could you fish with hardbody cranks exclusively?

 

For me, I think the answer would be no.  Fishing northeast natural lakes, I end up with too much grass Jul-Sep across too many lakes that I just wouldn't be able to fish those lakes.  I'd be restricted to 1/3 of the lakes I fish.  That said, I always have a crank of some type tied on and grass aside I'd be inclined to try it.

 

thanks,

rick

 

[Bankbeater]

It depends on if the bass want crankbaits or not.  Around here the crankbait bite seems to go in cycles.  The bite seems to be off about every other year.  If the pattern holds, then this year the crankbait bite is going to be slow.

[DaubsNU1]

When I lived in Missouri, fished more cranks for sure. Less moss / weeds / vegitation, more rocks / rip-rap. 

 

Here in Nebraska, less rocks / rip-rap, way more vegetation...making cranks a no-go for much of my season.  

 

I would much rather fish a T-rig, NED, spinner bait.  There is just too much to get hung on where I fish. 

[GreenPig]

NO! If cranks were my only option I'd get back into bowfishing.

[Bluebasser86]

I might give up fishing if I could only use crankbaits ?

[Jig Man]

6 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I might give up fishing if I could only use crankbaits ?

X2

[Tennessee Boy]

When I was young I only fished crankbaits and jerkbaits and 90 percent of the time it was a crankbait.  I could do it again but I would not want to.   If I had to choose between only fishing crankbaits or never fishing crankbaits,  I would never fish crankbaits.

[Choporoz]

Uh...no.  I can't fish a crankbait for more than about 20 minutes without a bite.  No takers and I probably don't throw one again rest of the day.....wouldn't give up fishing, but sure wouldn't enjoy it as much

[J Francho]

I actually did this for years, though our season started 3rd week of June and was over by November.  Being a kid, it was much more cost effective to buy a crank that cost $5 to catch hundreds of fish on than plastics that you only caught one or two fish on.

[the reel ess]

Well, you could...

[king fisher]

When I was a kid, cranks were all my friends and I fished.  We called them bass plugs and I dreamed of having one of those giant tackle boxes filled with plugs.

     I could fish nothing but Crankbaits and be happy on all but one lake I fish now.  The one lake is one big mat of floating vegetation part of the year, and I don't think I could make a crankbait work then.  

      

[A-Jay]

Could you only fish crankbaits year round forever?

I think so,

but only if I could use a Long 1 piece rod,

Stay Overnight, and then wonder what happened.

A-Jay

[BassNJake]

I love crankbait fishing but wouldn't want to do it exclusively

 

[GaryH]

No… I like them but a steady diet of nothing but. No way..

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

For me, I think the answer would be no.  Fishing northeast natural lakes, I end up with too much grass Jul-Sep across too many lakes that I just wouldn't be able to fish those lakes.  I'd be restricted to 1/3 of the lakes I fish.

Your situation is similar to mine here on Long Island.  I can fish them from now through May 1st when the season closes for 6 weeks during the spawn, then maybe for another month afterwards. The extended warmth kept the weeds high here up to the end of December last year, so anything with trebles was pure misery to fish except for wakebaits. Even that was a chore with so many weeds being nearly up to the top of the water's surface. Thankfully the wicked cold we've had knocked the greenery down, but the lily pad buds have already started dotting the bottom like little cabbage sprouts. So, throw them while you can. It's doubtful they'll want anything moving quickly for for the next few weeks. If this year is the same as last year water temps will be stuck in the 40's until May.

[EWREX]

could i? yes. would i? 

 

[T-Billy]

Nooo....... But I could probably get by with nothing but a Texas Rig.

[fishballer06]

This post is what happens when a northerner is stuck indoors all winter.

[Hook2Jaw]

Gonna go against the grain of this thread, I don't think many people saw you included lipless, jerkbaits, and other diving hard baits.  I could definitely fish a crankbait year round, I really enjoy them on several of the lakes near me.  They're mostly hard bottom with little or no vegetation, and those that do have vegetation have places that I can crank that produce well.  Post spawn to fall, I am happy chucking and winding a 3XD, squarebill, or 5XD.  Fall to the spawn is all about the jerkbait for me, and I'll figure out the lipless soon enough.

 

I would really miss the shakyhead, flipping jig, and dropshot, though. 

[Mike L]

I guess you could if you really wanted to, but why would you want to??

 

 

 

 

Mike

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I actually did this for years, though our season started 3rd week of June and was over by November.  Being a kid, it was much more cost effective to buy a crank that cost $5 to catch hundreds of fish on than plastics that you only caught one or two fish on.

For me it’s more like catch nothing with a $5 crankbait and get it stuck and break off. Where as the plastic worms are weedless and actually catch fish, sometimes a dozen fish on a single worm. I have never found any aspect of crankbait to be cost effective, I have dozens of them that just turn to rust 

[WRB]

Crank baits no, jigs yes.

Tom

[cyclops2]

I only use Rapala 1.5" floaters .  Simplifies my blaming the fish for not biting.   

No stress fishing.  Casting or trolling  with Drop Shot setups.

[ajschn06]

I think a jig is the only thing you could hand me as my "only bait" and leave me satisfied... nothing else is versatile enough...

12 minutes ago, WRB said:

Crank baits no, jigs yes.

Tom

 

Hey yeah what he said..

[BrianMDTX]

15 minutes ago, WRB said:

Crank baits no, jigs yes.

Tom

I am not a great jig angler. But I could fish jigs all day over crankbaits without fails.