Why are crank baits so difficult?

[NavyVet1204]

Oh how I loathe these things.(well, the hooks anyway). I’ve tried a self diagnosis of me buying the wrong depth on these things, but I’m convinced it’s purely witchcraft altogether. If the treble’s aren’t catching on everything IN the water then they are catching on everything outside it. The hooks wrap around everything as if the entirety of every possible thing in the world is magnetic to them. I’ve said in the past that if you put me on a crankbait in the Mariana’s trench with a seven mile trip to the bottom….I would still find a way to snag a stump or tree limb. It truly never fails. With all that said, I can probably count on one hand how many crank baits I own vs a couple hundred pounds of soft plastics of all varieties. I know cranks catch fish, but why is it such a pain to use them? Please tell me that someone else here has the same trouble so that I feel better please ? 

[flyfisher]

I haven't had the same issues as you with them.  Get a plug knocker and it will pay for itself in one trip.  Cranks work best going along the bottom or bouncing off cover so you will get them snagged but you will also catch some fish too

[Mobasser]

I used to use them more often. Years ago, I fished a lake that they worked well on. Rebels of various kinds, Wiggle Warts and Bagley's we're what I carried. But I stopped fishing them probably ten yrs ago due to weeds. I know they work for many folks, but, like you, I can't throw them anymore. They snag up on everything, and I feel like I'm wasting productive fishing time.

[Columbia Craw]

 Am just the opposite.  I like having six hook points to stick a fish. It only takes one.  Once you understand the lure and how to work it, your confidence grows.  I will run a crankbait in pad fields.  I am convinced there is no better lure to to fish rock and much of my fishing is just that.  

[NavyVet1204]

Deep down I want them to work, but I am always reminded of why they don’t at least for me anyway. Maybe one day it’ll just click.

[Lead Head]

When I first started using cranks I had similar problems. For me, switching to a lighter moderate-fast rod really helped solve most of my problems. A stiff fast rod seems to cause me to hang up almost instantly, a softer rod really helps me feel the cover without smashing into it and getting stuck. I grind cranks in rocks and through brush almost every trip out now, something I would have thought was completely insane 15 years ago.

 

I still get snagged, but not nearly as often. 

 

As mentioned before, a good lure retriever will pay for itself in no time. After I bought one, it was making me money by my second trip out with it.

[LrgmouthShad]

I ain’t wild about billed crankbaits right now. You aren’t alone. Great lures… heck more classics have been won on plugs than any other lure. Just haven’t found myself wanting to dedicate a lot to learning to fish them yet, but the waters I fish in NY are not conducive to crankbait fishing, I think. Either ponds with lily pads (dead right now) or lakes full of grass. 

[NavyVet1204]

58 minutes ago, Lead Head said:

When I first started using cranks I had similar problems. For me, switching to a lighter moderate-fast rod really helped solve most of my problems. A stiff fast rod seems to cause me to hang up almost instantly, a softer rod really helps me feel the cover without smashing into it and getting stuck. I grind cranks in rocks and through brush almost every trip out now, something I would have thought was completely insane 15 years ago.

 

I still get snagged, but not nearly as often. 

 

As mentioned before, a good lure retriever will pay for itself in no time. After I bought one, it was making me money by my second trip out with it.

I may have to give this life retriever a try when I get a boat. Fishing off the bank doesn’t seem like much use.

[scaleface]

I use the heck out of them .

[tander]

Last year was my best year in a long time. 80% of the bass I caught was on a crankbait. Plug knocker is a must.

[Deleted account]

9 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Why are crank baits so difficult?

For the same reason(s) exams are difficult, lack of knowledge and experience of the subject matter at hand. It's not the exam, it's the test taker.

[LrgmouthShad]

17 minutes ago, tander said:

80% of the bass I caught was on a crankbait.

Like me with a spinnerbait. Even this year sitting on 2/3 of my bass so far caught on them. I’m keeping track of numbers I catch this year

[Bird]

I throw fewer crank baits than any other bait in my tackle bag but I'm usually throwing to cover where I have other baits I prefer.

 

Look at the package to see what depth the bait runs and try to match that to where your throwing it.

A bait that runs 15 - 20 feet will certainly dig and hang in say 8 - 10 feet of water.

[WRB]

Shore angler using a deep diving crank bait around cover isn’t a good choice. You can try changing the hooks on the lures you currently have to Owner single hooks. 

Lipless crank baits you can regulate the depth easier and rip the lure through grass. 

Better choice for the shore angler is a single hook chatter type or a swim jig.

 

[OkobojiEagle]

I've cut the forward facing hook from the front treble of several crankbaits.  Those particular baits have become my favorite crankbaits...

 

oe

[islandbass]

Absolutely and indeed, especially from the shore. The nugget or lesson is two fold.

 

Nugget 1 - Live with it and deal with it  — removing the guck that sticks to the trebles. Accept it as part of the game. My first bass ever was on a crankbait so they have a small place in my heart. I still hate the guck that trebles can collect but that is part of the game. 
 

Nugget 2 - As Eddie Murphy said about haunted houses, it’s a “hint and a half for your butt” that’s telling you the crankbait might not be the ideal weapon in the scenarios you face. 
 

I have have often pondered switching those trebles to single hooks, but that’s a lot of work,lol. 
 

 

 

[GreenPig]

Grass out to 17 FOW is where my difficulty is. 

[garroyo130]

Are you matching crankbait running depth to water? When I start collecting algae and muck I usually go to a shallower crankbait and fish it just off the bottom. 

[QED]

16 hours ago, Deleted account said:

For the same reason(s) exams are difficult, lack of knowledge and experience of the subject matter at hand. It's not the exam, it's the test taker.

 

Exams are difficult?  That's news to me.  Perhaps it's just you...

[Bankbeater]

When I'm fishing off of the bank the only crankbaits I use are the shallow running ones that won't go more than a foot or so deep.  Bring them in slow so they don't dive and don't be afraid to stop the retrieve if you see you're going to run into a snag.  The bait will float to the surface and you can hop it over the snag.  A longer rod helps when you are lifting the bait out over the snags along the shore.  On the retrieve, run the bait along side the brush pile not across the top of it.  If a bass come up out of the brush and takes the crankbait it will be able to dive back down into the brush while you are reeling it in.  Most times if they are on the side, you can turn them and bring them in.

[M Bruns]

I used to absolutely hate crankbaits. The places I fished had too much weeds and algae. I've since learned to really let the lure pause and float up so it stays in the top 1/3 of the water column. I haven't found it necessary to deflect it off cover to get bites like the pros tell you.

[garroyo130]

15 hours ago, QED said:

 

Exams are difficult?  That's news to me.  Perhaps it's just you...

[SWVABass]

As a bank guy you will snag a lot with them if your fishing it at a right angle to the bank. Try finding areas where your cast runs parallel to the bank and work the depth zones from shallow to deep. Also don’t burn your crank if making bottom contact. Slow it down and if you do snag it give it slack and sometimes they back themselves out. Also try a square bill, they deflect really well and that’s usually when it will get smoked. 
 

for those that don’t back out, hold your rod like a bow, pull your line and let it snap out that usually works really well for me, and again when it breaks free be prepared for it to get slammed, something about it making a mess then darting off causes bass to eat it. Smallmouth hammer it

[TnRiver46]

On 4/9/2022 at 7:44 AM, LrgmouthShad said:

Like me with a spinnerbait. Even this year sitting on 2/3 of my bass so far caught on them. I’m keeping track of numbers I catch this year

[J Francho]

9/10 crankbait issues are from reeling too fast.  Slow down and you have more time to react when the bait comes in contact with something.  If it's a weed, a little slack and a snap of the tip.  If it's wood, give the bait some slack and time to rise before reeling up.