Crankbaits…where to start?

[bp_fowler]

As you can guess from the title I’m brand new to cranking.  When I look at the selection of Crankbaits out there I’m a bit overwhelmed.  There’s square bills, flat sides, lipless, medium and deep divers and don’t even get me started on the colors.  I’m a bit clueless where to begin.

 

Are there any specific make/model(s) or general recommendations that you folks would suggest for a bank angler just starting out?  A few good options that would cover most of the situations I’d encounter from the bank would be great.

[garroyo130]

Read this 

 

For starters, I would probably purchase a Lucky Craft LC 1.5 silent and KVD 1.5 in natural colors. I would fish those for some time just to get a feel for crankbaits. 

 

Another option is red eye shad or variant. With those, you can just cast them out and retrieve to start and you will get bit.  

 

Once comfortable, I would probably add a small hard jerkbait like a Lucky craft pointer or kvd jerkbait. 

 

I would add deep divers only if you have an area you have fished enough to become familiar with. If you feel you are well aware of the depth of the area and any cover/structure there, then add a crank that runs slightly deeper than that depth. I really like throwing the Academy CRD + (which i cant seem to find any more)  for 13' range

 

I fish primarily from bank and part of what influences these recommendations is my experience fishing and losing lures. 

 

*Edit - I would use a Med/Mod rod to start. 

[Bazoo]

A good start would be a couple squarebills in a shad or golden pattern. Brand of your choice. Same in chartreuse backed for muddy water.

 

Lipless, crankbaits are prone to being lost, take extra and don't sweat losing them. Cotton Cordell Super Spot is cheaper than a Rat-L-Trap. Try both. Again, natural pattern/blue and silver and a brighter color too. Using one of the traps that have a spinner on the tail instead of a second hook will reduce the snags.

 

For a diving crank, I prefer the Fat Free Shad. Now made by Bomber I think, It was designed by Bill Dance, I forget which company made it back then.

[bp_fowler]

27 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

*Edit - I would use a Med/Mod rod to start. 

I did recently purchase such a rod.  AG Vendetta 7’ Med/Mod topped with an AG Black Max.  Budget outfit, not ready to go all in with a pricier setup just yet.

[garroyo130]

5 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

I did recently purchase such a rod.  AG Vendetta 7’ Med/Mod topped with an AG Black Max.  Budget outfit, not ready to go all in with a pricier setup just yet.

 

Should serve you well. No reason to go expensive to start. 

[casts_by_fly]

Lipless can be fished in 1’ or 10’ of water so are quite versatile.  Great to have on hand all the time. Fishing from the bank, I’m going to assume some shallower water and I’ll agree with a squarebill also. Great around cover.  Something that will fish down to 3-4’.  Those two will do well for you from the bank. 
 

color depends on your water conditions. Something natural shad type for one.  A chartreuse black back if you get dirty water. If your water is clear all the time then a natural bluegill type pattern. 
 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Fishing from the bank I recommend a squarebill and running parallel to bank. Take a look at Rapala BX Brat 3' or 6' and the Bill Lewis ATV 

 

A few lipless would be a good idea too, particularly for this time of year. Spro, Bill Lewis, Strike King makes good lipless. Fish on a burn and stop retrieve

[Pat Brown]

I'd go a couple lipless in 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz, a couple flat side cranks in a couple different medium ish depths, a couple different size squarebill and a couple different depth deep divers.

 

Go transparent and silent for half and opaque and a mixture of rattling and knocking for the other half.

[Columbia Craw]

Matt Allen with Tactical Bassin has a tutorial focused on crankbaits. It’s over an hour but will answer every question you can think of.  It’s very comprehensive.  I encourage you to watch it.

[scaleface]

Fishing from bank is backward than fishing from a boat . I use inexpensive lipless ones. Find them on clearance or whatever. They will follow the contours from deep to shallow better than diving baits. Baits will get lost.

[Bankbeater]

It depends on where you are fishing and what type of cover and structure is in your lake.  If you have a lot of brush and submerged vegetation you may want to stick to shallow diving baits.  Most of the time I'm using crankbaits that run only a foot or so deep because anything that runs deeper will snag.

[WRB]

There is long 6 page thread on all you need to know about crank baits in this forum.

Op; do you have a boat?

Tom

[bp_fowler]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

There is long 6 page thread on all you need to know about crank baits in this forum.

Op; do you have a boat?

Tom

Is this the one you’re referring to?

 

No boat.

[king fisher]

If you don't want the Bait Monkey to move in with you, don't buy your first crankbait.  Just one step down that path, can lead to a life long journey down a never ending road.  All you need is a few baits that cover the depths you fish, in just a couple color patterns that are vaguely similar to what the bass eat in your lake.  You may only need a few, but what an angler needs, and what an angler ends up buying can be as different as what a politician promises and what a politician delivers.   I admit to being a crankbait addict.  I tried to quit with a twelve step program, but ended up at the tackle shop on my very first step.  All I can recommend is keep it simple, and good luck.

[WRB]

36 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

Is this the one you’re referring to?

 

No boat.

Yes! No boat makes very difficult to:effectively present a diving “crank bait”!

Diving crank baits are all about running depth at the active depth zone bass are located.

When fishing from shore every diving lure is limited because the depth is getting shallower as the lure approaches the your casting location at the shore line. 

Tom

[Catt]

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/72766-a-rare-insight-into-crankbait-fishing/

[LrgmouthShad]

9 hours ago, king fisher said:

If you don't want the Bait Monkey to move in with you, don't buy your first crankbait.  Just one step down that path, can lead to a life long journey down a never ending road.  All you need is a few baits that cover the depths you fish, in just a couple color patterns that are vaguely similar to what the bass eat in your lake.  You may only need a few, but what an angler needs, and what an angler ends up buying can be as different as what a politician promises and what a politician delivers.   I admit to being a crankbait addict.  I tried to quit with a twelve step program, but ended up at the tackle shop on my very first step.  All I can recommend is keep it simple, and good luck.

It gets really bad when you want to buy lots of spares for baits that work. My current practice is to buy 4-5 of whatever starts working really good

 

I bought five packs of gambler burner worms and then that bite completely shut off

 

I bought five of some night spinnerbaits I like before I even used them (they work)

 

I bought $100 of zoom mag 2’s

 

The bait monkey doesn’t live with me but he loves to vacation with me

[Pat Brown]

With jigs and soft plastics, I like to have my favorite stuff in a variety of colors (and action and fall rate and profile but color seems to matter more for something they examine).

 

With crankbaits, I like to have my favorite color in a variety of sizes and actions.  Once I figure out the color of the stuff they're eating I get those colors and focus more on my presentation and what depth the bait is running.

[Huckfinn38]

With the water cooling I would start with some Frittside 5's or Rapala Otts Garage Slim in shad patterns.  Last two times out I have had a lot of success with the Frittside 5. Water temps have been 68-75 degrees.

If fishing deeper waters I would get Rapala DT8, Rapala DT10, and maybe a couple Rapala DT14.

I personally have gotten annoyed with some Strike King crankbaits not tracking the way they should this year so I would look at the Lucky Craft 1.5 Squarebills, 6th Sense 50 size square bills, and the Rapala Roccos.

 

Also a big fan of the new Berkely Dime (6, 10, & 15). I havent caught fish on them yet but they look amazing and do what they are supposed to when in water. 

[Darth-Baiter]

i like Huckfinns response.

 

some flatsides wouldnt suck in the arsenal.  

[TOXIC]

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

With jigs and soft plastics, I like to have my favorite stuff in a variety of colors (and action and fall rate and profile but color seems to matter more for something they examine).

 

With crankbaits, I like to have my favorite color in a variety of sizes and actions.  Once I figure out the color of the stuff they're eating I get those colors and focus more on my presentation and what depth the bait is running.

This is great advice.  Let me make it very simple for you.  Start out with a variety of depth running cranks from one manufacturer.  Pick one.  For me, I was sponsored by SPRO so I was using their cranks.  Out of every color and depth they offered, the most productive color I found was Cell Mate.  Clear water, dirty water, stained water….smallmouth, largemouth, snakeheads, panfish, literally everything bit that crank.  I am now going to try the Bill Lewis line of cranks since the company that bought Yamamoto also bought them.  They have the Cell Mate color and I ordered a bunch to try.  I’ll be brutally honest if they live up to the high standard of SPRO. Pics are of both manufacturers. 

[Fishingmickey]

Spro Little John is the Schiznit.

FM

[DaubsNU1]

20+ years ago got to talking with bass fishermen while living down in Missouri. Local lake had lots of flooded timber...and he was tossing square bill cranks. I thought he was crazy...but said the bite was strong!

 

He showed me his lure retriever called the "Stumpmaster" -- 15' telescoping lure retriever. I picked one up, and have saved myself a bunch of $$.

 

Never really fished cranks, but a few years back, I found this site...and started reading, and reading some more.

 

Started off with a few square bill KVD 1.5's, then ordered some 6th Sense 50x in a few different colors. Yep, you are going to want two or three of your favorite colors.

 

Most lakes in our area are relatively small and shallow, so square bills work well.

 

I started with bluegill, and chartreuse, and expanded from there. Good luck!

 

[WRB]

Shore bond angler eliminates what you can effectively use without loosing a high % of your lures. Boaters have a big advantage with unlimited choices and presentations.

From shore I suggest using floating lures the dive less then 10’. You can stop the retrieve using a floater and it will slowly raise up to get over snags. Jointed lures you can “wake” effectively and retrieve faster if needed.

Flat side crank baits including lipless have a faster tighter wiggle and run straight without wondering side to side.

The bill shape coffin, square, rounded also change the wiggle somewhat with rounded having the most rolling action.

Color are wide ranging and usually popular by region, you are in Ohio where shade (silver-chartreuse)) bluegill (green-blue), crappie (green with dots) and crawdad (dark red-brown) are popular.

Your tackle is suited for crank baits between 1/4 to 5/8 oz and suggest using 12# Big Game mono.

Berkley Fritz side, Bomber 6A, Rapala DT4 & J13 (jointed), Bill Lewis Rattle Trap are all good choices.

Tom

 

 

 

[Munkin]

For me cranks boil down to 3 main colors: Shad, crayfish, and something with chartreuse in it. Diving depth depends on where you are fishing. Below are the top 5 cranks I would go with.

 

Bandit= 100, 200, 300, sized based on depth you are fishing

Rebel Wee and Deep Wee R= can be found at Wal-Mart and are a highly productive crank.

Mann's Baby 1- runs about 12" deep if you really crank and hold your rod tip down.

Strike King 1.5 Overall the best crankbait to start with.

Rapala DT series= DT stands for Dive To so just pick the depth you are fishing.

 

There are at least 50 others I could recommend based on the situation but the above but you have to crawl before you run. I can tell you about the Tsunekiki Kohama Crank later.

 

Allen