No bite from crankbaits, but lots of bite from Jerkbait, even Evergreen SB125.

[scmlfty]

I started fishing less than 10 months ago, tried few lures, now the most productive lure is the jerkbait and I want to give other lures a try.

 

I don't have a boat, but I fish along a very long rocky shore and also a straight long riprap.  I just cast parallel to the shore. Typically I make sure the lure lands 3-6 ft from the shore, I can easily get bite from jerkbaits, but I tried crankbaits yesterday, I made sure I had good bottom contract with some rocks, I used 10ft and 13 ft crankbaits, not a single bite. When I switched to the jerkbait, got a bite immediately after 1 jerk, and got a couple of bass in 15 mins. I live in a cold place, and the water temperature now is very good, like 75 degree, I can see tiny bass in groups next to the shore.

 

Any suggestions on how to get a bite from crankbaits? We only have smallmouth in this reservoir, and some trout.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

If your looking for reaction bites on cranks, the two things I've found that work best are:

 

1. Deflection, sounds like you're doing a good job with 10-13ft cranks bouncing off rocks in 5-6ft.    

 

2.  Speed, burn those baits into the bottom.   Don't give the fish time to think about the bait.   

 

Outside of reaction bites, you want to vary the retrieve....start and stop, rod twitches, etc.  I'll use a slower retrieve in these scenarios.  You want to strongly consider colors, sound, and action.  When you use cranks in a non reactionary type role, you must remember that what your bait actually looks like to the fish factors in much more.    The world of cranks is vast, and there's tons of factors that go along with using them effectively.  

 

Beyond that though, why force a crankbait when you've found another bait that is catching them well.     Keep playing with the crank but put it on the back burner and concentrate on catching fish first and foremost as a new Bass angler imho.   You'll fill out your skillset/tackle box as time goes along.   

[Bazoo]

Howdy. Well, have you tried fishing crankbaits in a stop and go retrieve? Assuming that's how you are using your jerkbait.

 

Sounds like they want a slower cadence.

 

I'd also try a fluke IE, soft jerkbait.

[scmlfty]

58 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

If your looking for reaction bites on cranks, the two things I've found that work best are:

 

1. Deflection, sounds like you're doing a good job with 10-13ft cranks bouncing off rocks in 5-6ft.    

 

2.  Speed, burn those baits into the bottom.   Don't give the fish time to think about the bait.   

 

Outside of reaction bites, you want to vary the retrieve....start and stop, rod twitches, etc.  I'll use a slower retrieve in these scenarios.  You want to strongly consider colors, sound, and action.  When you use cranks in a non reactionary type role, you must remember that what your bait actually looks like to the fish factors in much more.    The world of cranks is vast, and there's tons of factors that go along with using them effectively.  

 

Beyond that though, why force a crankbait when you've found another bait that is catching them well.     Keep playing with the crank but put it on the back burner and concentrate on catching fish first and foremost as a new Bass angler imho.   You'll fill out your skillset/tackle box as time goes along.   

Thank you for all the good suggestions! I did tried different retrieval speeds, fully stop then start fast,  it didn't really help, I will try slower speed next time.

 

I want to try crankbaits because I have been ONLY practicing jerkbait since March, everytime I go fishing, I use jerkbaits, I have Vision 110, Evergreen FA-115, Nishine 95 and 115, Jackall 130, etc, maybe 20 different sizes/colors. I think after almost half years practice, I am really good at it now.

Just want to try a different presentation, only using 1 type of lure from my lure box is really gettting a little boring..

37 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Howdy. Well, have you tried fishing crankbaits in a stop and go retrieve? Assuming that's how you are using your jerkbait.

 

Sounds like they want a slower cadence.

 

I'd also try a fluke IE, soft jerkbait.

Yes I have, it didn't work, but honestly, I probably didn't cast enough last time, I only made 15-20 casts totally in 2 hours, I will try again next time. It's just a little frustrating because I can see bass everywhere, and the jerkbait bite proved they wanted to bite, they just didn't want to bite the crankbait for some reasons.

[FishTank]

Find a crankbait that goes to the same depth as you jerkbait and fish it the same way, just like a jerkbait but a little quicker. 

 

Another option is to go to a Shad rap style bait that suspends.

[Bankc]

You can fish a jerkbait like a crankbait, or a crankbait like a jerkbait.  They're pretty much the same thing.  I mean, there are differences, and obviously a jerkbait usually works better fished like a jerkbait, and vice versa.  But you're not limited to just the label of the bait.  I've often had good luck fishing a crankbait just like a jerkbait that constantly bumps into the bottom.  Just reel it fast to get it down to the bottom, then pause, jerk, pause jerk...  Or if you're doing a steady retrieve, try to pause for a split second anytime it hits something.  Or just do random pauses if it's not hitting anything.  Bass love erratic behavior, especially combined with smooth, predictable behavior. 

 

Also, while bumping crankbaits against things is often a good technique, it's not the only technique and isn't often the best technique with them.  What crankbaits excel at is holding a steady depth.  So if you're getting bit with a jerkbait that suspends, let's say at 8 feet below the water, then a crankbait that runs at 8 feet might be a good option too.  Or maybe even one that runs a bit shallower, since bass like to feed up more than down. 

 

And then there's the action of the wobble.  This time of year when the water is warm, I like fat, rounded crankbaits with a wide wobble.  Though, I never really fish for smallmouth, so they could be different. 

 

My point being, just experiment with different stuff until you find something that works.  Don't get trapped into the mindset that something has to be done a certain way because someone else said so.  Crankbait fishing is all about experimenting with speed, depth, wobble, profile, location, and color to find what the bass are interested in.  And since crankbaits can be fished fairly fast, allowing you to cover a lot of water, you can run a bunch of experiments without wasting too much time. 

[Bazoo]

Differences in the tightness of the wobble could be the reason.

 

Could be that the sound is playing a factor. If your crankbait is louder or silent compared to the jerkbait.

 

If you just tried one crankbait that didn't work... just try another. There are days they prefer action of one vs another. I'd be surprised if they didn't bite a Bomber Fat Free Guppy.

[king fisher]

13 hours ago, scmlfty said:

Just want to try a different presentation, only using 1 type of lure from my lure box is really gettting a little boring..

Do you want to be bored or broke.  Your choice.  Be warned, once you start buying crankbaits looking for that perfect one for you situation the Bait Monkey will climb on your back and never let go.  Maybe fishing the same boring bait isn't so bad.  I will say, buying and catching bass on crankbaits is a fun way to go broke.

[casts_by_fly]

If they are eating a jerkbait I wouldn’t try to force feed them a crank bait.take the win and catch the fish. If they stop, then see what else they will eat. 

 

I’d throw a ned. Open water, rocks, relatively shallow, and visible fish. 

[Bazoo]

Have you tried a spinnerbait?

[scmlfty]

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

Have you tried a spinnerbait?

Yes, but I tried the cheap $1 walmart one, cast 3 times, I haven't tried my Megabass yet, a was afraid of snagging, I will try the SV3 next time.

5 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

If they are eating a jerkbait I wouldn’t try to force feed them a crank bait.take the win and catch the fish. If they stop, then see what else they will eat. 

 

I’d throw a ned. Open water, rocks, relatively shallow, and visible fish. 

I will give the ned rig a try. It's just keep using jerkbait constantly for 6 months is really not that exciting.

I typically fish 3-4 hours each time, I had to buy a "jerkbait specific" rod and reel, so I don't have to have half of my body sore because of constant jerking..

6 hours ago, king fisher said:

Do you want to be bored or broke.  Your choice.  Be warned, once you start buying crankbaits looking for that perfect one for you situation the Bait Monkey will climb on your back and never let go.  Maybe fishing the same boring bait isn't so bad.  I will say, buying and catching bass on crankbaits is a fun way to go broke.

way cheaper than mag dumb 223 in 2024

11 hours ago, Bankc said:

You can fish a jerkbait like a crankbait, or a crankbait like a jerkbait.  They're pretty much the same thing.  I mean, there are differences, and obviously a jerkbait usually works better fished like a jerkbait, and vice versa.  But you're not limited to just the label of the bait.  I've often had good luck fishing a crankbait just like a jerkbait that constantly bumps into the bottom.  Just reel it fast to get it down to the bottom, then pause, jerk, pause jerk...  Or if you're doing a steady retrieve, try to pause for a split second anytime it hits something.  Or just do random pauses if it's not hitting anything.  Bass love erratic behavior, especially combined with smooth, predictable behavior. 

 

Also, while bumping crankbaits against things is often a good technique, it's not the only technique and isn't often the best technique with them.  What crankbaits excel at is holding a steady depth.  So if you're getting bit with a jerkbait that suspends, let's say at 8 feet below the water, then a crankbait that runs at 8 feet might be a good option too.  Or maybe even one that runs a bit shallower, since bass like to feed up more than down. 

 

And then there's the action of the wobble.  This time of year when the water is warm, I like fat, rounded crankbaits with a wide wobble.  Though, I never really fish for smallmouth, so they could be different. 

 

My point being, just experiment with different stuff until you find something that works.  Don't get trapped into the mindset that something has to be done a certain way because someone else said so.  Crankbait fishing is all about experimenting with speed, depth, wobble, profile, location, and color to find what the bass are interested in.  And since crankbaits can be fished fairly fast, allowing you to cover a lot of water, you can run a bunch of experiments without wasting too much time. 

Lots of good suggestions, thanks! Currently I only have Evergreen crankbaits, I have CR6, CR8, CR10, CR13 and CR16, also the 3/4oz big squarebill, maybe I will try the squarebill next time, it is fat.

[scmlfty]

I just want to add one thing, because of the cold weather in this place, the bass here grows really slow, there are very few smallmouth over 15 inches here, I have fished 10 times in this reservoir, I only got one 16 inch/1.89lbs smallmouth in the spring, most of the smallmouth here are around 10-12 inch.

Is the crankbait too fat for them to eat? But these tiny bass even eat their similar body sized Jackall 130 sometimes...

[Bazoo]

Crankbaits aren't too fat for even small bass. But they might not like the speed of them over the jerkbait. What about color? are you matching colors between jerkbait and crankbait? I don't suppose you're using a silver jerkbait and a red crankbait or some such.

 

Have you tried a fluke?

[thunderblack]

I haven't read through all the responses so maybe someone mentioned this but try using some different retrieve speeds with pauses or jerks while fishing the cranks. Sometimes I fish squarebills almost like a jerkbait with pauses and small twitches. If they are wanting the jerkbait though then run with that. I mean what beats a jerkbait anyway? They always work!

[Bazoo]

I almost always fish crankbaits with a jerk pause retreive.