The Do's and Dont's of fishing a Crank Bait...

[5bass]

There are times that digging a crank just kills 'em. At least where I fish it does and especially on structure where there isnt much bottom "cover". If there is ample cover on the bottom I wont dig the crankbait into the bottom.....thats when I concentrate on hitting the cover.

[Matt Fly]

A properly geared reel makes it easy to crank a bait to its max depth, without grinding all day to keep it there.

Proper gearing allows you to keep that bait down their at a snails pace.

Whats nice, baits like DD 22's  won't wear you out with the right reel.

[CJ]

Crankbait techniques are going to vary with the type of structoral features and cover you are fishing.The ledges that I fish on my home lake have isolated brushpiles and rockpiles.My techniques for fishing these deeper spots are to make sure I am running a crankbait that hits the bottom.By coming into contact with the hard bottom contours I target,the brushpiles or rocks will cause the lure to deflect,sending it shooting off to one side.I really don't have to do anything special other than pause after a good contact with whatever I hit.Sometimes instead of pausing I may rip it and cause it to speed up after contact.But alot of fish have been caught on a steady retrieve simply because the contact with cover or bottom will do the work for you.

There are many different opinions on this subject and it's hard to be wrong.Hank Parker aired a show a year or so ago.He was fishing in Texas,using a Mann's 20+ in 15-18 ft. of water.He explained that he was wanting his crankbait to stand up on it's lip while digging up the bottom.

Another thing to keep in mind is that very few crankbaits will run as deep as they claim to on the package without getting your rod wet.

[Matt Fly]

CJ,

 don't forget to bring those 1/2 to 3/4 oz red traps in Feb.   Fork bass love those things.

Hookem

[Guest muddy]

A properly geared reel makes it easy to crank a bait to its max depth, without grinding all day to keep it there.

Proper gearing allows you to keep that bait down their at a snails pace.

Whats nice, baits like DD 22's won't wear you out with the right reel.

MATT that being said, and i know it to be the case. If I am fishing a lot of smaller bodies of water around the 12 to 15 ft mark how much easier is it with a 5.2:1 than a 6.2:1 ratio, would it matter as much?

[Micro]

There are many different opinions on this subject and it's hard to be wrong.Hank Parker aired a show a year or so ago.He was fishing in Texas,using a Mann's 20+ in 15-18 ft. of water.He explained that he was wanting his crankbait to stand up on it's lip while digging up the bottom.

When I'm cranking in the situation I described a few posts ago, I'm trying to stay in contact with the bottom during as much of my retrieve as possible.    I use a fairly steady retrieve until I hit something substantial.  Then I pause for a second or two then accelerate the bait back down to the bottom.  In the creeks I fish that have sand/gravel/stone bottoms it's the most productive cranking technique I've tried.  

[5bass]

Hank Parker aired a show a year or so ago.He was fishing in Texas,using a Mann's 20+ in 15-18 ft. of water.He explained that he was wanting his crankbait to stand up on it's lip while digging up the bottom.

The idea behind that technique is to make your crank look like its a small fish (bluegill, perch etc...) just swimming along and feeding off the bottom. You will see some cranks, especially deep runners, come across ebay and other internet places that are custom weighted in the nose that makes them stand straight up off the bottom when retrieved. With the nose weighted, you can actually pause here and there and your bait just stays standing up off the bottom. It's very effective at times.  

[Micro]

The idea behind that technique is to make your crank look like its a small fish (bluegill, perch etc...) just swimming along and feeding off the bottom. You will see some cranks, especially deep runners, come across ebay and other internet places that are custom weighted in the nose that makes them stand straight up off the bottom when retrieved. With the nose weighted, you can actually pause here and there and your bait just stays standing up off the bottom. It's very effective at times.

My big rebel Crawfish have circles molded into the lips on the underside. Are these for weights? I've seen little round weights at BPS that look like they could be glued in these. Do you think I might get even better performance out of my Crawfish by doing that? I'd like to slow my cranking down even more if I could.

[Bass_Akwards]

Fantastic stuff guys!  Thanks!

[FD.]

I have 3 cranks that are my favorites-

Shallow water over Hydrilla ect..Rapala J-11 in golden shiner.  I crank in down to the top of the grass and twitch or rip in through the grass.  It produced the most fish by far this year with 3 over 5#s.  Its only drawback is that it is light and you have to use lighter gear to cast it very far.

5 to 10' and around timber or docks - Bomber 6A Firetiger.  I pitch this crank more than cast and I go through a lot of them.  pitch it under docks or into laydown trees that are exposed.  Crank and twitch until you hit something and pause and hang on.  8.31 lbs out of a huge tree in 3 ft of water.  You have to work it slow and make accurate pitches and be prepared to lose or break a lot of them.  Same technique with a DD 22 got me a 10-8 out of 5' deep water this year(see photo to the left).  I use heavy braid when doing this.  I believe these heavy structure fish are usually resident fish and don't see many cranks because most people are scared to throw them.

Deeper water (in fl that means 15') or on large flats or shell bars I like the Spro Aruka Shad in golden shiner on 30# braid.  You can cast this thing a mile and it sinks quickly so you can work a lot of water.