What's Your Favorite Silent, Shallow-Running Crankbait?

[BassThumb]

What's your favorite silent, shallow-running crankbait that can be fished anywhere in the 0-3' range?

I prefer the Lucky Craft BDS-2, but I'm tired of losing them to Northern Pike and I'm looking for an alternative that's a little cheaper than a Lucky Craft. Preferably, one that's a little smaller than the Rapala DT Fat 1.

[zip pow]

Rapala dt fat 3 in brown bone there hard to find round here great bait

[Bluebasser86]

Lucky Craft CBS zero in American shad color. It's a little crankbait but it has caught me some of my biggest crankbait fish. It's amazing how far it will cast on my normal cranking rod too.

[ww2farmer]

Another vote for the DT Fat 03, if you want it to run subsurface, toss it on 20lb Trilene big game, if you want it to reach 3', use 30lb braid.

[guitarkid]

Daiwa peanut

Bandit 100 series.

-gk

[Vinny Chase]

Another vote for the fat3...It has wide wobble that at times in the summer, the fish cannot resist.

[lavbasser]

Shallow Shad Rap, LC Mini Skeet MR, and WEC Hicky are good shallow/silent baits for clear water.

[MN Bassin' nOOb]

Silent 0-3 ft crank?

KVD 1.0 Blackback Chartreuse.

$5 at Cabelas or Dick's here in the Twin Cities metro.

[Jeff H]

Big M custom for me, and I'll be right PO'd if I ever lose it to a darn gator! It is WAY hotter than any factory shallow crank I have right now!

[deaknh03]

Big M custom for me, and I'll be right PO'd if I ever lose it to a darn gator! It is WAY hotter than any factory shallow crank I have right now!

Just curious, but your afraid to lose your crank to a gator? In Minny?

[deaknh03]

Just curious, but your afraid to lose your crank to a gator? In Minny?

Gator=slang for pike. Leave it to a bass fisherman to miss that one.

[Raul]

I´m not trying to be the smart one here but .... why don´t you use a steel leader ? we don´t have pike down here but when I venture into gar country that´s what we all use, a steel leader.

[SirSnookalot]

Another vote for the DT Fat 03, if you want it to run subsurface, toss it on 20lb Trilene big game, if you want it to reach 3', use 30lb braid.

I use nothing but 15# braid, just raise and lower your rod tip to change running depth. I used a crankbait for the first time in a couple of years yesterday, bass were all over it at all depths. I don't have brand preference.

[.ghoti.]

The original balsa Shallow Shad Rap. I use it as both a crankbait and a jerkbait.

[Kevinator1]

Im stuck on the Excalibur series. They are great.

[BassThumb]

I´m not trying to be the smart one here but .... why don´t you use a steel leader ? we don´t have pike down here but when I venture into gar country that´s what we all use, a steel leader.

Steel leaders really seem to really kill the action of the bait. I've never had much luck catching bass with them. Many of the lakes around here are quite clear, and in the fall when silent shallow cranks often shine for me, they are crystal clear due to the algae blooms which tint the water green for most of the year having died off.

I use the DT Fat 3 and DT Flat 3 quite often, but they don't float nearly as high as the BDS series cranks, so they're a little harder to fish like a wakebait, even with the rodtip held high. They're good baits, and cheap since they went on sale for $3 earlier this year.

Thanks for the replies.

[endless]

I have only one silent running crank for what your asking about but of course it runs $10 alone but it's the *** round bill big bomb. I like the silent ones and I might give others a shot since I only have one I like.

[The Bassinator]

I would try the Xcalibur XCS like Kevinator said. Its silent comes in three sizes ranging between 2 and 3 inches and its $7. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

[Hooligan]

I, too, like the Excalibur baits as a squarebill, They run very, very well in that 0-3 range. Another super bait, and I mean super, is Bass Pro's branded Lazer Eye Nitro Shallow Cranks. They've a decent color selection, and they run very well. I was turned on to them a couple years ago and for a $3.99 bait they are one heckuva value.

[detroit1]

Steel leaders are ok if you fish big "pike" lures. When bass fishing, as thumb says, it softens the action a little and can overpower a smaller bait. I've caught hundreds of pike over the years on bass baits, losing maybe 10, and never use a steel leader. Livin' on the edge, with no net in the boat...Oh and i picked up a dt3flat this spring and it gets my vote...

[schollie]

DT Fat 1 and 3 for me too, also love the original floaters, Bandits and Bombers work here too (in South Africa) for bass, catfish and yellows.

[Bill Porter]

KVD 1.5 Chrt/Blk Back!

[zbass]

Big M custom for me, and I'll be right PO'd if I ever lose it to a darn gator! It is WAY hotter than any factory shallow crank I have right now!

X2. I have a couple of Big M's square bills and they do catch em really good. My second would be a RC1.5

[scbassin]

The old Bagley Balsa B series

[BrianSnat]

My favorite is the original jointed Rapaka.