Crankbaits and the effects of retrieval speed, and other factors. CB Guru's please respond

[retiredbosn]

I want to become a crankbait guru!!!! But the things are still somewhat of a mystery to me. My strong points are buzzbaits and softplastics (any), following that would be spinnerbaits, traditional topwaters (jitterbugs, spooks, etc) and last would be crankbaits with the exception of Rattl Traps, spinnerbaits and rattl traps would probably be tied.

Anyway I want to master the crankbait, typically when I set out to learn something I research everything I can find on the subject, dissect it and review it again and again. I've read and re-read every crankbait article on this site, if you read them you may end up as confused as a breast fed baby in a topless bar! The retrieval rates recommended by the experts were varied and got me to thinking. Orginially crankbaits were designed to be trolled, especially deep divers. That is when the lightbulb went off in my head, if the original design of the bait was trolling then trolling speeds come into play to get the right action, depth etc. How do we as bass fishermen figure out how to reel a crankbait at the right speed when the literature on the use of cranks deal with trolling them? Simple math, 1 mph trolling speed equates to 17.6" per second, 1.5 mph relates to 26.4" per second, and 2 mph equals 35.2" second. Now all I have to do is figure out how long a turn of the handle takes on my reels. It is easy to know when you are working them too fast, especially deep divers, when they quit pulling as hard you know that the water is bypassing the lip and not the bait is no longer diving properly. But how about too slow? A 20 inch bass is capable of bursts of speed of upwards of 12mph, I used to think that a burner reel moved the bait so quickly that the bass couldn't catch it, now I know that the top speed we can get out of a burner is less than 5mph!!!! Now I have to figure out what IPT of reel I should be using. What I've come up with is that the smaller shallow running cranks, I need to be around 24IPT, and adjust accordingly. Where I'm stumped is the deep divers, I don't care what anyone says, cranking a DD22 all day will cramp your wrist and hurt. So although a little more speed may be nice on these baits, it will come at a higher price in my comfort. Obviously anything slower than 20IPT results in a bait that is barely moving at all, from the bass' point of view. I'm thinking something around 22 IPT. Any thoughts?

[bilgerat]

I'm looking to get cranks to work for me also. To add to retiredbosn's confusion, why are low ratio reels (5:1 for example) recommended for cranks ? Wouldn't that keep the crank from getting to it's desired depth ?

I've also read up on them a lot and still have a ton of questions. I'm one of those hardheads who has to actually fish a bait to figure it out. I understand the theories and all of that, I just learn it quicker on the water.

I also would like to know if there's a way to silence the rattles in them. I'm not a fan of rattling baits and every crank I own has them

[Jake.]

To add to retiredbosn's confusion, why are low ratio reels (5:1 for example) recommended for cranks ? Wouldn't that keep the crank from getting to it's desired depth ?

A faster reel doesn't equal more depth. Reeling excessively fast overpowers the bait and keeps it from diving correctly. A good comparison is riding a bike up a steep hill. You don't want to use a high gear when you are climbing one. A lower gear provides more torque. The same goes for crankbaits.

[retiredbosn]

From my experience with slow speed reels (around 20"IPT) it takes at least 20-30 feet horizontally to get the bait to it's deepest point.  So distance really comes into play when fishing deep running baits.  I think the 5.1:1 recommended for the comfort of the fisherman, IMO.

[J Francho]

On most deep divers, a slow retrieve gets it down to its maximum depth quicker. Personally, I don't put too much into the max depth rating, and the perfect speed. Some baits seem to handle a wide range of speeds better, and some do not. Fat Free Shad are one that doesn't, DD22's do handle it.

On the depth thing, I don't choose a DT6 to work in 6 FOW. I use a DT10. Why? To maintain aggressive contact with the bottom. If there are weeds extending up to 4' below the water, a DT6 might work well here. Weeds are one time when I actually use the rod to guide the bait through, instead of just cranking the bait into them, and fouling it. Same goes for wood.

Another thing with retrieval rates, often, the one that works the best with each bait is the one that put a slight bend in the rod. Not one where you feel like you're fighting with the bait.

Last thing about speed. Watch unwary baitfish. Often, they move pretty slowly, until chased. I use 5.8:1 reels (Daiwa Sols) for cranking, and before that 5:1 reels for many, many years. I also trolled quite a bit for smallies. Somewhere between 1.2 and 1.7 mph was the sweet spot for smallies in Lake Ontario.

You can find solid wood baits with no rattles. Poe's Cedar baits are one example. Rapala Fat Raps are another.

[Raul]

A lot of crankbaits don 't like to be retrieved fast, the first thing they do when reeled in fast is to lay down on it 's side, they run a few yards rolled on one side and then roll to the other side, the baits moves crazily from left to right ( or right to left ) just to jump to the opposite after sevaral feet, si your bait never runs true following a straight line.

[retiredbosn]

A lot of crankbaits don 't like to be retrieved fast, the first thing they do when reeled in fast is to lay down on it 's side, they run a few yards rolled on one side and then roll to the other side, the baits moves crazily from left to right ( or right to left ) just to jump to the opposite after sevaral feet, si your bait never runs true following a straight line.

This is where I get really confused.  Seems to me that this type of action would imitate a wounded baitfish, and produce more strikes. :-?

[Stringjam]

Action and crankbait design has a lot to do with whether or not you can burn a bait.

A burnable bait usually needs to have a tight roll and wiggle, and it needs to be a bait with good alignment.

And to answer another remark you've made - yes - sometimes the fastest, and I mean FASTEST retrieve you can attain will be what triggers strikes.

This sometimes goes for deep divers, too. A DT-16 with it's tight roll really excels at this.

Tapp-style baits also work great for this.....whether Tapp clones, or the broad-based generalization of mid-deep diving flatsided baits with a straight (or nearly) lip angle.

[hercdoc]

All cranks are not created equal...you need to master the crankbait before you develop the technique.  Learn what the bait does under the water when your turning the handle.  I am fortunate enough to have an Olympic size pool at my disposal.  I have spent many, many hours tuning my cranks ( I have a box full of cranks that won't run straight no matter how much tuning I do) and then learning what they do when I turn the handle at a certain speed.  Example...direct tie to the lure, not the split ring...then tie to the split ring...then use a snap lock...a speed clip...4.7:1 reel...5.2:1...6.3:1 reel speed.  Slow retrieve...medium retrieve...fast retrieve. Burn the lure...stop and go...pull and reel.  I like to have a mental image of what my crank is doing under the water.  I even have thrown a pool chair into the pool to see what the crank does when it deflects off an object.  If you can't tell by now, I love fishing cranks.  I know in our fast paced world all we want to do is tie a lure on and catch a fish, but I believe if we spend some time with the lure we are fishing with and learn what it's doing in the water, it will give us just much more advantage on catching a fish.

[retiredbosn]

Ok here is something that confuses me, to correctly work the bait all the experts advise crashing the bait into rocks, trees, brush, grass whatever. The idea is to get a deflection, or change direction of the bait, make a sound something. So if I have a crankbait that will not run true, but veers wildly, rolls on it's side etc. Why not use that bait, you are getting the same action without deflection off of an object? We have all seen bass hammering baitfish, sometimes they just ram the bait and the fish then can not swim upright, veers wildly, goes to the surface, nose dives down etc. All of a sudden a bass comes along and eats it. So why doesn't crankbaiting work this way? I've not caught a lot of fish with crankbaits, and by no means am I an expert at anything. I have however caught bass with crankbaits that were foulded, the front hook wrapped around the line for example. I also have a crankbait that will go every which way but straight, and have caught fish with it.  Now that I know better, I don't throw it, unless the water is shallow and I have to retrieve it ultra slow, that way it does track straight. Can someone enlighten me on these factors? Do we fish only baits that track true because we are told to? Anyone else use a bait they can not tune with success?

[The_Natural]

When I stopped reeling cranks in slow is when I became successful with them.  

[Paul Roberts]

Ok here is something that confuses me, to correctly work the bait all the experts advise crashing the bait into rocks, trees, brush, grass whatever. The idea is to get a deflection, or change direction of the bait, make a sound something. So if I have a crankbait that will not run true, but veers wildly, rolls on it's side etc. Why not use that bait, you are getting the same action without deflection off of an object? We have all seen bass hammering baitfish, sometimes they just ram the bait and the fish then can not swim upright, veers wildly, goes to the surface, nose dives down etc. All of a sudden a bass comes along and eats it. So why doesn't crankbaiting work this way? I've not caught a lot of fish with crankbaits, and by no means am I an expert at anything. I have however caught bass with crankbaits that were foulded, the front hook wrapped around the line for example. I also have a crankbait that will go every which way but straight, and have caught fish with it. Now that I know better, I don't throw it, unless the water is shallow and I have to retrieve it ultra slow, that way it does track straight. Can someone enlighten me on these factors? Do we fish only baits that track true because we are told to? Anyone else use a bait they can not tune with success?

Guess I'll give my 2cents on both your posts.

Crankbaits are generally poor imitations of live prey -in fact all lures are. They have to appear like prey at just the right moment to elicit a strike. Most of the time they just don't look right. Usually, just retrieving rhythmically through open water just doesn't do the trick. Aggressive fish and those in competition with one another, tip the odds. So does crashing things, direction changes, speed changes, burning, ripping, ...and other triggers.

Burning works, I think bc it excites active fish into chasing -and something running dead straight is a vulnerable position for a preyfish (there's research that backs this up). And it doesn't give a fish a good look at the lure. But I actually catch most of my CB fish working it slowly, almost like a jig. Maybe bc I'm so often fishing them through and around cover.

As to lure speed and action: In trolling, lures tend to achieve best action at a certain speed. This is critical in trolling spoons for trout and salmon -it's the key factor. A really good troller uses the boat like a giant fishing rod, adjusting for current and wind -plus throwing certain triggers in too. Some lures have wider range of speed than others. As mentioned tighter wigglers tend to be more stable thus can be run faster. Wider wobblers tend to need a slower speed. Some designs use some instability that cause them to "hunt" -shimmy laterally as you retrieve, effectively adding in a trigger (direction change).

The best advice would be to choose a design that suits the water in front of you. If you have relatively open water, burning is a good ploy and so a tighter runner might be good -I like lipless for this. In cover I like fat plugs with a wide wobble that have good action at slower speeds -since I'm feeling my way through the stuff.

BUT...since you bring up your out-of-tune plug. I have a story...

I once met a young angler who invited me to fish a pond he had permission for. He owned ONE lure -a small chrome cheapo crankbait. He'd chuck it into the pond's channel and burn it. It was so badly out of tune it literally spun in circles out there, and bass crashed it! He caught 4 good ones before I could complete as many casts with the worm I was using. He ran out of water pretty quick though, as the plug only could be fished that way in the open channel. I then added a few lures to his arsenal.

But, even a plug that hunts (or spins out of control lol) won't catch 'em all, and will usually bring additional strikes with deflections or rips, at opportune times. A trigger is most effective at just the right time and place -and this can be really precise in time and space -the right angle on the object, and a bass in range.

[Raul]

Ok here is something that confuses me, to correctly work the bait all the experts advise crashing the bait into rocks, trees, brush, grass whatever. The idea is to get a deflection, or change direction of the bait, make a sound something. So if I have a crankbait that will not run true, but veers wildly, rolls on it's side etc. Why not use that bait, you are getting the same action without deflection off of an object? We have all seen bass hammering baitfish, sometimes they just ram the bait and the fish then can not swim upright, veers wildly, goes to the surface, nose dives down etc. All of a sudden a bass comes along and eats it. So why doesn't crankbaiting work this way? I've not caught a lot of fish with crankbaits, and by no means am I an expert at anything. I have however caught bass with crankbaits that were foulded, the front hook wrapped around the line for example. I also have a crankbait that will go every which way but straight, and have caught fish with it. Now that I know better, I don't throw it, unless the water is shallow and I have to retrieve it ultra slow, that way it does track straight. Can someone enlighten me on these factors? Do we fish only baits that track true because we are told to? Anyone else use a bait they can not tune with success?

Man, we crankers do that, banging the bait against objects only helps out to create an erratic action the catch is you don 't necessarily need them you can live without them, the art of crankbaiting is giving the bait an erratic action added to the built in action to create a positive response of the fish ( attack response ) making it look like if:

1.- It is alive

2.- It is an easy meal

In your own words: "ram the bait and the fish then can not swim upright, veers wildly, goes to the surface, nose dives down"

That is what we recreate with the bait, many people tend to think of crankbaits as cast and reel in and leave all the work to the built in action but that most of the times doesn 't cut it, most of the times the built in action only is good to attract the fish but not enough to trigger the attack response we are trying to obtain.

We reel in, stop, twitch or jerk, allow the bait to rise, remain neutral or sink, twitch, jerk, pause, reel in, pull, change directions to make the bait come to life; how many times we pause, how many times we twitch or jerk, how much we pull or how fast or how slow we reel in is not written as a book of instructions, we try several times with variations until we find the type of erratic action the fish respond to, it 's something you learn with time and practice.

Crankbaits can be divided, cataloged or grouped depending upon how deep they dive, upon their profile, upon the presence of rattles and so on, in other words crankbaits are not equal and even between groups and divisions there are differences, let 's put an example with lipless cranks, the most well known or the most representative bait of this group is Bill Lewis ' Rat L-Trap but this gruop has lots of other lipless cranks like Rapala 's Rattling Rap or Cotton Cordell Spot or Heddon 's Bayou Boogie, they are lipless cranks but the difference in the frequency they wiggle, the sound they emit ( in case of rattling baits ), the vibration they emit is different, one day you slain them with the Trap the next day they don 't even sniff at it. One day reeling in a lipless crank at warp speed is the ticket, the next day that approach doesn 't work, you have to experiment to find the retrieve technique that works best.

[BobP]

Baits that spin and behave badly are worthless. Sure, you can find exception to any "rule". Put trebles on a 5 cent cigar and somewhere, sometime, a bass may bite it. That not really the point.

You want to maximize the number of fish that will bite your bait. It's a numbers and percentages game. Baits that run straight, that consistently reach the depth where the fish are holding, that swim with the desired wiggle action, and that resemble in size and color what the bass are feeding on - those baits will get bit more often. They are also the ones you can cast and retrieve reliably through the spots where you think the fish are - multiple times.

If it can't be tuned to run straight - get rid of it. Life is too short to be throwing crap baits. IMO, choose a bait that fits the depth, size, wiggle, and color criteria, in that order. Fish it with confidence, hit cover when you can (the bottom, brush and rock piles, submerged wood, etc), experiment with your retrieve speed and pauses, snaps, etc. You'll catch fish and have fun.

     

[retiredbosn]

Put trebles on a 5 cent cigar and somewhere, sometime, a bass may bite it.

I think that is called a Super Spook  

[5bass]

As you know, crankin' is basically a trial and error deal. You might have 20 crankbaits in your box but only 2 of those 20 will appeal to the fish on certain days. It's imperative to pick a crank that will allow you to fish your surroundings effectively. Knowing the seasonal trends and patterns should at least give you a decent idea of what style crank to start with.

Retrieval speed is tricky. There are so many factors that play into the mood of a fish (weather, current, water clarity, etc..) that you have to keep switching it up until you start drawing strikes. There are times that the fish want a crankbait to be going 90 mph and digging a ditch in the bottom, other times they just want it to deflect lazily off a rock, but then again, they might want it being ripped hard through the grass. Trial and error at it's very best.

Once you get some experience with cranks, it will get easier to pick the right crank for the situations you face. Once that starts to happen, you'll know you're getting better.

But until then, remember, there is no magic retrieve, no magic retrieve speed and no magic color. Assess the situation at hand, pick your crank accordingly, experiment with speeds, stay in contact with something when you can and don't be scared to switch it up when you're not getting bit.

Good luck.

[The_Natural]

Deep divers are the only cranks I ever retrieve somewhat slow.  I had a David Fritt's quote regarding cold water crankin' on my refrigerator until I lost it in my recent move.  Fritts said he doesn't slow his retrieve in cold water, yet sweeps his rod and reels in the slack, and repeats.  I won't sit here and tell you that slow cranking never works, but burning them works more often.  I honestly think I didn't became sufficient with cranks back in the day due to the old philosophy of 'the slower the better'.  My little piece of advice or 'secret', is when you cast to shore or cover....give your rod a hard sweep to start out your retrieve.  If a bass is around and curious...this will initiate a reaction.  

[cart7t]

After all the research you've already done, I think you're way over complicating the crankbait. I'd suggest that you start throwing them and let your own experience be your guide.

[SirSnookalot]

After all the research you've already done, I think you're way over complicating the crankbait. I'd suggest that you start throwing them and let your own experience be your guide.

Right..........just go fishing and learn on the water, I don't there is a better teacher than that.  

[angler1]

Take a breath for 1 second. I think you are way over thinking here. Line size and reel ratio. Reel ratio tells you how much line will be brought in per 1 revolution of the reels handle. That's going to tell you how fast or slow to reel. Line is important as well. You don't want to put say 50 lb test on a crankbait. The largeset I go is 20 lb braid which is equivelant to 8-10 lb test non braided line. Crankbaits will tell u on the package how deep they will dive. If you have a crankbait that will dive to 6', you can crank you butt off and make smoke come out of your reel, its still not diving to 16'. If you take that same 6' diving crank and retrieve it at a snails pace it will still dive to 6', it will just take longer to reach its diving depth.

[ABLE2DISABLE1]

EVERY BODY is correct about speed, presentation, Size,SHAPE, Bill size,shape what have ya.Different size hooks for  ex-wait smaller for coming through structure.Drilling to add weight, removing rattles,or replacing louder rattles.Then Shaving your baits(DD22) tricked out bill.They're all kinds of things to think about CRANKING.LONG DISTANCE DISTANCE CASTING PLAYS A BIG ROLL FOR THE STIKE ZONE.