CrankbaitsThis is a quick little 12 minute video about crankbaits and how to choose the right one and when to use them. Below are some pretty good specifics on them as well. Let me know if you have any questions.
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Crankbait - When and where to use them
This is probably one of the first bass baits most people ever pick up, yet I think it is one of the hardest to effectively fish. Everybody looks at it and says you just throw it out and reel it in "how hard could it be?". And by that reasoning it is very easy to throw but how many people throw one all day and never catch anything on it?
I think crankbaits really can be the most effective way to catch fish in certain situations but you need to have a very good understanding of the particular bait you are fishing and how it runs, how deep it runs, how it reacts to cover and structure, and the equipment you use it on. For that reason I believe most people do not effectively use them.
Crankbaits are made to fish specific zones of water by the way the bill they use is constructed. The length, angle, and pitch of that bill determines how deep it goes as well as how it deflects off cover and structure. Crankbaits cover three zones of water in my way of thinking. Shallow water crankbaits such as squarebills, shallow runners, and short billed baits cover 1-6 feet. Medium running crankabits cover that 6-12 foot range and Deep divers cover 12-18' range. Lipless crankbaits cover that 1-10' range as well but I am going to talk about them in a seperate section.
First, lets talk about shallow running crankbaits. These are my favorite and
add a bait to your shallow water arsenal that can produce great numbers and action when other baits just wont produce. I love to fish squarebill crankbaits in the same places I would normally fish a spinnerbait. When the wind quits moving and a spinnerbait just doesn't quite ellicit the strikes from a bass the squarebill gives you a more natural look that you can crash into cover and ellicit strikes from bass. A spinnerbait needs wind and refraction of light to hide the unnatural look of the bait. That is where a shallow crankbait comes in.
Squarebills are great for bumping cover be it rocks, brush, timber, or grass. They are offered in Silent and Rattling options in different sizes. I adopt the same kind of "match the hatch" theory that trout fisherman use in picking what baits to use and how to fish them as well. I use smaller sizes when fish are chasing smaller bait and of course bigger baits when targeting bigger fish also when bass are targeting bigger baits or I need more water displacment. Also, rattles can be very helpful in darker water or lowlight conditions. Squarebills like the Gideon 1.5 and 2.5 are great for bouncing off cover and have a great hunting action that attracts fish along with the natural finishes they can paint at your request along with some standard colors I think are great!
Retreives can be varied from speeding back to the boat to slow bouncing off the bottom and cover. A stop and go retreive is a favorite as well. Squarebills are very good about not hanging up on cover and using a rod that you can feel what is going on with the bait is a great help. When you feel the bait pulling into the cover slow down and let it float up as it bangs off that rock or limb. Deflection off cover is the best thing you can do when fishing a squarebill that is what ellicits a reaction strike from fish in those times when they are neutral.
add a bait to your shallow water arsenal that can produce great numbers and action when other baits just wont produce. I love to fish squarebill crankbaits in the same places I would normally fish a spinnerbait. When the wind quits moving and a spinnerbait just doesn't quite ellicit the strikes from a bass the squarebill gives you a more natural look that you can crash into cover and ellicit strikes from bass. A spinnerbait needs wind and refraction of light to hide the unnatural look of the bait. That is where a shallow crankbait comes in.
Squarebills are great for bumping cover be it rocks, brush, timber, or grass. They are offered in Silent and Rattling options in different sizes. I adopt the same kind of "match the hatch" theory that trout fisherman use in picking what baits to use and how to fish them as well. I use smaller sizes when fish are chasing smaller bait and of course bigger baits when targeting bigger fish also when bass are targeting bigger baits or I need more water displacment. Also, rattles can be very helpful in darker water or lowlight conditions. Squarebills like the Gideon 1.5 and 2.5 are great for bouncing off cover and have a great hunting action that attracts fish along with the natural finishes they can paint at your request along with some standard colors I think are great!
Retreives can be varied from speeding back to the boat to slow bouncing off the bottom and cover. A stop and go retreive is a favorite as well. Squarebills are very good about not hanging up on cover and using a rod that you can feel what is going on with the bait is a great help. When you feel the bait pulling into the cover slow down and let it float up as it bangs off that rock or limb. Deflection off cover is the best thing you can do when fishing a squarebill that is what ellicits a reaction strike from fish in those times when they are neutral.
Diving crankbaits cover the 6-20' water columns and are a good fast way to cover water elliciting reaction strikes from neutral fish and quickly activating schools of feeding bass. Targeting offshore structures and points are where this bait comes into its own. Much like a squarebill it will rise when deflected off cover and once you have mastered the feel of the bait it can be pretty effective in heavy covers as well.
Mid Runners cover the 6-12' section of the water column. I think the most important part here is to be bumping the bottom or the cover you are fishing. Ticking to top of bushes or grass can be very effective. Dredging the bottom along the ends of pea gravel points etc. These baits can be very effective at times when you need to cover a lot of water quickly. Baits like the Gideon DT10 Custom can be a great choice for covering 6-10' water columns offered in several standard colors and be customized to any personal choice you may have as well.
Deep runners can be used to cover the 12-18' section of the water column. Again like shallow and mid runners use these to touch the bottom or cover on the bottom. Crankbaits are designed to deflect off of cover and ellicit reaction stikes. Also, I would use a stop and go retrieve to try to illicit those reaction stikes as well. This is an effective way to fish main lake cover when wind and waves make it hard to feel strikes on bottom bumping lures in deeper water. It is also a great way to cover large amounts of water when fish are deep and active. Baits like the Gideon DT16 Custom can be a great choice for covering 12-16' water columns offered in several standard colors and be customized to any personal choice you may have as well. Here are a couple of extra hints on fishing crankbaits. I typically use lighter lines for crankbaits because of its ability to allow the bait to go deeper and lack of resisitance in the water making it easier to feel the bait. Pick the bait you are using based on the depth of the water to allow you bump the bottom and cover the fish are holding on. Another thing you can do to control the depth of your bait is to use heavier line. The heavier line with thicker diameters will keep your baits shallower when fishing heavy cover and need that extra strength like fishing squarebills. Also, pick colors based local forage and what you are trying to mimic be it baitfish, crawfish, or shad species. Each lake seems to have it own local best color so it is always good to research local favorites when going to new lakes.
Another new trend is custom painted crankbaits though there are several companies that do these my favorite is Gideon Crankbaits out of Arkansas Gideon Crankbaits are available exclusively on my tackle site www.primarytackle.com and can be viewed by clicking the blue Gideon crankbaits link. They offer several stock colors as well as can custom paint any color you would can dream up.
Mid Runners cover the 6-12' section of the water column. I think the most important part here is to be bumping the bottom or the cover you are fishing. Ticking to top of bushes or grass can be very effective. Dredging the bottom along the ends of pea gravel points etc. These baits can be very effective at times when you need to cover a lot of water quickly. Baits like the Gideon DT10 Custom can be a great choice for covering 6-10' water columns offered in several standard colors and be customized to any personal choice you may have as well.
Deep runners can be used to cover the 12-18' section of the water column. Again like shallow and mid runners use these to touch the bottom or cover on the bottom. Crankbaits are designed to deflect off of cover and ellicit reaction stikes. Also, I would use a stop and go retrieve to try to illicit those reaction stikes as well. This is an effective way to fish main lake cover when wind and waves make it hard to feel strikes on bottom bumping lures in deeper water. It is also a great way to cover large amounts of water when fish are deep and active. Baits like the Gideon DT16 Custom can be a great choice for covering 12-16' water columns offered in several standard colors and be customized to any personal choice you may have as well. Here are a couple of extra hints on fishing crankbaits. I typically use lighter lines for crankbaits because of its ability to allow the bait to go deeper and lack of resisitance in the water making it easier to feel the bait. Pick the bait you are using based on the depth of the water to allow you bump the bottom and cover the fish are holding on. Another thing you can do to control the depth of your bait is to use heavier line. The heavier line with thicker diameters will keep your baits shallower when fishing heavy cover and need that extra strength like fishing squarebills. Also, pick colors based local forage and what you are trying to mimic be it baitfish, crawfish, or shad species. Each lake seems to have it own local best color so it is always good to research local favorites when going to new lakes.
Another new trend is custom painted crankbaits though there are several companies that do these my favorite is Gideon Crankbaits out of Arkansas Gideon Crankbaits are available exclusively on my tackle site www.primarytackle.com and can be viewed by clicking the blue Gideon crankbaits link. They offer several stock colors as well as can custom paint any color you would can dream up.
