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This
article will cover the use of Crank Baits. Soon the fish will start suspending. This will
be a good time to get out your crank baits. These baits vary from style and depth. There
are 1 minus to 30 plus crank baits. What this means is that the 1 minus will go no less
than twelve inches deep and the 30 plus will go 30 feet deep. There are different types of
bills on each crank bait. The bill configuration can cause the bait to have more side to
side motion. Long bills make a wider wobble and shorter bills make a tighter wobble. The
30 plus will wear you out on the retrieve because of it’s large bill. You may have to
invest in a glass cranking rod if you get into crank bait fishing. This rod and a fast
retrieve reel will help to keep from wearing you out. I have caught many summer time fish
suspended over deep humps with this bait. The Storm wiggle wart in the magnum series is a
great summer time bait in the creeks and over deep humps. I use the wee warts for the mid
to shallow depths. The line size that you use is the biggest controlling factor on how
deep a crank bait will run. The 30 plus on 20 lb. line may not go but 20 or so feet deep.
So keep this in mind when choosing your crank bait. Lighter lines will cause the bait to
run to it maximum depth. In the summer I graph deep humps and creek channels, find where
the fish are suspended and then decide what type of crank bait I will use. Throw past the
school and work the bait down quickly then slow the retrieve so that the bait will be
presented to the entire school of fish. When the spring is over, and the males are
guarding the fry, a 1 minus crank bait over grass beds will produce strikes. Try bream and
baby bass colors. The males that are protecting the fry will strike the bait. A mid range
crank bait will only run 5 to 15 foot deep. This is a good bait to fish points where the
wind is blowing across. Fan cast your crank bait across the point and then parallel to the
point until you come in contact with a fish. Crank the bait down fast then slow the
retrieve to maintain the proper depth. Key colors that I like to use are a crawfish
pattern, chrome with a blue back, white with green back, chartreuse with blue back or a
shad color. Crank baits can be thrown in timber, around boat docks and along riprap. When
working a crank bait through timber and you come in contact with a hard object, stop the
bait and let it float up, then start the retrieve again. A lot of the strikes will come
when the bait stops and starts up again. I sometimes run the bait down fast then slowly
sweep my rod to maintain the depth on a slow retrieve. Sometimes the sweeping action is
better that the stop and go action. Crank baits are a great summer time bait because you
can cover a lot of water when trying to locate fish. Once you have located the fish and
they quit hitting the crank bait, you can switch to a worm and possibly catch some more.
During post spawn I run crank baits in the middle of creeks to locate feeding males and
females which have recently left the spawning areas. One thing that I do after opening the
package on the crank bait is to check the hooks and split rings. Sometimes the
manufacturer will use bronze instead of stainless steel on the split rings. If so I change
them immediately. It will take some time and practice but with a little of both you will
learn to fish the crank baits over and through standing timber and stumps. Don’t
forget the banjo trick I talked about in an earlier article as this will be an easy way to
unhang crank baits. If you come in contact with and object and the bait feels stuck
don’t jerk the rod. Drop slack and use the banjo trick and usually it will pop loose.
A good lure retriever is also a good investment.
Thanks and good fishing, |
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