Crankbaits: Cranking Up a Limit of Bass
By L.O.U. guide, Danny Grulke
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If the usual warm weather of May and early summer arrives we
fisherman will typically find our quarry the bass moving from
spawning patterns to post-spawn patterns. Typically this
includes moving to deep water and heavy cover. As the water
warms up bass will become more active and we can be very
successful using reaction baits. One lure that falls into this
category is the crankbait. In this article we will review some
tips that will help you become more successful in catching a
limit of bass fishing the crankbait.
If the usual warm weather of May and early summer
arrives we fisherman will typically find our quarry the
bass moving from spawning patterns to post-spawn
patterns. |
Typically this
includes moving to deep water and heavy cover. As the water
warms up bass will become more active and we can be very
successful using reaction baits. One lure that falls into this
category is the crankbait. In this article we will review some
tips that will help you become more successful in catching a
limit of bass fishing the crankbait.
I like to use crankbaits that have a wide wobble when fishing
water with temperatures over 60 degrees, when fishing around
wood cover, and when the bass seem more active, and if the water
has a little stain to it. My experience has been that bass tend
to hit a crankbait after a deflection, a change in pace, or
contact with structure. Thus a wide wobble crankbait has more
chance of contacting wood or other structure on a retrieve and
providing us with a better percentage or chances of strikes on
each cast. The down side to this technique is that you are also
more likely to snag your lure. To decrease the chances of
snagging your bait select a crankbait, when fishing heavy cover,
with a square bill or lip and switch to a smaller sized treble
hook on the rear of the lure.
Some lures I advise you to try are the Rapala Crankin
Rap, Rapala Clacking Rap, and the Rapala Dives to Fat.
When fishing weed beds, colder water temperatures, cold front
periods, open water or when bass are less active I use
crankbaits that have a tighter wobble.
These generally don’t hang up in the grass and don’t
“spook” less active fish. Tight wobbling crankbaits generally
have a fatter head with a body that tapers down to a thin tail
area. My favorite tight wobbling crankbaits that have a lip are
the Dives To Series from Rapala. Because you will not be
contacting hard structure in these conditions it is important to
impart a pause and crank retrieve with your reel or a retrieve
and rip with your rod tip. Either of these techniques will
impart a slight change of action to the crankbait.
It is also important to select the proper running depth of your
crankbaits. I typically select a crankbait that will run to a
depth 1-2 feet deeper than the water I am fishing. This gives me
the best chance of keeping contact with the bottom on a
consistent basis and allowing for the greatest chance of
deflections. However there are two situations in which I will
deviate from this rule of thumb. The first is when I want to
fish over the top of weed beds and second when fish are schooled
and suspended over open water. In both these cases I will select
a crankbait that runs 1-2 feet shallow than where the fish are
holding or the weeds are located. In both of these cases you
want a bait that swims above the fishes head as they will be
looking up for their prey.
For colors I normally select three types: 1) natural forage fish
colors, 2) bright colors, and 3) crawfish colors. In clear water
and open water situations I will use colors that are natural and
mimic the colors of the natural forage base. These colors
include Rapalas colors such as bluegill, perch, penguin, smash,
and silver. If the water is stained I will prefer “hotter”
colors such as Rapalas color hot mustard, chartreuse brown,
Helsinki
shad, and firetiger.
Crawfish colors I prefer include dark brown crawdad,
olive green craw, and red crawdad. Crawfish patterns I use
predominately for smallmouths and when the fish are feeding on
the bottom on crawfish.
Selecting the proper fishing equipment is just as important as
selecting the proper crankbait. For a rod a 7ft graphite model
with a moderate or slow action is a must. The moderate action
means the rod will bend all the way into or just above the
handle of your rod. The limber rod will keep the fish from
pulling off of the bait as you are fighting your quarry. For
throwing deeper running crankbaits 12 feet and deeper you will
want a medium-heavy power rod and for throwing baits that run
shallow a medium power rod.
A
7ft rod will allow for longer casts and thus allowing your bait
to get to its maximum running depth. For line I prefer Rapala
Deep Cranking line in 10 pound test as it sinks thus allowing
you to fish deeper than the lures running depth. If you prefer
to use braid I high suggest using a fiberglass rod as it will
generally have even more “limberness” than a graphite moderate
action rod.
Lastly there are two schools of thought on selecting a reel: 1)
use a slow gear ratio model or 2) use a high speed retrieve
reel. My experience is for deep diving crankbaits 12 feet and
deeper use a slow gear ratio model reel. They generally handle
the torque and resistance of these lures better, keep the bait
in the strike zone longer and force you to fish slow which
usually is the best speed performance wise for crankbaits.
However it takes longer for them to reach maximum depth so make
longer casts and use Rapala Deep Cranking line.
For shallow water crankbaits and when I want to power
fish with crankbaits I will use a faster gear ratio reel.
To book trips please contact Ken Penrod or any of the other Life
Outdoors Unlimited guides. Please check out our web-site
www.penrodsguides.com for other articles in LOU Magazine and our
weekly fishing report. For questions on this article please
contact Dan Grulke at musky13@yahoo.com, the web-site above, or
via phone 703-389-3508.
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