Question about crankbaits

gort · Post by **gort** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:56 am

I have a couple of questions for you guys about using lipped crankbaits.

Does the speed of the retrieve effect how deep the lure will dive? Or does it just effect how quickly it reaches maximum depth?

Does holding the rod tip lower or higher effect how deep the crankbait runs?

Most times I can't see the crankbait well enough to tell if these things make a difference. And it makes me wonder if the buoyancy of the lure and the lip determine the depth, and these other things don't matter. I'd appreciate your expertise, thanks!

Post by **Amx** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:05 am

Gort wrote:I have a couple of questions for you guys about using lipped crankbaits.

Does the speed of the retrieve effect how deep the lure will dive? Or does it just effect how quickly it reaches maximum depth?

both to some degree, after it gets down to max depth, say 5 to 10 cranks, slow down the retrieve and it'll work better and smoother

Does holding the rod tip lower or higher effect how deep the crankbait runs?

yes, a little bit, sometimes every little bit helps, even holding the rod all the way underwater all the way up to the reel

Most times I can't see the crankbait well enough to tell if these things make a difference. And it makes me wonder if the buoyancy of the lure and the lip determine the depth, and these other things don't matter. I'd appreciate your expertise, thanks!

rl206 · Post by **rl206** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:40 am

Some other people will chime in, w/ better knowledge but...
I LOVE using cranks, i use them alot more on the East side of the state than west, just a personal choice.

But Tom is right, everything and anything effects the crank.
Line choice is big. I used to use mono for cranking, I liked how it trasmitted bites better to the rod and the stretch and the buoyancy of it, but this last year started using flouro. They will dive deeper w/ fouro, but I have noticed more of a numb feeling, but expierementing w/ diff. lines could help that.

Speed will cause it to dive deeper, depending on how much line you have out.

Hope that helps a little?

kzoo · Post by **kzoo** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:51 am

Line diameter also affects diving depths. Flouro can also help ripping crankbaits out of the weeds that can trigger bites.

clarkhess122 · Post by **clarkhess122** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 6:42 pm

Anybody use braid for cranks? I'm thinking about buying some and I fish crankbaits alot.

Post by **Amx** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:31 pm

If you use cranks close to and around lots of brush braid would be good, no stretch so quicker to get the fish lined up and out of the brush, tougher line to manage the brush and not break off from damaged line.

Open water using deep cranks mono and floro would be good. Mono absorbs some water and will start to sink from being used during the day, but stretches a lot. Floro isn't suppose to absorb any water, if I remember correctly. I don't know how much water braid absorbs. Braid is usually smaller in diameter, and so that would help the cranks dive deeper. Floro doesn't stretch as much as mono, usually, the Seguar line I have on the senko and Fish-n-fool lure stretches a LOT more then I thought it would. Braid doesn't stretch, so a softer hookset would be needed for braid as I've heard rods can be broken with that line with a hard hookset, or the hooks torn out of the fish's mouth.

Florocarbon sinks and would be good for deep cranks, but not with shallow cranks or topwater as it'll inbibit the action of topwater baits.

spindog · Post by **spindog** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 1:31 am

Hey Gort,
Use a deeper diver than the water depth your fishing, having the crankbait bouncing through
and over the bottom {rocks or logs/branches] triggers the bass to bite! Cranks can be fished
in some pretty nasty stuff, which gets that bait deflecting all over the place. If I'm not
hitting or ticking bottom I try a different one.
I typically use mono because I like a little stretch, you can get some good hits on a crank.
With mono I feel I dont pull the hooks free, I like the stretch. Smaller diameter line will
get you deeper, but I never go smaller than 8lb XT.

kzoo · Post by **kzoo** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:07 am

clarkhess122 wrote:Anybody use braid for cranks? I'm thinking about buying some and I fish crankbaits alot.

Need to be careful with braid and crankbaits. Anytime dealing with treble hooks you need a good balance of stretch and a moderate action rod to avoid ripping hooks out of bass's mouth. Probably the only condition I could think of using braid and crankbait would be in really weedy waters that you need to rip crankbaits constantly out of the weeds. I've seen some pros use braid, they typically pair it with a fiberglass rod.

Personally I like using mono for crankbaits and rattletraps with a fast action medium power rod, I use fluoro for jerkbaits with a fast action medium power spinning rod.

gort · Post by **gort** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:46 am

spindog wrote:Hey Gort,
Use a deeper diver than the water depth your fishing, having the crankbait bouncing through
and over the bottom {rocks or logs/branches] triggers the bass to bite! Cranks can be fished
in some pretty nasty stuff, which gets that bait deflecting all over the place. If I'm not
hitting or ticking bottom I try a different one.

Thanks, Spindog. While I knew you could bounce cranks off structure, I never really thought of that as something to try and do consistently. That's a good tip to keep in mind.

kzoo · Post by **kzoo** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:55 am

When you hit a log or a stump, try pausing it for a second. They'll typically slam it at that pause.

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