A crankbait is one of those lures that you can catch bass on all year long. Having the right crankbait tied on can drastically improve your catch ratio. There is nothing like burning a crankbait back and getting slammed by a bass. We are going to go in-depth on this topic and in the end, you should be an expert on crankbait fishing. Let’s get started.
Rod and Reel Set Up
Sure you can put a crankbait on any rod and reel you want. But, having the right set up can be crucial for several reasons.
First, if you have the wrong rod and reel you may only be able to fish a crankbait for five minutes before you have to set it down because of wrist fatigue. If you have a deep-diving crankbait on a spinning reel you are going to figure out very quickly what I am talking about.
Second, you want to have a high-speed reel to get that crankbait in faster. I feel a good speed is a 7:3.1 and is versatile for other types of baits. However, a lot of serious crankbait anglers will use an 8:1.1 which is even faster. This is especially great for getting those big deep diving (over 15 foot) crankbaits down faster. The higher the gear ratio the more line that comes in per rotation of the handle.
The rod is just as important for crankbait fishing. I like to use a glass rod when I am crankbait fishing. The glass rod has a lot of backbone, casts a mile, and lets the fish load up and won’t yank the bait out of their mouth as a stiff rod would. Like I said earlier it is also going to provide a lot of relief and won’t fatigue your wrist and forearm. There are 7-foot rods to 8-foot rods.
The longer the rod the longer the cast. However, what you gain in distance you lose in accuracy. I like a 7 foot 4inch rod. I feel that size is good for casting towards the bank and fishing offshore. I can still cast a long way but I can also make accurate casts when I am fishing the bank.
Here is my exact set up for crankbait fishing down below
The Line
This is a no brainer. When fishing a crankbait you want to fish Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon because it is very easy casting. If I am in a clear lake I will use a 10lb test. If I am in a lake with dirtier water like Guntersville or Chickamauga than I will use a 12lb test line since I am also targeting bigger bass.
The Color
The color can be important but you do not need to overthink it. KISS-Keep It Simple for Success. I keep 3 types of colors with me and it covers all my crankbait needs.
Crawfish Patterns-So anything that is Red. The Demon color by Rapala is a great example of a good red crankbait. When the water reaches the 50-degree mark this bait especially shines. It is awesome during the pre-spawn time of the year and in muddy water. Not just muddy water. I fish this color on a ton of different lakes and is an absolute must to have in your arsenal.
Shad Patterns-Anything that is white and or silver on the sides and bottom. The sexy shad color is an excellent example of a shad pattern. I love this color in the spring, summer, and fall of the year.
Chartreuse colors-I like to use these colors also when the water is brackish like in the Florida lakes like Okeechobee. However Smallmouth Bass love the chartreuse colors. They are sight feeders and will track this color a long way.
If you have these three color patterns in your tackle box than you are good to go. Speaking of tackle box I love the
Plano Edge 3700 Deep Tackle Storage. This thing holds all my crankbaits and I still have room for more. It also prevents rust which can ruin all your baits quickly.
Tackle Tip: If your tackle boxes get wet or have any moisture in them from rain or waves that can be a bad thing. At the end of the day set your tackle out and open the boxes and let them dry out. This will save your crankbaits from the attack of rust
How to Decide what Crankbait to Throw???
I thought long and hard about how to decide to tell you guys which crankbait to use and where. Because there are so many different lakes and seasonal patterns, water clarity, forage it would be tough to not leave something out. So what I decide is I will show you some popular lure choices that people use and tell you when and where to throw them.
Let’s start BIG
So I love a deep-diving 6XD (dives to 19 feet) and a 5XD (dives to 15ft) for a couple of different scenarios.
Ledge Fishing
Fishing the ledges in Guntersville, Kentucky Lake, and Chickamauga this bait can shine. You want this bait to make bottom contact so you will have to pick accordingly. The great thing about this bait is it catches a lot of big bass.
Bluff Walls and Rip Rap
You can also position your boat parallel to the walls or rip rap banks and make casts that stay in the strike zone longer. You can feel that bait bumping against the rock and then boom you will feel like you are snagged (and maybe you are) or you have a giant bass that stopped it dead in its tracks.
Road Beds
Fishing a submerged roadbed can be a great way to catch some giant bass. I have personally found this to be successful and found several schools doing this as well. Again you will feel your bait banging against that hard surface. If you have the 5XD and it is not hitting bottom than tie on the 6XD. The key is bottom contact!!
Brush Piles
This is a bait that can be awesome in the summer when the fish are in brush piles. You can cast towards the brush pile and make multiple casts until you connect. Reeling the crankbait right over the brush pile is perfect for triggering a strike.
When to Throw
This bait shines at certain times in all four seasons depending on where you are. Winter, I like it early morning searching for some big fish.
Spring I like it when the fish are in post-spawn mode around spawning areas. Summer, I like it offshore on most lakes. And in the Fall I will target bridges where I know the bass are feeding heavily on baitfish.
Let’s Downsize just a bit
I feel the Dt-10 is a great choice for a crankbait that dives 10 feet.
Post Spawn
At the time of writing this, it is the post-spawn time of year on my home lake of Lake Lanier. I have the Dt-10 tied on and I am catching some ugly spawned out fish with it. The fish like to hang out a little deeper near those spawning areas. This bait is the perfect depth for where they are right now.
Smallmouth
This crankbait on a smallmouth lake like Lake St. Clair in Michigan right now (May) is absolutely dynamite. That lake the fish are hanging out anywhere from 8-12 feet of water and this bait is perfect for this lake. Target rock piles and bounce it off the rock and WHAM you are going to get nailed. The color in the picture above is an excellent choice for that crazy smallmouth also.
Now to the cute sizes
Rapala is getting some love again because they make one of the most popular smaller crankbaits ever made. The Demon Dt-6 is probably in every professional anglers tackle box regardless of who their sponsors are. When the water is cold the fish prefer a tighter wobble when your bait is coming through the water. Well, they nailed it with this one.
Don’t believe me just check out this video of me and a buddy throwing this thing all day. Take notice of the muddy water and cold temperatures we were fishing. This video was shot on Lake Lanier. If you do not want to watch the entire video scroll forward to the 6:30 mark and watch what happens.
Pre Spawn
If I could only fish one bait while the bass where in pre-spawn mode than this would be it. They are focused on crawfish and this bait and color mimic it perfectly. It does not matter what like you are on this bait is going to catch them when the water temp is anywhere in the ’50s and very low ’60s.
Just because it is small does not mean it can’t catch big fish. With that being said I always like to make sure I retie frequently and put on upgraded hooks like the Triple Grip KVD hooks. For this bait I feel like the size 4 for the front and back is perfect. A rule of thumb when changing out hooks on crankbaits is to try and match the size to the originals as best you can.
Square Bill
Anyone who has ever watched Kevin Van Dam fish knows that he is an expert with the square bill. This bait is unique because the square bill makes it run more erratic with a wider wobble. The bait is the exact one he used to win him the Bass Master Classic and take home 500,000 dollars.
When to Fish A Square Bill
You can catch fish on this bait all year long but the Spring and Fall this bait shines. In the Fall the bass will move shallow to feed and this bait runs at the perfect depth for them. In the Spring this bait with its wide wobble will get their attention. They are a little more aggressive after they are done with the spawning funk and will chomp this thing.
When Kevin Van Dam won one of his many Bass Master Classics he was fishing in Louisiana on Lake Ponchartrain. He found a stump flat and made repeat casts towards these stumps. Not just casting by them but running his lure into them to get the bass to react. With this bait you want it to hit stuff as much as possible. It shines when it deflects off of something and triggers a strike.
Last but not least…..Lipless Crankbaits
I have a true love-hate relationship with this bait. When fished correctly you will catch a lot of Bass and some VERY BIG BASS. However, you will also lose a lot of these bass. This lure can break your heart at times. The hook upgrade I spoke about above will help but does not solve all your problems.
Fish the Grass
What??? You may be wondering why in the world I would say fish it around the grass. Yes, you will get grass on your bait sometimes. The grass is where the bass are so that is where we need to be.
What you want to do is cast this bait over the submerged grass and use an erratic action. If it gets stuck then rip it out of the grass and keep reeling. Hold your rod tip up high and let that bait just tick the top of the grass. A lot of times that is when you will get the bite.
Yo-Yo It
I like to use what I call the Yo-Yo technique with my lipless crankbait. I cast it out and yank the rod tip up high and let the bait fall and flutter down while keeping a little bit of tension on the line. So many times that bait will get hit on the fall. Sometimes you want to make them react to the bait. Do not just cast it out and reel it in. You have to rip it through the grass bump it into stuff and make it twitch and fall to get some of those bigger bites.
Here is a great example of the Yo-Yo technique on Lake Chickamauga with a lipless crankbait.
This was right above a grass flat and was a textbook bite.
In Conclusion
Crankbaits can help you out any time of the year you are fishing. There is some type of crankbait bite somewhere on your lake most likely. It may not be the best option, but it is there. There are other times where you can throw it from sun up to sun down and load the boat. Use what you learned as a guide. If one crankbait seems to not be working as well as it did the week before then make some changes. Maybe go with a deeper crankbait, change color, or styles.
PS. Small crankbaits are absolutely dynamite in a pond fishing scenario. Check this post and video out where I catch numbers and one fish over 5lbs.
I hope this helps you keep your lines tight and remember to follow us on Instagram, Like us on Facebook and Subscribe to our newsletter for awesome fishing videos, product deals, and articles like this.
This Post Has One Comment
I throw away crankbaits every year that have swollen, warped and cracked in my tackle box. Help me 😢
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