cranking for footballs 2024
Jermination reply :
can anyone convince me to throw any crankbait other than a DT6? i literally have 3 tied on deck at all times, one on 10lb one on 14 & one on 17 to control my depth and that's about the extent of my adjustments. I've caught some good ones throwing shad raps and lucky craft cb350 but a balsa with some suspend dots on it just cant be beat in my opinion. Thoughts?
A-Jay reply :
Nice brown bass.
We throw what works, hard not to. Seems the more we catch on a bait, the more we throw it. The Spro 55 Rock Crawler in Phantom Craw is that bait for me.
A-Jay
Jermination reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, A-Jay said:Nice brown bass.
We throw what works, hard not to. Seems the more we catch on a bait, the more we throw it. The Spro 55 Rock Crawler in Phantom Craw is that bait for me.
A-Jay
thats a toad sir. i throw the spro spring craw & rootbeer chart a bunch when the time gets right. Did you guys know Bass Pro quit carrying spro? very disappointing when i went the day after christmas with my gift cards to stock up
MickD reply :
I've done very well with the DT series, too. Ike's Smash and Live River Shad. I think the Helsinki Shad will be good since other lures in that color are good in Lake St Clair. I just bought another deep crank in a color very close to Ike's. Will report next fall. ????
I've not used any suspend dots.
Jermination reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 1:14 AM, TnRiver46 said:Iaconelli did extremely well in the classic with one on the same spot for 3 days, didn’t he?
back in sinking creek mainly. he saw me pull a 5 1/2 and a 4.8 out of the cove running back towards westland in their practice day throwing a spinnerbait. I dont know that he weighed in a brown fish
Coldbasser reply :
Great toads to look at ????
I will pay attention & try some of the cranks mentioned in 2020 as I can see clearer now????
MickD reply :
I have a sneaky suspicion that a couple posters here fish waters where crayfish are a big diet item. I think the bass in Sag Bay and St Clair eat mostly other fish, so the patterns that are most effective will be determined by the primary diet. I cannot remember the last time I had a SMB spit up crayfish on these two waters, but lots of white partially digested minnows. Which is why we often have a white tube ready to cast near a fighting fish.
A-Jay reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 3:47 AM, MickD said:I have a sneaky suspicion that a couple posters here fish waters where crayfish are a big diet item. I think the bass in Sag Bay and St Clair eat mostly other fish, so the patterns that are most effective will be determined by the primary diet. I cannot remember the last time I had a SMB spit up crayfish on these two waters, but lots of white partially digested minnows. Which is why we often have a white tube ready to cast near a fighting fish.
Guilty as charged ~
Brown bass visiting my live well will often gift me 'perch carcasses'.
More often than not, at the end of the day, it's crayfish (parts & pieces or even whole) that plug up the drain hole.
And man, that stuff is pretty Stanky !
A-Jay
Jermination reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 4:45 AM, A-Jay said:Guilty as charged ~
Brown bass visiting my live well will often gift me 'perch carcasses'.
More often than not, at the end of the day, it's crayfish (parts & pieces or even whole) that plug up the drain hole.
And man, that stuff is pretty Stanky !
A-Jay
I wish theyd spit up more often in mine! Do you guys know if fizzing the fish have an effect on that? I feel like more often than not if i'm catching them deep and require a fizz they spit up less than the fish i catch shallow? could just be something in my head but would like to know if there's something to it
A-Jay reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 4:49 AM, Jermination said:I wish theyd spit up more often in mine! Do you guys know if fizzing the fish have an effect on that? I feel like more often than not if i'm catching them deep and require a fizz they spit up less than the fish i catch shallow? could just be something in my head but would like to know if there's something to it
I can not say with any accuracy if fizzing a fish makes a difference in what ends up in my live well or not.
Never really noticed.
I'll admit that I may only fish that deep a handful of times a season ( Hot summer - drop shot city).
My standard modus operandi is to fish for feeding bass.
When I'm doing it right, there's some kind of bait getting puked up boat side & in the live well.
And while we're talking about crankbaits for smallies I'll offer this as food for thought . .
"***Old School Crankbait Tip for deeper, colored or even cold water; OVER Weight your bait so IT SINKS. Suspending baits are good and floating cranks catch fish, but there are times when smallies will love & choke, a mid-sized crank that will sit on the bottom at rest - you can even work it like a jig over a clean(er) bottom. Not even close to a new deal - Rapala made the Countdown (sinking) minnow like 50 years ago - but somehow - they seemed to really lose favor with bass anglers - don't know why - they catch the heck out of the bass. I even do it with jerkbaits - Just don't talk about - Imagine paying all this money for a super suspending Megabass 110 only to really want it to sink like a rock ! Yup- Guilty as charged. A couple of different ways to do it - Suspend strips (the little lead strips made by Storm) - or sometimes even just bigger trebles will do it - I've even used both on one bait - try it you might like it. "
The above excerpt came from here ~
A-Jay
Jermination reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 5:06 AM, A-Jay said:I can not say with any accuracy if fizzing a fish makes a difference in what ends up in my live well or not.
Never really noticed.
I'll admit that I may only fish that deep a handful of times a season ( Hot summer - drop shot city).
My standard modus operandi is to fish for feeding bass.
When I'm doing it right, there's some kind of bait getting puked up boat side & in the live well.
And while we're talking about crankbaits for smallies I'll offer this as food for thought . .
"***Old School Crankbait Tip for deeper, colored or even cold water; OVER Weight your bait so IT SINKS. Suspending baits are good and floating cranks catch fish, but there are times when smallies will love & choke, a mid-sized crank that will sit on the bottom at rest - you can even work it like a jig over a clean(er) bottom. Not even close to a new deal - Rapala made the Countdown (sinking) minnow like 50 years ago - but somehow - they seemed to really lose favor with bass anglers - don't know why - they catch the heck out of the bass. I even do it with jerkbaits - Just don't talk about - Imagine paying all this money for a super suspending Megabass 110 only to really want it to sink like a rock ! Yup- Guilty as charged. A couple of different ways to do it - Suspend strips (the little lead strips made by Storm) - or sometimes even just bigger trebles will do it - I've even used both on one bait - try it you might like it. "
The above excerpt came from here ~
A-Jay
Gotcha! I fish deep pretty regularly on these clear resevoirs. 25 ft is usually the standard on Cherokee & Norris when they are on the Ned/footballheads. Ive learned that smallmouth are extremely curious creatures that working your baits different ways definitely trigger bites. I have some old x-calibur shad-R's suspending model that they will still choke. I usually use the suspend dots on my dt 6's especially if i am fishing behind someone out of the back of the boat. I can always tell who the good fisherman are with me based on how they do out of the back of the boat. Took a former pro musky fisherman out last Thursday and i think he had 8 or 9 over 3 lbs same for me. Took another buddy back on Saturday and he didnt catch a fish while i still caught the same
A-Jay reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 5:13 AM, Jermination said:Gotcha! I fish deep pretty regularly on these clear resevoirs. 25 ft is usually the standard on Cherokee & Norris when they are on the Ned/footballheads. Ive learned that smallmouth are extremely curious creatures that working your baits different ways definitely trigger bites. I have some old x-calibur shad-R's suspending model that they will still choke. I usually use the suspend dots on my dt 6's especially if i am fishing behind someone out of the back of the boat. I can always tell who the good fisherman are with me based on how they do out of the back of the boat. Took a former pro musky fisherman out last Thursday and i think he had 8 or 9 over 3 lbs same for me. Took another buddy back on Saturday and he didnt catch a fish while i still caught the same
Interesting ~
Can't relate to the in boat competition, as I do not fish derbies.
Prefer to instead, to put the people I am fortunate enough to share my boat with for an entire day, in the best possible position for success. Could not consider any trip where anyone I invited Zeroed, a success; regardless of how many I managed.
YMMV
A-Jay
Jermination reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 5:30 AM, A-Jay said:Interesting ~
Can't relate to the in boat competition, as I do not fish derbies.
Prefer to instead, to put the people I am fortunate enough to share my boat with for an entire day, in the best possible position for success. Could not consider any trip where anyone I invited Zeroed, a success; regardless of how many I managed.
YMMV
A-Jay
no no no i didnt mean for that to come across that way, matter of fact im taking him back saturday for redemption. I was just relating it to the curiosity of smallmouth, the ones who work it differently and have different cadences gets bites that others dont
Hollada reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, A-Jay said:Nice brown bass.
We throw what works, hard not to. Seems the more we catch on a bait, the more we throw it. The Spro 55 Rock Crawler in Phantom Craw is that bait for me.
A-Jay
Which of the 3 versions of Phantom color do you like best?
A-Jay reply :
On 1/5/2020 at 9:17 AM, Hollada said:Which of the 3 versions of Phantom color do you like best?
Phantom Brown and Red Crawfish have been my go to's.
A-Jay
Columbia Craw reply :
The only thing I can mention is you are limiting yourself in a specific depth zone. For smallmouth, the 6 to 14 feet zone is prime. If you have that much confidence in the DT series, add a DT 10 or deeper and those fish that aren't looking up might come into play. Other than plastics, I've caught more smallmouth on a Normans Deep Little N that any other bait. Nice fish!
MickD reply :
Deep Little N's are good, even better for me has been the Deep Baby N's, gel craw (now called spring crawdad) finish. There is a new gel coat craw finish that looks very good, Apocalypse.
Vilas15 reply :
On 1/5/2020 at 10:32 AM, A-Jay said:Phantom Brown and Red Crawfish have been my go to's.
A-Jay
What season and time of day is best for the rkcrawler? Im thinking it could be effective in spring but also in summer during lowlight periods on clear lakes since it gets to a decent depth.
A-Jay reply :
On 1/6/2020 at 8:28 AM, Vilas15 said:What season and time of day is best for the rkcrawler? Im thinking it could be effective in spring but also in summer during lowlight periods on clear lakes since it gets to a decent depth.
I throw it any time & every time I think brown bass may be feeding on crawfish.
This was May ~
This was July ~
A-Jay
Jermination reply :
They're still chomping it here in east TN. Tough weather conditions(22 mph wind with gusts up to 35) on a lake that wide open make your vertical presentations nearly impossible...think i caught 13 total this past saturday with 11 coming on the dt6---caught 4 largemouth too which is strange, dont think i've caught 4 largemouth in my last 7 or 8 trips combined
On 1/5/2020 at 11:15 AM, Columbia Craw said:The only thing I can mention is you are limiting yourself in a specific depth zone. For smallmouth, the 6 to 14 feet zone is prime. If you have that much confidence in the DT series, add a DT 10 or deeper and those fish that aren't looking up might come into play. Other than plastics, I've caught more smallmouth on a Normans Deep Little N that any other bait. Nice fish!
I like the DT10 and have an arsenal but this year specifically the fish like the smaller profile, i usually swap over to a rock crawler spring craw if they're out a little deeper. The only thing about the DT's that drive me crazy is once every 2 or 3 trips i sling one out and the plug snaps off from the bill, want to talk about a massive birds nest LOL
A-Jay reply :
On 1/6/2020 at 9:18 PM, Jermination said:They're still chomping it here in east TN. Tough weather conditions(22 mph wind with gusts up to 35) on a lake that wide open make your vertical presentations nearly impossible...think i caught 13 total this past saturday with 11 coming on the dt6---caught 4 largemouth too which is strange, dont think i've caught 4 largemouth in my last 7 or 8 trips combined
I like the DT10 and have an arsenal but this year specifically the fish like the smaller profile, i usually swap over to a rock crawler spring craw if they're out a little deeper. The only thing about the DT's that drive me crazy is once every 2 or 3 trips i sling one out and the plug snaps off from the bill, want to talk about a massive birds nest LOL
Nicely Done ~
Cold & Windy is no picnic.
As for the DT Bills failing, this has been the biggest knock on these baits since they were first introduced.
No doubt while intact they get bites.
Seems one just has to be willing to accept that eventually a reel or two may get blown up.
And I certainly don't need any extra help in that department.
A-Jay
RHuff reply :
On 1/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, A-Jay said:Nice brown bass.
We throw what works, hard not to. Seems the more we catch on a bait, the more we throw it. The Spro 55 Rock Crawler in Phantom Craw is that bait for me.
A-Jay
Phantom Brown or Phantom Green?
A-Jay reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 11:23 AM, RHuff said:
Phantom Brown or Phantom Green?
Yes ~
A-Jay
(Both)
PourMyOwn reply :
Fantastic thread gentlemen.
RHuff reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 2:13 PM, A-Jay said:Yes ~
A-Jay
(Both)
Thanks A-Jay!!
Ogandrews reply :
I’m a rapala guy as well and I find myself in the same situation except I’m that way with the bx brat. Still is made out of balsa so it has that unique action but it’s built way tougher than your average balsa bait. If your close enough to cover that you might touch it a couple times in the retrieve you should seriously give it a good try. You can get them in 3 ft or 6ft so similar depth to the dt6. Has become pretty much the only squarebill I buy, especially for smallies as its smaller than you average squarebill but still has plenty of weight with the epoxy on it. They just came out with a bigger size of it too that’s 3/4 oz that I haven’t tried yet but I’m sure it’ll get bit
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