Deep crankbaits in farm ponds. What would you use? 2025
mcfishing620 reply :
I bass fish primarily in farm ponds and detention dams in Kansas, and typically use shallow cranks, lipless, and spinnerbaits. With summer here, I want to try deep cranking, but it's a technique I've never done. Depth is usually 7 to 20 feet in the areas I'd do this at. Water is stained, but not muddy most of the time, but can be clear or muddy on occasion. What lures would you use, and what colors? There is perch, crawdads, gizzard shad, and baby bass for the natural forage.
WRB reply :
1/2 oz Scrounger jig with a soft plastic trailer like a 6" Sluggo can be fished any depth and doesn't hang up.
Very diffucult to effectively fish deep diving cranks bait from shore because the deep water is where the lure starts it's dive and should already be down deep. As you retrieve it back the water is getting shallower and the lure digs into the bottom, you must stop and let it raise up to continue a few feet and repeat. If the pond has a dam, try there 1st casting at a angle to keep the lure in a strike zone longer. The old metal lip Arbogast Mud Bug in crawdad color could work.
Tom
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've had good luck cranking a Fat Free Shad in shallow water from shore. I crank it very slowly so it scoots slowly across the bottom, kicking up silt and bouncing off rocks. They're not too expensive either, which is good because you're going to lose some.
mcfishing620 reply :
I fish from a Sundolphin Pro 120 bass boat on the ponds, so I'm already out in the deep water.
My setup will be something to the effect of an Antares DC in 5.6:1, with a 7'4" St Croix Legend Glass, using 15lb Seaguar Red Label. I also use VMC crankbait snaps.
Been a crankbait guy my whole life, just never deep.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I use to love crankbaits, can't stand fishing them now, trying to get rid of most all of mine. One of my biggest Kansas bass was on a Strike King 5XD in green gizzard shad color. She was in about 7' of water and ate it off the ricochet.
mcfishing620 reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 1:59 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I use to love crankbaits, can't stand fishing them now, trying to get rid of most all of mine. One of my biggest Kansas bass was on a Strike King 5XD in green gizzard shad color.
Nice. All my biggest bass have been on a white spinnerbait.
I was actually thinking the 5xd was one I'd definitely be getting.
scaleface reply :
Like WRB said .Something that sinks will be able to fish from deep to shallow and follow 100 per cent of the contour .
mcfishing620 reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 1:59 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I use to love crankbaits, can't stand fishing them now, trying to get rid of most all of mine. One of my biggest Kansas bass was on a Strike King 5XD in green gizzard shad color. She was in about 7' of water and ate it off the ricochet.
Where at in KS? What crankbaits are you selling?
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 8:30 PM, mcfishing620 said:Where at in KS? What crankbaits are you selling?
I'm in Lane, about an hour south of KC. These are about half the baits I'm selling.
NHBull reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 1:59 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I use to love crankbaits, can't stand fishing them now, trying to get rid of most all of mine. One of my biggest Kansas bass was on a Strike King 5XD in green gizzard shad color. She was in about 7' of water and ate it off the ricochet.
If you don't mind me asking, why the departure from CB? I know there are many ways to skin a cat......but curious minds......
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 9:03 PM, NHBull said:If you don't mind me asking, why the departure from CB? I know there are many ways to skin a cat......but curious minds......
They haven'tbeen effective for me in years, I don't enjoy fishing them even when they're working, I can't fish them in a lot of our lakes anymore thanks to zebra mussels, bladed jigs have basically replaced them. There's other reasons, but those are the main ones.
Cranks4fun reply :
Bluebasser86, I was wondering why you were unloading your hardbaits too. I probably need to unload some because I have hundreds. I do have an addiction but I catch so many bass on cranks that it seems crazy sometimes. I am converting my buddies to crankbait fishing because I keep hauling them in with 'em. I saw the orange craw Bandit 200 on your picture. I just schooled two guys on Stockton with that. They were throwing ned rigs and jigs and fluke Jrs. and I out fished them with the Bandit off of rocky bluffs (maybe I shouldn't be telling that- 
). They guy using the Ned rig did catch a few early, but as evening set in I passed them. He also caught two on the Whopper Plopper. Anyway, don't unload all your crankbaits just yet. You may end up having to buy more next spring. By the way, what do zebra mussels have to do with not fishing cranks? Are they cutting your line or are you snagging up?
Cranks4fun reply :
To respond to the original post, weed coverage, depth, and water clarity have a lot to do with crankbait choices. Since you are fishing from a boat, you will not lose as many cranks. Hopefully, you will lose none. In water less that 6 ft., Square bills, Baby 1 Minus, wake baits, etc. If the weeds are choking the water you may not be able to use the squarebills. If you are fishing water up to 10 ft and weeds are not an issue in the deeper water, the options are almost limitless. If the water is muddy or green, use noisy baits or wide wobblers like the Norman Fat Boy or the BL Echo. The number and age class of the bass will be a factor too. If the pond is overrun with bass 14 inches and under due to poor stocking, they will often hit anything that moves. If you have Big bass in the pond, fish as close to cover as you can. They like the weed matts and wood, even deep wood in midday. In ponds, sunfish and crawdads are often more important forage than shad or shiners, which may be absent altogether. Match the hatch, or fish baits that look like the forage you think they are eating normally. Good luck! Let us know what you discover as you fish the pond. We might need your tips! 
mcfishing620 reply :
On 8/5/2017 at 8:42 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I'm in Lane, about an hour south of KC. These are about half the baits I'm selling.
How far from Emporia? Shouldn't be too far. I could probably take some of those off your hands.
On 8/6/2017 at 2:06 AM, Cranks4fun said:To respond to the original post, weed coverage, depth, and water clarity have a lot to do with crankbait choices. Since you are fishing from a boat, you will not lose as many cranks. Hopefully, you will lose none. In water less that 6 ft., Square bills, Baby 1 Minus, wake baits, etc. If the weeds are choking the water you may not be able to use the squarebills. If you are fishing water up to 10 ft and weeds are not an issue in the deeper water, the options are almost limitless. If the water is muddy or green, use noisy baits or wide wobblers like the Norman Fat Boy or the BL Echo. The number and age class of the bass will be a factor too. If the pond is overrun with bass 14 inches and under due to poor stocking, they will often hit anything that moves. If you have Big bass in the pond, fish as close to cover as you can. They like the weed matts and wood, even deep wood in midday. In ponds, sunfish and crawdads are often more important forage than shad or shiners, which may be absent altogether. Match the hatch, or fish baits that look like the forage you think they are eating normally. Good luck! Let us know what you discover as you fish the pond. We might need your tips!
I fish a lot of Baby 1 Minus, in fact, I have a box that has nothing but those. Probably caught more fish on that than any other lure. We work the bank and trees a lot. It's been hot here though and we aren't catching them like normal, which brought me to trying deep. Been thinking about trying it for a couple years actually.
This site gets replies a lot better than some other forums. Appreciate the replies. Keep your suggestions coming!
scaleface reply :
WRB already explained the trouble with fishing deep divers from bank . You would want a lure that dives fast . A Berkely Dredger 10.5 will get down to 8 foot relatively fast .
mcfishing620 reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 3:56 AM, scaleface said:WRB already explained the trouble with fishing deep divers from bank . You would want a lure that dives fast . A Berkely Dredger 10.5 will get down to 8 foot relatively fast .
I don't fish deep divers from the bank...
scaleface reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 4:45 AM, mcfishing620 said:I don't fish deep divers from the bank...
Oh my mistake .
Howdeep do you want the lures to go then ?
scaleface reply :
Norman deep Little N is a good bait for ten foot . The Dredger 14.5 is good for 12 but it isnt very buoyant and might not be a good choice in snaggy areas . The dredger 10.5 strangely is buoyant .Strike King 6XD works well to about seventeen foot . These depths are reached using 12 lb Big Game .Shad colors are always a good choice .
WRB reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 2:06 AM, Cranks4fun said:To respond to the original post, weed coverage, depth, and water clarity have a lot to do with crankbait choices. Since you are fishing from a boat, you will not lose as many cranks. Hopefully, you will lose none. In water less that 6 ft., Square bills, Baby 1 Minus, wake baits, etc. If the weeds are choking the water you may not be able to use the squarebills. If you are fishing water up to 10 ft and weeds are not an issue in the deeper water, the options are almost limitless. If the water is muddy or green, use noisy baits or wide wobblers like the Norman Fat Boy or the BL Echo. The number and age class of the bass will be a factor too. If the pond is overrun with bass 14 inches and under due to poor stocking, they will often hit anything that moves. If you have Big bass in the pond, fish as close to cover as you can. They like the weed matts and wood, even deep wood in midday. In ponds, sunfish and crawdads are often more important forage than shad or shiners, which may be absent altogether. Match the hatch, or fish baits that look like the forage you think they are eating normally. Good luck! Let us know what you discover as you fish the pond. We might need your tips!
What makes you think the OP is fishing from a boat? Farm ponds and retention dams sounds to me like a bank angler. If he is fishing from any type of boat then deep diving crank baits are easy to use.
Tom
Cranks4fun reply :
WRB, If you read down the responses, Mcfishing620 says that he fishes out of a Sun Dolphin 120 boat. Look at his first response to his post. Deep diving crankbaits are not effective in weeds. Most medium divers are not unless you have 4-6 ft. of weedless water above them. Regardless, he can try whatever. I was just sharing my thoughts from my experiences. I wish I knew how to fish deep divers through weeds. If you have some tips, please share them.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 1:37 AM, Cranks4fun said:Bluebasser86, I was wondering why you were unloading your hardbaits too. I probably need to unload some because I have hundreds. I do have an addiction but I catch so many bass on cranks that it seems crazy sometimes. I am converting my buddies to crankbait fishing because I keep hauling them in with 'em. I saw the orange craw Bandit 200 on your picture. I just schooled two guys on Stockton with that. They were throwing ned rigs and jigs and fluke Jrs. and I out fished them with the Bandit off of rocky bluffs (maybe I shouldn't be telling that-
I still have a deep 3700 size box of cranks, just the basic colors and my favorite models of each. To me, I'd rather catch fewer fish on another bait, I just don't enjoy fishing cranks for the most part, even when they're working.
As for the zebra mussels, it's like fishing in a lake where the bottom is covered with razor blades, broken glass, and rusted sheet metal. It's not like they're just here and there in the lakes they're in either. The bottom and anything that is in the water in the lakes look like this.
mcfishing620 reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 1:55 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I still have a deep 3700 size box of cranks, just the basic colors and my favorite models of each. To me, I'd rather catch fewer fish on another bait, I just don't enjoy fishing cranks for the most part, even when they're working.
As for the zebra mussels, it's like fishing in a lake where the bottom is covered with razor blades, broken glass, and rusted sheet metal. It's not like they're just here and there in the lakes they're in either. The bottom and anything that is in the water in the lakes look like this.
If someone could come up with a treatment that would only kill zebra mussels, they'd be a rich man. Only benefit to them is they usually make the water more clear. Zebra mussels and Asian carp can both go to hell.
WRB reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 8:03 AM, Cranks4fun said:WRB, If you read down the responses, Mcfishing620 says that he fishes out of a Sun Dolphin 120 boat. Look at his first response to his post. Deep diving crankbaits are not effective in weeds. Most medium divers are not unless you have 4-6 ft. of weedless water above them. Regardless, he can try whatever. I was just sharing my thoughts from my experiences. I wish I knew how to fish deep divers through weeds. If you have some tips, please share them.
Didn't read that he was fishing from a boat!
Treble hooks and deep diving bills don't work in weeds. Lipless cranks can be ripped through weeds using braid. The better choices would be weedless swimbaits like 3:16 Mission Fish, the Scrounger I mentioned and chatter baits with swing hook can be rigged weedless.
With a boat you can fish the rip rap, dam faces and weed edges with deep divers, not in the weeds.
Tom
papajoe222 reply :
There are a number of options other than cranks that will target a variety of depths and come through weeds fairly well. A swim jig, or swimbait, T-rigged worm with the sinker pegged, spinnerbait, heck, even a wacky rigged senko can be worked just of the bottom, or over the weeds.
Cranks4fun reply :
Bluebasser86, I completely understand liking certain baits better than others. I slay fish when I go wacky rigging with senkos but it is my least favorite way to fish. Why? Not sure... It is slow and not as exciting as feeling the jolt I feel on a crankbait or spinnerbait. Everyone has their preferences. BTW, I still throw those wacky rigs if my buddies start pulling ahead of me in numbers! Haha! I also like to win! I cannot hardly believe those zebra mussel pictures. That is horrible! When I lived in N. Indiana, I used to fish Lake Michigan every spring for brown trout, yellow perch, Steelhead, and Cohos. We had zebra mussels too, but someone had accidently introduced round gobies and they, it has been discovered, eat zebra mussels (up to 100 a day). What is even more interesting is that smallmouth bass love gobies! While non-indigenous species are usually harmful, gobies have turned out to be helpful (following the zebra mussel invasion). There are lots of interesting new reoprts and studies out on this. I wonder if round gobies could help your lakes?!
bigbill reply :
Depth wise my local hot spots have a 10' depth. I run cranks and spinnerbaits run between 3' to 6'. Crankbait float too I use the topwater too. I also use jigs, Carolina 1/8oz rigs too besides split shot rigs. Early in the mornings in low light conditions most of my action is shallow. As it gets lighter they go deeper.
Michaelangelo reply :
On 8/6/2017 at 2:06 AM, Cranks4fun said:To respond to the original post, weed coverage, depth, and water clarity have a lot to do with crankbait choices. Since you are fishing from a boat, you will not lose as many cranks. Hopefully, you will lose none. In water less that 6 ft., Square bills, Baby 1 Minus, wake baits, etc. If the weeds are choking the water you may not be able to use the squarebills. If you are fishing water up to 10 ft and weeds are not an issue in the deeper water, the options are almost limitless. If the water is muddy or green, use noisy baits or wide wobblers like the Norman Fat Boy or the BL Echo. The number and age class of the bass will be a factor too. If the pond is overrun with bass 14 inches and under due to poor stocking, they will often hit anything that moves. If you have Big bass in the pond, fish as close to cover as you can. They like the weed matts and wood, even deep wood in midday. In ponds, sunfish and crawdads are often more important forage than shad or shiners, which may be absent altogether. Match the hatch, or fish baits that look like the forage you think they are eating normally. Good luck! Let us know what you discover as you fish the pond. We might need your tips!
Good post.
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