Spinnerbaits vs Crankbaits 2024
Skspacemonkey reply :
Hi, in what scenario would you chose a crankbait over a spinnerbait and vice versa? Thanks
Mike L reply :
Considering the lakes I fish, it is very seldom that I throw a crankbait.
And if I did it would depend on structure and then it would be a small sq bill.
However, I would have to cycle through the entire bag first.
I mostly throw spinnerbaits through scattered visible vegetation or over the top of submerged hydrilla and then only after not getting bit on other moving baits.
Mike
WRB reply :
I tend to use a spinnerbait when bass are feeding on shad and there is some wind.
I have no limitations when using crankbaits and use them day or night but prefer cranking edges or long tapering points or flat breaks with deeper water around or through them.
Tom
NHBull reply :
Wind and white caps = spinners
Cranks can be anytime I can reach bottom
bigbassin' reply :
The difference for me is that I treat a spinner bait as a night only lure. I can't seem to buy a bite with spinner baits during the day, my top night producer by far though.
As far as throwing a crank bait during the night, I'm sure it would still work but spinner baits are effective enough and are a little more forgiving due to their lack of trebles and weedless design.
scaleface reply :
A lot of the time either one can be chosen and its just whatever floats my boat at the time . I like spinnerbaits better in brushpiles , laydowns , beaver houses and over vegetation . The vegetation in local lakes , a crankbait cannot be ripped free .You get those trebles in it and come back with a big glob . Stumps , standing timber , rip rap and deep structure i usually have on a crank but spinnerbaits can also be used .
BuzzHudson19c reply :
I hate spinnerbaits, so I would always prefer a crankbait. 
Scarborough817 reply :
spinnerbaits are something i throw when i want to be tight into cover specifically timber. crankbaits i throw anywhere there is hard bottom, mainly rock or a long point. wind is also a key factor in spinnerbaits as it doesnt give the fish as good of a look at it.
Florida Cracker2 reply :
I like Spinners during the day, Cranks in the evening, and surface early morning.
smalljaw67 reply :
The spinnerbait is my favorite lure and I throw it a lot. I also like square bills and other shallow to mid diving cranks and for me it has to do with where the fish are and water clarity. If I'm fishing a spinnerbait shallow, there has to be wind or stained water, if the water is on the clear side with no wind I'll opt for the crank. In all honesty though, there really isn't any general rule of thumb, more often than not you simple have to let the fish tell you what they want. I've had days when the fish were feeding up and they would destroy a spinnerbait pulled just below the surface but they wouldn't touch a crankbait. I've also experience the exact same conditions when they wouldn't look at a spinnerbait but a square bill bounced off a rock would work. I try to use the spinnerbait more often, especially if there are snags but sometimes the fish want that the crank and in dirty water a crankbait banging the rocks with a hard rattle will generally get more bites but you really have to let the fish tell you and you experiment to try and find a pattern based on conditions.
Troy85 reply :
I throw crank baits more when the water is clean and spinner baits when its more stained.
junyer357 reply :
Usually if i am with a partner, we throw both in same areas til we figure out which they prwfer, if there is a preference. Otherwise, i wont throw a crank if its somewhere i cant get it back or will just hang up too easy. I also wont throw a spinnerbait in any water over 10'. I just go to a deeper crank.
J Francho reply :
It's more about what cover I'm fishing, and activity level. Spinnerbaits come through grass and wood without issue. Crankbaits, not so much. In either case, contact and deflection off the cover you're fishing is critical to success.
Ratherbfishing reply :
I tend to use a spinnerbait more when the water is dark (or it's low light) and or when there is a lot of cover (especially vegetation) in the water. Conversely, if the water is clear and the fish the bass can get a good look at the bait, I'm more inclined to use a crankbait. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. It's more like 70/30. I also tend to use a crankbait more if the fish are pressured. All this assumes I'm using one of the two choices-which I may not actually use.
Spankey reply :
On average my day out starts at before sun up. Topwater first. Than I throw crankbaits to start to cover some water. Structure fish wood with spinnerbaits. But somewhere along the line soft plastics are mixed in there. I have a tendency to get off course some and get hung up on soft plastics fishing.
bowhunter63 reply :
Crankbait if I'm banging rocks but I use a Spinnerbait for everything else.I want to fish a crankbait more this year. Love those War Eagles on the river,There hard to beat.
greentrout reply :
In 5-7 ft. of water use a spinner bait in all water...different colors, sizes and blades depending on water clarity, weather conditions & temp...
In a private residential lake with little cover like to throw it on the bank and reel in fast once it hits the water...
The old Bandit lure is my favorite crank bait but I don't use 'em nearly as much as my spinner baits...
That's my mileage...
Jason476 reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 7:55 AM, bowhunter63 said:Love those War Eagles on the river,There hard to beat.
2x on War Eagles. I’ve had much better results w spinnerbaits over cranks
iceintheveins reply :
Most all hard baits IMO work better when there is some wind or cloud cover. This is especially true with spinnerbaits. I will reach for spinnerbaits first when there is a good breeze or during low light and cloudy conditions. If they aren't hitting topwaters in low light or cloudy conditions, a spinnerbait is what I reach for. But crankbaits can also work well during these times. I use cranks more over wood and rock cover, and spinnerbaits more around weed and grass. But generally I will throw both. I almost always have both rigged up.
Bankbeater reply :
The only time I use a spinnerbait over a crankbait is when I am fishing around heavy cover like water willows, or lily pads. The rest of the time I use both and let the bass tell me what they want.
BassWhole! reply :
On 2/12/2018 at 5:04 AM, Skspacemonkey said:Hi, in what scenario would you chose a crankbait over a spinnerbait and vice versa? Thanks
I always choose a spinnerbait over a crank bait, but sometimes fish just don't want to commit to it, some of the factors that usually influence them I think are clear water, calm conditions, and colder water. It really depends though, I've caught them mid day in glass calm conditions without a cloud in the sky with a gaudy spinnerbait, so always keep an open mind.
A-Jay reply :
Spinnerbaits for me are routinely fished in the top third of the water column and Crankbaits are used to fish the bottom third; Rarely are either effective in the middle third.
A-Jay
J Francho reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 9:29 PM, A-Jay said:Spinnerbaits for me are routinely fished in the top third of the water column
You're doing it wrong. Get a 3/4 ouncer, and dredge the depths. Seriously.
A-Jay reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 10:09 PM, J Francho said:You're doing it wrong. Get a 3/4 ouncer, and dredge the depths. Seriously.
Yea - I give up what I know just not all I know.
A-Jay
J Francho reply :
I have a whole string of photos from a cold, clear, early May day, of big largemouth, all chin hooked by the trailer hook on a spinnerbait. 17-20' water, near a channel and rip rap. Let the bait hit bottom, and reel in so it's hitting bottom occasionally. They were chin hooked, because they were crashing the blades. I've duplicated this success many times over.
scaleface reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 10:09 PM, J Francho said:You're doing it wrong. Get a 3/4 ouncer, and dredge the depths. Seriously.
I have two Ledge Busters by Strike King still in package that are designed for that . I bet they are close to 25 to 30 years old .
J Francho reply :
I like Ledge Busters, but the Strike King Premier Pro from Dick's is my favorite for this. Tandem Colorado. Any color.
scaleface reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 10:18 PM, J Francho said:I like Ledge Busters
I stand corrected , they are 3/4 ounce Strike King Pro Ledge . The sticker price is $1.99.
J Francho reply :
I think the Premiers are like a buck more, and come with a trailer hook installed. They last 10x as long as the $7 KVD spinnerbaits I tried.
bigbill reply :
I learned to through a ritual of different baits, colors, sizes till I get action. The bass will tell me when it’s right.
i use the manns Classic ( really the Hank Parker Classic Spinnerbait) spinnerbait in white with the twin Indiana gold blades. It’s comes with a blue glimmer skirt and I add a mister twister 4” white split double tail grub and a trailer hook. For clear to shaded water(shade trees). For stained water it’s the manns classic in chartreuse, mt 4” chartreuse trailer. I do change the skirt to a hot chartreuse.
i also play with the sight line. Above the sight line we can see the spinnerbait, below the sight line we can’t see the spinnerbait.
papajoe222 reply :
Welcome to the forums.
A spinnerbait has much more versatility than a crank in that it can be presented throughout the water column. Any individual crank is limited to basically one depth range. If you're fishing from shore, or some unknown part of the lake, you can start fishing the spinner up high, through the mid depths, or on the bottom. One downside is that you'll have is retrieving it at a constant depth, especially when first using them. When you catch a fish, you want to be able to repeat what you and the lure were doing. The downside to cranks is that they only run down to one depth and only stay there for part of your retrieve. Another downside for spinnerbaits is the amount of flash they give off. On a sunny, calm day, that flash is a turn off for bass.
They both have different triggering qualities and which one to use in any given situation is based more on personal preference/confidence than any perceived plus or minus compared to the other.
BassWhole! reply :
On 2/13/2018 at 10:15 PM, J Francho said:I have a whole string of photos from a cold, clear, early May day, of big largemouth, all chin hooked by the trailer hook on a spinnerbait. 17-20' water, near a channel and rip rap. Let the bait hit bottom, and reel in so it's hitting bottom occasionally. They were chin hooked, because they were crashing the blades. I've duplicated this success many times over.
This ^. Slow rolling a big spinnerbait (I like a single colorado or indiana from the musky section) in the pre spawn on the bottom catches some of my biggest fish most years.
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