The UNimportance of crankbait details 2025
Team9nine reply :
Found more pics from a series of tests I did a couple summers back. Here's the deets on this one:
Jump into my buddies boat after work and fish for about 2.5 hours on the home lake. I only bring one rod and reel, but two Plano flat boxes. One of those boxes is completely empty, the other is filled with crankbaits, mostly shallow runners and squarebills. Here's the test.
I fish from the back of the boat (used water). I only use the one outfit the entire time, spooled with 10lb. line and using a snap tied to the line to facilitate quick lure changes. Pick one crankbait to start with from the full box and fish it until I catch a bass, any size. After catching a bass on the bait, immediately remove that bait from the snap and place it into the empty box. Reach back into the main crankbait box and grab another (different) bait to try and catch another bass. Repeat.
I use multiple same baits from the same manufacturer (for instance, several different Bandit 100s), so long as I use a different color pattern every time and don't repeat any one color pattern. I can also use multiple similar color patterns (for instance, several different firetiger colored baits), so long as they are from different manufacturers and not duplicated.
When all was said and done, I managed 25 bass on 25 different baits from at least 7 different manufacturers, both rattling and silent, from 1/2 oz down to under 1/4 oz, wide wobble, tight wobble and everything inbetween (pictured below). I did actually have 2 baits I tried that I couldn't get bit on quickly, so I "passed" on them and changed out after a bit. Again, meaningless in one sense, but really fun and always interesting trying something different out on the water. Bass are easy to catch, so the off-the-wall testing keeps the interest.
So do we really need a hundred different crankbaits if bass will bite most all of them pretty readily on any given day? Is it more a case of if they're biting cranks, any crank will likely do, or do you fall into the category of needing specific sizes, colors, wobbles, etc. for certain waters and certain times of the year, or in certain clarities?
Harold Scoggins reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 2:38 AM, Team9nine said:So do we really need a hundred different crankbaits
If my wife sees this, you sir, are going on my "you know what" list.
Shimano_1 reply :
I firmly believe there are places and times that this would be the result more often than not. I also believe highly pressured hard fisheries would be completely opposite. There aren't many times anywhere around here you could catch 25 bass in 2.5 hrs. Pretty interesting nonetheless.
WRB reply :
You like chartreuse highlite cranks!
When I was fishing crankbaits seriously my routine was buy 6 of the same brand and color and fish them, keeping only the lures that caught multiple bass. If I found 2 it was a good day usually 1 out fished all the others.
I never could determine why 1 lure that looked exactly like the others caught more bass.
Tom
A-Jay reply :
Cool Test ~
Admittedly I'm a bit of a Lure Hoarder . . . Been one for a while now.
Several colors & patterns of the same bait is my standard modus operandi.
"So do we really need a hundred different crankbaits if bass will bite most all of them pretty readily on any given day? Is it more a case of if they're biting cranks, any crank will likely do, or do you fall into the category of needing specific sizes, colors, wobbles, etc. for certain waters and certain times of the year, or in certain clarities?"
I believe you may have answered you're own question . . .
"I did actually have 2 baits I tried that I couldn't get bit on quickly, so I "passed" on them and changed out after a bit."
What if these were the Only Two Baits you had with you ???
"Test" results may have been different.
A-Jay
slonezp reply :
I think a hand full body styles, a hand full of depth ranges, and a hand full of the most common colors is all one needs. Keeping the bait in the strike zone should be the first priority.
Vilas15 reply :
I'm of the opinion that color is the least important factor compared to location, weather, size, action, etc. To me those all look similar size/shape but with different colors and wiggles like you mentioned. I'd be interested to see the same kind of test with different shapes like a minnow bait vs. shad shape and more variance in size. Overall I'm not shocked one bit that the manufacturer doesn't matter when baits are generally the same style. All the tiny little details like eye color or molded in scales don't matter to me at all.
Dirtyeggroll reply :
In Keith Jones’ book he reports that a two-tone black and white bait out performed the solid color cranks.
Im in the club of thinking color combo and pattern might matter but details probably not so much.
Sam reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 3:24 AM, WRB said:You like chartreuse highlite cranks!
When I was fishing crankbaits seriously my routine was buy 6 of the same brand and color and fish them, keeping only the lures that caught multiple bass. If I found 2 it was a good day usually 1 out fished all the others.
I never could determine why 1 lure that looked exactly like the others caught more bass.
Tom
X2 to your last sentence. I have a blue and chartreuse Bandit that outfishes all others I have. No idea why.
ohboyitsrobby reply :
Yes I need a hundred different crankbaits. For 2 reasons. The most important of which to me is confidence. Regardless of whether it's true or not I believe I'll catch fish is certain situations on certain cranks more than others. Confidence is a big deal to me. The second is well I have all these tackleboxes with all these holes I need to fill
papajoe222 reply :
I don't care what they say, SIZE MATTERS!
I regularly fish small bodied cranks in deep water (15ft.+). Most of the cranks that will reach that deep or deeper are fairly large. More often than not, that smaller body bait will out produce one of the big boys. The big girls like 'em, too.
scaleface reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 10:05 AM, papajoe222 said:I don't care what they say, SIZE MATTERS!
I regularly fish small bodied cranks in deep water (15ft.+). Most of the cranks that will reach that deep or deeper are fairly large. More often than not, that smaller body bait will out produce one of the big boys. The big girls like 'em, too.
What small bodied cranks do you get to go that deep ?
Revival reply :
I’m curious to know what crank/color you ended up passing on? Did you go back to those baits or just passed on them completely?
Todd2 reply :
Very interesting..for most of us when we catch on a certain color we stick with that color and keep catching and always think they were on that color for the day. I probably have 20 or so crankbaits and try to find times to use them all...maybe not so much anymore..lol
Hook2Jaw reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 11:47 AM, scaleface said:What small bodied cranks do you get to go that deep ?
Dredgers?
DanielG reply :
I almost invariably use two depending on wind and overcast/sun conditions. One is a darker yellow perch color and the other is bluish with a lot of white. I have them in two sizes. The smaller ones will catch small and larger fish (mostly smaller). The larger ones will cause more larger fish to strike.
Using my other plethora of colors is okay, but it seems to be the light and dark and to some but less extent size that determines the fish hitting .
I'm really hooked (pun?) on trailered chatter baits right now though. I've ordered some trailer hooks though as I get a lot of strikes but limited actual hooks. Funny, same color conditions light/dark like the crank baits.
BassWhole! reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 3:24 AM, WRB said:You like chartreuse highlite cranks!
When I was fishing crankbaits seriously my routine was buy 6 of the same brand and color and fish them, keeping only the lures that caught multiple bass. If I found 2 it was a good day usually 1 out fished all the others.
I never could determine why 1 lure that looked exactly like the others caught more bass.
Tom
Yup, I have a "magic" crank box where only the ones that have passed the gauntlet go. In some cases, I can figure out what is different about them, but mostly I can't. Don't care, the fish have a preference, and that's good enough for me.
Team9nine reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 12:35 PM, Revival said:I’m curious to know what crank/color you ended up passing on? Did you go back to those baits or just passed on them completely?
Unfortunately, I didn’t capture pics of the reject baits, and it’s been long enough that I can’t remember exactly. Might have to do a 2019 version and see if results stay the same.
Mobasser reply :
Nice test and results. Over the years, shad, chrome, and chartruese baits have worked the best for me. I always liked the looks of darker crawfish patterns, and have bought several over time, but these have produced less fish than other colors. The last two years, I've almost quit fishing them due to weed/ hydrilla getting out of hand. I'm having to use weedless plastics much more now
WRB reply :
The majority of my deep diving crankbaits time on the water is with what most call vintage lures popular in the 80's. Bagley B's, Bomber A's, Poe Cedar, Rebel R's, Storm Warts. Bandits were later 80's early 90's for me.
The 80's era crankbaits needed tunning so they would run straighter without rolling over and hook upgrades using VMC trebles in lieu of Mustad before the Japanese introduced sharp strong black nickle treble hooks. I stopped trying to make Rebel crankbaits run right and they were popular but I couldn't catch a cold using them.
You have a lot more choices today with crankbaits that usually run good out of the box, have good sharp hooks and great color choices the past 15 years.
Tom
Pickle_Power reply :
I have somewhat performed this experiment inadvertently. There have been times where I was wading the river, and lost multiple crankbaits over the course of the excursion. I don't really ever have multiples of the same bait, so I'd have to try a new color/brand almost every time I'd lose one. I have found that in this situation, with smallmouth, the colors have not mattered very much. Body style, size, lip shape, and diving depth probably have more to do with their effectiveness or lack thereof. Getting it and keeping it in the strike zone is paramount with any lure.
Tennessee Boy reply :
More interesting information from @Team9nine.
I think we give our lures more credit than they deserve.
Choporoz reply :
I love your threads, 9.
But I do sometimes wonder about applicability...to me at least.
Seems that you could tie a pull tab to a rope and catch two dozen bass in an afternoon....while I would be 30 yards down the bank struggling to bag a limit
WRB reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 11:47 AM, scaleface said:What small bodied cranks do you get to go that deep ?
Lures that sink, the question I have what is a small body crankbait?
Tom
Catt reply :
I carry what I call an "attack" box of crankbaits, if I can't get it done with these I'm throwing something else!
cgolf reply :
In the past I have found a big difference in different cranks and what the fish will hit. There are times they will crush anything, but I had my eyes opened when an xcalibur xcs 200 Sb was the hot bait and man that thing plows water. After two cold fronts I couldn’t buy a bite on the xcalibur SB and switched to a much more subtle Bandit 100 and picked up 16 bass in a short amount of time. This really surprised me because I didn’t think it would matter that much, but taught me a lesson for sure especially when dealing with cold fronts which are very common in N WI.
papajoe222 reply :
On 8/19/2019 at 11:47 AM, scaleface said:What small bodied cranks do you get to go that deep ?
There are a number of off the shelf baits that'll run 15+ft., I'm talking body size here, not overall size. The bill is actually longer than the body on a couple that I have.
I don't use deep diving cranks much anymore, but I still fish the depths with baits like a Bandit , or a Norman FatBoy. I use a pencil style weight with a wire that extends down from the weight and rig it like a C-rig. I keep the leader around 2ft. long and work it slowly when I feel the wire start bumping rocks, or when it transitions from hard to soft bottom. It takes some practice to cast any distance, but you can troll it, too.
WRB reply :
Norman DD 22 isn't a big lure, Bagley DB3 dregde is a sinking deep diviier that is about the same size as the DD 22 and runs 20' deep.
Tom
Preytorien reply :
I'm a believer, by circumstance, that only a few crankbaits are needed. As I'm mostly a bankwalker, I only have so much space to carry in my bag. That said, while I have a couple bright colors for muddy water, the other 3 I use most of the time, with great luck, are flashy - two gold and one silver. Those seem to cover all the bases for me.
stratoliner92 reply :
I believe some days fish activity is so high that it doesn't matter at all, but some days they do want a certain action or size. When I first started fishing with a new partner we went to a local lake and started working a large flat adjacent to creek channel. He was using a Poe's 300 and me a Bomber Fat Free shad both chartreuse w/blue back. Both of us side by side and running baits with same steady retrieve plowing bottom the whole time on 6.4:1 reels. He landed 3 fish in about 30min and me zero. After his third fish he looked at me smiling and handed me a Poe 300 and said don't be stubborn???? I proceeded to catch several bass after that on same flat. I do agree I have way way too many crankbaits though????
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