Cranking Through Wood 2024
chilliblanket reply :
What do you guys find is the best way to effectively fish wood cover with a lot of branches? Im talking about offshore specifically, but i guess the same rules would apply to beating the banks. I've heard a lot of people use the rod to move the bait after contact has been made with the cover.. what do you guys do?
Red reply :
I crank some pretty thick wood. Generally when the bait makes contact I will just stop it for a second so it can float up a bit then continue to crank. Alot of the time it is the first couple cranks after contact when I get the bite.
JIGFISHERMAN. reply :
A good square billed crank will pull right through some knarly stuff.
Haven't in some time, but I used to fish river lay downs with a hand full of old Poe's square bills. Just crank and crank. Those things will pull through anything.
chilliblanket reply :
i been cranking some really heavy wood recently.. and im getting the lip wedged more than anything.. i guess it just requires a slower presentation?
Sam reply :
On 12/6/2011 at 10:49 AM, Red said:I crank some pretty thick wood. Generally when the bait makes contact I will just stop it for a second so it can float up a bit then continue to crank. Alot of the time it is the first couple cranks after contact when I get the bite.
X2 
Now, knowing what you know you will get hung up.
It comes with the territority.
So are the hangups worth the rewards? YES!!!!! 
Nitrofreak reply :
On 12/6/2011 at 10:49 AM, Red said:I crank some pretty thick wood. Generally when the bait makes contact I will just stop it for a second so it can float up a bit then continue to crank. Alot of the time it is the first couple cranks after contact when I get the bite.
X3 !!
I will do this same thing when using cranks, but normally if I am in heavy wood or grass I use spinners and hit every little branch I can.
Spinners allow me to get less hang-ups and create some great action when fishing heavy cover.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/6/2011 at 8:25 PM, Nitrofreak said:X3 !!
I will do this same thing when using cranks, but normally if I am in heavy wood or grass I use spinners and hit every little branch I can.
Spinners allow me to get less hang-ups and create some great action when fishing heavy cover.
So are you using heavy spinnerbaits and slow rolling?
Fishes in trees reply :
Timber Tiger crankbaits come through wood and brush cover better than any other crank.
chilliblanket reply :
technique wish is there something to do though?
Bluebasser86 reply :
When I'm cranking wood I really try to concentrate on what my bait is doing. When I feel it about to contact a branch I stop reeling and use the rod to pull the bait forward. This slows the bait down to a crawl so it can float up a little bit but keeps it moving forward over the limb.
JIGFISHERMAN. reply :
I do the opposite I guess of others. I just keep crankin'. Even when I hit something. For me, I've found that if I stop, I get hung, if I keep going the lip will deflect it up over.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/7/2011 at 6:29 AM, JIGFISHERMAN. said:I do the opposite I guess of others. I just keep crankin'. Even when I hit something. For me, I've found that if I stop, I get hung, if I keep going the lip will deflect it up over.
Are you using fluoro?
JIGFISHERMAN. reply :
On 12/7/2011 at 6:41 AM, chilliblanket said:Are you using fluoro?
No...Mono
chilliblanket reply :
thats crazy.. when i try that i get stuck lol..
JIGFISHERMAN. reply :
On 12/7/2011 at 8:21 AM, chilliblanket said:thats crazy.. when i try that i get stuck lol..
Maybe it's just the crankbait? Like I mentioned I only do it with some old Poe's flat/square billed cranks.
chilliblanket reply :
ohhh i seee.. i can pull squarebills through some pretty thick cover.. im only really having trouble with deeper diving cranks like maybe in the 12 ft range
Bass_Fanatic reply :
Buy some Timber Tigers...they can dive 12ft and come through cover like a dream.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/8/2011 at 5:29 AM, chilliblanket said:ohhh i seee.. i can pull squarebills through some pretty thick cover.. im only really having trouble with deeper diving cranks like maybe in the 12 ft range
I was referring to fishing deeper cranks when I said I stop reeling and pull the bait over the cover with my rod. It lets the bait float up a little but keeps it moving forward. You have to pull it slowly so it doesn't roll over the limb, that's when the snags happen.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/9/2011 at 8:33 AM, Bluebasser86 said:I was referring to fishing deeper cranks when I said I stop reeling and pull the bait over the cover with my rod. It lets the bait float up a little but keeps it moving forward. You have to pull it slowly so it doesn't roll over the limb, that's when the snags happen.
yeah i get a better feel when im pulling with the rod... you pull fast enough that youre keeping in contact with the cover though right?
Bluebasser86 reply :
Yes I just pull really slowly, just fast enough to make it wobble and keep the bill down. The bill helps to keep the hooks away from the cover and a lot of times the fish will catch the bait right as it gets to the limb. It's almost more like dragging a C-rig when I'm fishing a deep crank through trees, really trying to feel my way through the trees. You're still going to get snagged, just not nearly as much.
Simp reply :
Honestly I surprised nobody has mentioned crashing. I became a fan of crashing after I saw a crank work down a very think tree in ultra clear water. The lure as erratic as i've ever seen anything and it was something you could never hope to duplicate by a stop and go. The lure would smack into a limb then slowly grind over and suddenly dart in a crazy direction. It was simply amazing all the triggering aspects it was producing. Fast isn't always best but man dont be afraid of crashing from time to time because your worried about loosing a lure. By cheaper lures if your worried. Seriously!
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/9/2011 at 8:53 AM, Bluebasser86 said:Yes I just pull really slowly, just fast enough to make it wobble and keep the bill down. The bill helps to keep the hooks away from the cover and a lot of times the fish will catch the bait right as it gets to the limb. It's almost more like dragging a C-rig when I'm fishing a deep crank through trees, really trying to feel my way through the trees. You're still going to get snagged, just not nearly as much.
yeah, i dont ever really get the hooks stuck lol.. i always seem to wedge the bill in between the branches..
On 12/9/2011 at 9:11 AM, Simp said:Honestly I surprised nobody has mentioned crashing. I became a fan of crashing after I saw a crank work down a very think tree in ultra clear water. The lure as erratic as i've ever seen anything and it was something you could never hope to duplicate by a stop and go. The lure would smack into a limb then slowly grind over and suddenly dart in a crazy direction. It was simply amazing all the triggering aspects it was producing. Fast isn't always best but man dont be afraid of crashing from time to time because your worried about loosing a lure. By cheaper lures if your worried. Seriously!
this is how i fish almost all of my squarebills... have you tried this with the rounder bills?
Simp reply :
On 12/10/2011 at 6:14 AM, chilliblanket said:yeah, i dont ever really get the hooks stuck lol.. i always seem to wedge the bill in between the branches..
this is how i fish almost all of my squarebills... have you tried this with the rounder bills?
Sure it's not as arratic as a square will be but they still are erratic as can be, and once you develop a feel you can get baits to come threw most of the time. Once you learn to play the piano correctly with your cranks you unhook 95% of your baits that get hung anyway. It's all about trying different things to find what those bass want. I try to use cranks to trigger strikes so I try to speed up most of the time. I'll pick up a jig to work slow and precise.
Seanyboy reply :
I like to crank right through the wood, trying to keep contact as much as possible. Depending on what I'm feeling the bait hit, I'll either keep cranking or pause it for a split second. If it's a squarebill, I'll keep cranking, if not, I'll usually pause it so it won't get hung up.
Normally, I let the reel dictate most of the bait action, only twitching the rod occasionally.
tnbassfisher reply :
Like stated, you can get through some decent stuff with square bills. But it always seems that the shallow-er cranks are the ones with square bills. Am I wrong?
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/11/2011 at 5:44 AM, tnbassfisher said:Like stated, you can get through some decent stuff with square bills. But it always seems that the shallow-er cranks are the ones with square bills. Am I wrong?
Yeah thats true.. but it seems like most people are saying the only way to really get through the cover with rounder bills is to learn to feel it out..
Nitrofreak reply :
On 12/7/2011 at 12:54 AM, chilliblanket said:So are you using heavy spinnerbaits and slow rolling?
Nothing too heavy around timber, normally I use a double bladed willow leaf, silver color or one silver one gold.
Slow rolled or most likely all I will do is pick it up and let it fall through the timber if the timber is really heavy.
If I were to choose to slow roll then most likely I will switch to a Colorado blade.
Awesome post's by the way, lots of good info on cranking.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/13/2011 at 9:00 PM, Nitrofreak said:Nothing too heavy around timber, normally I use a double bladed willow leaf, silver color or one silver one gold.
Slow rolled or most likely all I will do is pick it up and let it fall through the timber if the timber is really heavy.
If I were to choose to slow roll then most likely I will switch to a Colorado blade.
Awesome post's by the way, lots of good info on cranking.
Yeah. There are times when fishing through the wood with a crankbait is not what the fish really want.. but i think a lot of the information here will help me when the crankbait is what the fish are looking for. thanks for all the input btw everyone
J Francho reply :
I like the crank wood with a jig 
Crankenstein Crony reply :
On 12/6/2011 at 10:49 AM, Red said:I crank some pretty thick wood. Generally when the bait makes contact I will just stop it for a second so it can float up a bit then continue to crank. Alot of the time it is the first couple cranks after contact when I get the bite.
I do the same as Red. I wait till I make contact with stumps or branches and stop reeling. The bait will float up a little bit and that helps keep the hooks from getting snagged. And a lot of times the first few cranks after that pause gets a lot of bites. If Im fishing a lot of stumps I will cast over the stump so my square bill rams directly into the stump so it deflect off the stump. Quite often that deflection gets me some very good bites. When I am ramming stumps I normally run right into the stump once or twice with out pausing my bait after the deflection. If I don't get any takers, I will cast right back at the same stump several more times and pause my bait after the deflection to see if thats what the fish are looking for.
chilliblanket reply :
yeah.. i reel like a madman when i have a squarebill on the end of my line...
kikstand454 reply :
I have cut the front facing hook off the forward treble on many crankbaits and done awesome with them. Works well shallow and deep and really good around sparse grass/ pads.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/14/2011 at 11:49 PM, kikstand454 said:I have cut the front facing hook off the forward treble on many crankbaits and done awesome with them. Works well shallow and deep and really good around sparse grass/ pads.
have you found any negative affects on the hook ups or landing fish?
Chris reply :
I generally use either a Fat Free shad or a Bandit round bill in deeper tree's. I choose a Bandit because it has (mine do anyways) tripple grip hooks that are harder to hang up. I choose a Fat Free shad because of the counter rotating excalabur hooks. The hooks do a great job with getting though the timber. With both I am fishing the trunk of the tree deflecting off the limbs going with the grain of the limbs. If the tree like a jungle other lures might be a better option or fishing the edge where it is less jungle. I would beef up with 14lb mono or better. Hung up lures can be gotten back with a bow and arrow technique if not as said before lost lures are just part of the deal.
chilliblanket reply :
On 12/16/2011 at 5:15 AM, Chris said:I generally use either a Fat Free shad or a Bandit round bill in deeper tree's. I choose a Bandit because it has (mine do anyways) tripple grip hooks that are harder to hang up. I choose a Fat Free shad because of the counter rotating excalabur hooks. The hooks do a great job with getting though the timber. With both I am fishing the trunk of the tree deflecting off the limbs going with the grain of the limbs. If the tree like a jungle other lures might be a better option or fishing the edge where it is less jungle. I would beef up with 14lb mono or better. Hung up lures can be gotten back with a bow and arrow technique if not as said before lost lures are just part of the deal.
you talking about the mustad triple grips? Have you found that theyre harder to hang up?
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