How Can I Get Better With Crankbaits? 2024
basslover12345 reply :
Ok, I really need to get better with crankbaits, there my biggest weakness and I can never really throw then because of all the grass in the lakes/ponds I fish so they have never really been part of my arsenal, I have a whole box of them, but I never use them and when I do they get hung up in grass like crazy and I just gave up eventually. I am getting beaten like crazy in tournaments where crankbaits dominate. Is there any crankbait that I could learn to use with out getting hung up every cast with grass and other snotty stuff? One of my resolutions for 2011 is to catch at least 25 bass on a crankbait, Which will be difficult to do because I have never felt a strike or caught a bass on a crankbait. I mainly fish in depths from 2 to 7 feet in grassy lakes and around grass beds in the summer.
Avalonjohn44 reply :
If you can fish a spinnerbait, you can fish a crankbait...
Sometimes you have to pull crud off the crank after every cast. If you are like me you already know how to fish it from reading and watching others, what you really need is patience. I am not a patient person, and hate pausing all the time to clean the lure. Patience is the hardest thing to learn...
That said, there are some basic things you can do, like learn the depths of the grass and know exactly how far your crank dives. For example, don't throw a DT-10 where the grass is 2 feet below the surface.
Some people clip the lead treble hook off so the hook lies closer to the body making it a little more weedless.
You can get a more sensitive rod or fish with a more sensitive line like braid so you can feel if your bait is about to get bogged down, and rip it out of that grass.
hookingem reply :
Try a shallow diving crankbait like a mann's baby minus 1. Fish the edges of those weeds with that crankbait! Fish it on mono so you have some forgiving stretch for those trebble hooksets. Vary your retrieve the fish will tell you what they like. Good luck and just give them a fair shot. Some days nothing works better than a crankbait.
basslover12345 reply :
Ok, After seeing what you have said I realized I am making some mistakes, I've been using 12 pound fluorocarbon, So I will switch to my green spiderwire.
hookingem reply :
Braid and crankbaits to me aren't right. Give it a shot and see if you like it i suppose. 
loonatic fringe reply :
There is no crank better to learn with then a Manns baby 1 minis. With 10lb mono shallow weeds, let the fun begin.
kms399 reply :
I absolutely love braid for crankbaits! I use a 7' med/hvy mod fast st.croix avid and 30# suffix braid. i fish this set up quite a bit and it works for me. that said the shallow running baby -1's and bandit footloose work great in shallow water. one thing to remember is don't just cast and reel in, vary your retrieve I fish them pretty erratic with lots of stops and fast tugs almost like I would fish a jerk bait. this works really well for me.
hookingem reply :
I tend to really lay into the fish so with braid and treble hooks this isn't a good combo. With braid there isn't any stretch. If you overdue the hook set, those trebles will be coming right back at ya. Also you will not be getting maximum diving depth with braid. I would never throw a deep diver on braid. It has poor abrasion resistance and a deep diver does a lot of bumping and knicking. Braid with flouro leader maybe... 
Bluebasser86 reply :
If you have 2-7 feet to work with a squarebill would be a great option or a smaller rattlebait. I would suggest 20lb mono or floro to keep the bait from getting too deep. Fish a rod with enough backbone to rip the bait out of the weeds and to keep a big fish from burying back into them. Experiment with the speed your reeling to keep the bait just above the weeds and rip it if you feel it bury into the weeds, this will trigger strikes a lot of the time. A stop and go retrieve is usually most effective for me around weeds. Fishing cranks over weeds is one of my favorite summer time techniques and if you find them eating cranks over weeds you'll meet your goal in a single afternoon I promise!
Grey Wolf reply :
On 4/14/2011 at 10:25 AM, hookingem said:I tend to really lay into the fish so with braid and treble hooks this isn't a good combo. With braid there isn't any stretch. If you overdue the hook set, those trebles will be coming right back at ya. Also you will not be getting maximum diving depth with braid. I would never throw a deep diver on braid. It has poor abrasion resistance and a deep diver does a lot of bumping and knicking. Braid with flouro leader maybe...
I have fished cranks for years with braid with no problems. You don't have to rip their lips off when you set the hook , just a small snap of the wrist and the braid does the rest. Try it ,you might like it. 
Uncle Leo reply :
Always be prepared and willing to lose a few. It you are not banging into or off of something you are not fishing a crankbait to it's fullest potential. That is about the best advice I can give.
clayton86 reply :
im in the same boat i have a box full of cranks that just collects dust because i never use them cuz im constantly pulling leaves or grass zebra mussels off the dang thing. i had some manns -1 but a few pike made off with the last of em last season i loved them things especialy the all chrome. there the only cranks i had luck with though. i fish off the shore so i always ruled them out due to not being in the strike zone long enough to be very effective. so i have no confidence in them. ill try some of your guys tips and see if i cant bag a few more this year if i can put the flukes down and throw cranks
gotarheelz14 reply :
As others have said, you will no doubt have to pull off crud off a crankbait from time to time. Heck, sometimes after every cast. I've gotten so good at doing this that I can literally do it in less than three seconds. The trick to pulling off crud is to go against the grain, or against where the crankbait was going. It just comes right off.
What I would suggest, is to leave all your stuff behind except for one rod and all your crankbaits. This way, you will be FORCED to learn how to throw it. When fishing lipped crankbaits, if you are hitting stuff, you are in the right place. Keep throwing it where you hit grass, rocks, stumps etc. This is not as much of a requirement for Lipless cranks in my opinion but it is still a good rule of thumb to go by.
You also have to use crankbaits that were designed for the purpose you will be utilizing them. For instance, lipless crankbaits are excellent for fishing grass. You reel them, kill them, and then give them a huge pop, to get them to free off the grass. This alone is enough to trigger bites at times.
As you know, if you are not throwing crankbaits, you are missing out. I throw more crankbaits than plastics now a days, and for me that is a huge deal. I just got tired of fishing over large areas slowly. Now, I can walk around the bank, throw a crankbait, find the spots fish are holding in, and later pick them apart with slower methods.
You can read all the stuff in the world but in the end, there is only one way to learn how to catch fish on a crankbait;Go out and throw that crankbait!
clayton86 reply :
see i always feel i wont get strikes with grass and crap dangling off the lure thats why ya pull it off every cast so when it gets gunked up almost instantly i get bumed and put it back
B A S S E R reply :
In that water depth and with grass I would definitely be throwing some square bills. Vary your retrieve and find what the fish want on that particular day on that particular lake.
00 mod reply :
Lipless crankbaits! Throw a 1/2 oz redeye shad and rip it through the weeds! Every time you feel it get caught in a weed, jerk hard and hold on!!
Jeff
WRB reply :
You mentioned you have several crankbaits, how about listing a few that you are having problems using.
No crankbait can run effectively through heavy weeds/grass regardless what line you are using.
Cranking the edges and occasionally running into a clump weeds/grass is OK. Where you cast and what type of crankbait is important to being successful.
Tom
clayton86 reply :
i cant remember all of em but most are bandits theres a few coffin billed flatt maxx ones deep and mid billed, then some bomber square bills mid depth, and then some bomber round deep billed ones. i need to get a new lot of shallow runners im depleted from the pike last season
RoLo reply :
In addition to the excellent advice offered on the forum, pay close attention to Kevin VanDam.
Whenever you get the chance, watch his retrieves very closely, listen to everything he says
and read everything he's ever written. (also read between the lines)
Roger
Chris at Tech reply :
To further RoLo's comments, use your rod tip to control the depth that the bait dives to. To keep it shallower, raise your rod tip and lower it as you want your bait to go deeper. Obviously you need to pick a bait that dives to a depth appropriate to the situation you're fishing, but the rod tip height can help you make some minor adjustments that can help reduce the weed snagging.
Sam reply :
You get better with crankbaits as you do getting Carneigh Hall.
Practice, practice, practice.
Read, read, read.
Watch DVDs.
Practice, practice, practice.
Modify them like the pros.
Talk with others who throw them.
Learn about the rods, reels and lines that are best for crankbaits.
Read, read and read somemore.
Suscribe to Bassmasters Magazine, Bass Times and Bassin.
Watch how others use crankbaits.
Study, study, study.
And then go out and have agreat time using them as they are great baits.
.ghoti. reply :
The best advice I could give you would be to search this site for posts from Chris. He used to be a moderator here, and his crankbait posts are gold.
WRB reply :
Lets assume you are a noivice crankbait angler as your initial question stated and you want to improve your success catching bass.
There are shallow running, mid depth and deep diving crank baits. You can fish a deep diver in shallow water by slowing down the retrive speed, but you can't make a shallow runner run deeper without adding weight. Pick the lure by the depth you want to fish.
Lipless cranks are a good all around choice because they can run at different depths and the tight wiggle is less prone to hang up without the diving bill. You burn a lipless shallow or let it sink and retrieve slowly deep.
Jointed floating divers are another good shallow water choice as they tend to snake through weeds/grass and float when stopped. The small bill on a jointed Rapala is a good choice and often over looked.
Change of pace/speed/direction is the key to getting bass to strike a crankbait. Keeping the hooks clean of debris is important so the lure runs properly and doesn't spook the bass.
My suggestion is; go to the deeper areas of the lake with steeper sloping banks or the dam and practice your cranking where there is less weed/grass to foul your lures hooks. Try different cadences; 1, 2 cranks stop, 1, 2, 3 cranks and rod sweep and repeat until you start getting results. Try different depth runner and styles. You will learn that bass change their preference during the day.
Use a rod you can cast a long distance with ease and line that toothy fish won't bite off, if that is a factor.
I prefer using a 7' glass med/hvy ranking rod with 12-17 lb mono, but that isn't essentail to learn with.
BassThumb reply :
I know that making a conscious effort to slow down my retrieve, make contact with cover, and to try to get a good feel the cover with my bait have helped my improve my crankbait fishing.
ChiCityBasser reply :
I fish alot of lakes that are filled with grass and milfoil and weeds at certain times of the year. What has worked best for me is the Strike King 1 XS which is there version of the Xtra Shallow running crankbait. Basically the same as the Minus one and the Bandit footloose. Determine the depth of the weeds and then pick a crankbait that will run over the top of the weeds. If you start with a 5 ft diving crank and are getting weeds on 3 of 5 casts then move to a crankbait that runs in the 1-3ft range and so on. I've outfished my brothers on many days becausse they can fish a crank in places I was throwing the 1 XS and getting fish.
basslover12345 reply :
Yea, I'll start experimenting a little. The grass that is around where I'm fishing is usually matted a top the surface, but when I throw crankbaits in open water all I bring up is leaves, sticks, grass, etc. I usually fish the crank bait in between 4 and 7 feet.
evrgladesbasser reply :
On 4/15/2011 at 1:37 AM, RoLo said:In addition to the excellent advice offered on the forum, pay close attention to Kevin VanDam.
Whenever you get the chance, watch his retrieves very closely, listen to everything he says
and read everything he's ever written. (also read between the lines)
Roger
I couldn't agree more.....
KenG85 reply :
+4 on the baby 1-, this thing works wonders over the shallow grass. Whenever I feel it tick the grass I stop it, let it float up and then either twitch it or rip it. Then restart the retrieve. This is when they destroy it.
Also the lipless baits are a good idea...It's ok if they keep getting grass on them. Just rip it free. Sometimes you have to rip it 3 times to get the grass off. Sometimes the grass just doesn't come off. But it doesn't matter, you' d be surprised how they'll smack that thing. I've gotten bit on the fall after 3 successive violent rips on a 7'6 rod. It may feel like your movements are unproductive to fish, but you'll be pleasantly surprised when they take it.
clayton86 reply :
idk why but i never classed lippless as a crank even though they are i just call em traps and cast em a mile and "yo yo" them back slamming smallies all the way there the only one i have connfidence in.
Bass Dude reply :
One thing I would suggest...change your retrieve. When I'm in shallow water I don't fish it straight in like I do when I'm crankin' deep---I crank it down to get it going, then kind of pull or drag the bait. I can feel the bait better and stop it or rip it before it gets really burried in the weeds, bottom or whatever else I'm throwing into.
clayton86 reply :
i was throwing a bandit flatt maxx 8-10ft i think today had 1 hit when i paused after bouncing it off a rock but it came off 2 sec into the fight. i did catch a ton of sticks and leaves though and a huge chunk of tree bark
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