smallmouth and cranks 2024

skunked_again reply :

will smallmouth hit bigger cranks? what cranks are working for late summer fish?

lupe21 reply :

i do not really no to much information on the subject but i recently caught my first small mouth about a pound and a half on a bomber model A crankbait.

MALTESE FALCON reply :

My Favorite SMB bait is a Rapala Shad Rap. Another bait I've been doing very good with is a Bandit Flat Maxx Deep. Other baits that work well are, XCalibur Xr50, and Rapala Rattlin Rapalas.

Falcon

JDK. reply :

for me its DD22's DT16 and Poes deep divers in bright colors .. i fish the Tennessee River and have caught a lot of 4+ lb smallies on bright color cranks.. fish channel edges and humps where there is current and current breaks and hold on!

GSP reply :

My favorite crank baits are Wally Diver magnums in silver or gold and Yo-Zuri magnum crank-n-dives. For the Yo-Zuris, I've taken smallies on all colors, but the gold-themed ones are my favorites.

8-)

CWeb Canada reply :

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for me its DD22's DT16 and Poes deep divers in bright colors .. i fish the Tennessee River and have caught a lot of 4+ lb smallies on bright color cranks.. fish channel edges and humps where there is current and current breaks and hold on!

hey, fatwobbler, just putting together a bait monkey list here:

Who makes the DT22 and DT16 and what colours do you recommend?

Also, is there a model name/number and depth range for the Poes that you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

CWeb

roadwarrior reply :

Rapala DT16 (dives to 16')

Norman DD22 (15'-18' I don't know why it is named 22)

8-)

skunked_again reply :

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Rapala DT16 (dives to 16')
Norman DD22 (15'-18' I don't know why it is named 22)

8-)

next weekend we have a tourney at the mel again and im hoping for a few smallies over 15".

i never would have tossed baits of that size, thanks.

ive also got Luhr Jensen Hot Lips on the short list to try, any feedback on these baits?

JDK. reply :

Luhr Jensen are great also and dive really good .. The 3/4 oz will get to almost 20 ft with right liner combo and a good long cast..

Try anything bright like Chartreuse/Blue firetiger.. black/chartreuse those colors produce well for me.. Smallmouth are aggressive u don't need a natural bait most of the times the bright colors cause reaction bites IMO..

hope you do well let us know how it goes

ks cranker reply :

Skunk - what day is your tourney? what club is it with? thanks

skunked_again reply :

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Skunk - what day is your tourney? what club is it with? thanks

the tourney is sunday, the club is nascar fans.

want on? 4 boats signed up so far.

i might add the fishing there was HARD yesterday. the water went up over 3' in 4 days. no largemouth and one smallie.

roadwarrior reply :

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will smallmouth hit bigger cranks? what cranks are working for late summer fish?

This guy caught his on a Bomber:

http://worldrecordsmallmouth.com/

8-)

ks cranker reply :

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Skunk - what day is your tourney? what club is it with? thanks

want on? 4 boats signed up so far.

I'd consider it, but i've got a tourney at Smithville on Sunday. I was thinking about going to Melvern on Saturday. I saw that the lake got a ton of water... have you heard if they are going to drop the lake before the weekend?

skunked_again reply :

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Quote

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Skunk - what day is your tourney? what club is it with? thanks

want on? 4 boats signed up so far.

I'd consider it, but i've got a tourney at Smithville on Sunday. I was thinking about going to Melvern on Saturday. I saw that the lake got a ton of water... have you heard if they are going to drop the lake before the weekend?

theyre dropping water like crazy. 6" of rain from thursday to saturday....

i had a sweet pattern working too.

good luck on smithville.

iceintheveins reply :

Smallies will hit big cranks for sure. I catch them all the time on 5" jerkbaits when pike fishing, sometimes the smallmouth being only 9" or 10".

That being said, my favorite smallmouth cranks are Rebel Wee Craws, Bomber Model A's, Shad Raps, Fat Raps, and lipless cranks like Rat L Traps, Super Sports, and XPS Rattle Shads.

BassShephard reply :

I caught a 3lb smallie on a 3 inch Crank bait in rapids, can't remember the color but I think it was black on top and silver sides/belly.

Lund Explorer reply :

Wow, that title was confusing!

Here' I was already to tell a story of the wife fishing for smallies.

Instead I guess I'll just say that my two favorites are either the Rattlin Rap or a 5a Bomber..... Both in firetiger. Yeah, both shallow runners for fall fishing.

A-Jay reply :

Yesterday they were smacking this Rapala Fat Rap (custom perch paint job) on a weed flat before sunset

A-Jay

jc2bg reply :

Really just depends on the forage size where you're fishing, water clarity, etc. On Lakes Erie and St. Clair, relatively clear and relatively northern, the best colors in cranks are crawdad browns and perch finishes. Medium sizes work best. But walleye trollers catch nice smallmouth on larger, walleye-sized cranks, often in brighter colors. My reasoning is that they're dragging these baits deeper than we normally cast crankbaits, so a larger size and brighter color make them stand out better in the lower light of deep water.

The perch finish is one that is often overlooked, but almost everywhere there's smallmouth (at least up north), there's abundant yellow perch, and the smaller perch (2.5 to 4 inches) are clearly a preferred smallmouth target. -- JC

*Revised to add "duhhh!" I should have looked at all the posts in this thread. The Fat Rap pictured in the thread above is smokin' as a smallmouth bait on Lakes Erie and St. Clair, and also on our deeper in-state impoundments where perch and smallmouth mingle.

Smallmouth Bass49 reply :

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will smallmouth hit bigger cranks? what cranks are working for late summer fish?

I use Bomber cranks, they work really great on Smallies. I can't see why the bigger size wouldn't work. Bigger the lure, bigger the fish. You probably won't get as many hits, but you will catch bigger bass I think.

When I go fishing, my Dad always uses a Big N. He catches a lot less fish then me, but he always catches the bigger bass, whether it be largemouth or smallmouth.

bassattackerdad reply :

We fish for smallies with cranks often. Early winter they work well. Norman deep little n's in natural colors and bright craw colors when the water is colored up. dd22's will work but we find em a little big for our local fish

tnbassfisher reply :

I 2nd the Bomber comment. But it seems only in certain situations, and only bigger smallmouth will hit them. To large for smaller fish.

txfishman reply :

I've had my best success on a Green talapia colors norman Deep Little N. They just seem to like that color.

Also had good success on the 3/4 Luhr Jensen Hot Lips in breeding bluegill and redear.

A-Rob reply :

I think so. It depends what you mean by "bigger" I recently caught some nice smallmouth bass on cranks that I thought were made more for largemouths like the Strike King cranks in model 5 and 6. In fact the first smallie I caught on the size 5 was about a 4" baby bass. I think that's the definition of "reaction strike". I would stay within reason tho, I have had a lot of luck downsizing as well.

bassattackerdad reply :

The suspending cranks seem to be better than floaters in cold water. They are more managable, more workable.

Munkin reply :

I find that SM are more aggressive and will hit larger cranks. In the river crayfish colors seem to work best.

Allen

simplejoe reply :

I get alot of fish off of the Rapala X-Rap Shad Color.

Munkin, thanks for the idea never thought about that color. I gotta give it a try.

Eternal Angler reply :

Of course they will, I suggest using Norman or Bomber crankbaits. Bomber are by far my favorite to use on smallies.

bmadd reply :

I have caught smallmouth on cranks like the Bomber Fat Free Shad BD6 and the Norman DD22 as well as smaller cranks like the Rapala Shad Rap size 5 and 7 and Norman Deep Little N. Most of my catches have been on chartreuse/blue or citrus shad. My silver/black shad rap catches them in early spring though.

A-Rob reply :

I like some chartreuse in my cranks for smallies. But ya you can for sure pick them up with some cranks.

Like always the key is to locate the bass, from there fish the crankbait that will suit the environment.

Bass Junkie reply :

I've caught smallies on a LC RC 1.5. It's my usual Largmouth size and I've used smaller for largies......

Sam Bass reply :

Jackall 7' diving Muscle Deep Clear sexy Shad with no eye balls.They Came off after banging off the rocks

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