The Deadly Crankbait - In The Spring
When I really start fishing tournaments again
as early spring comes along, I can guarantee you that I will
have a crank bait tied on, no matter what body of water I am
on. The thing that makes a crank bait so deadly in spring is
that fish will be getting very aggressive, as they pre pare to
spawn, and it triggers fish into striking because, they don’t
have a good chance to look at it and it passes them by so quickly,
that they hit it out of instinct. Let’s go over some key
areas, depths, line sizes, types of crank baits, and rod and
reel combinations. Hopefully you will learn something new.
As far as areas go the fish will be moving
up through creek channels, points, and then into flats to spawn.
Look on your graph for the more key areas than this. Look for
a little ledge at which the depth changes quickly, or a different
type of structure rather than the main structure around. These
little areas that you can find on your graph may mean the difference
in catching a fish or not. So, pay attention to your graph and
if something looks different to you, don’t hesitate to fish
it.
On the boat that I fish out of I use a Lowrance
X-65 on the bow of the boat, where I can carefully examine the
lake bottom through my graph. On the console of the boat I use
a Garmin 160, it’s a little more simple than the X-65, so
I use it just to find the depth of an area that looks good and
then go to the X-65 from there. With the X-65 you can zoom in
on a spot where you think there is a change in the bottom structure.
Depth range is pretty simple as you will have fish normally from
10 to 30 feet, since some come up earlier than others.
When you are looking at your graph, pay attention
to weather the fish may be suspended or if they are off the bottom.
If they are suspended I always throw a crank bait that I know
runs the depth they are at, in a shad pattern, which they will
probably be feeding on. If I am locating them on the bottom,
I will always throw a crawdad colored crank. Make sure that you
are hitting the bottom. I have found this to be very important.
I experimented this one day. I went and had 2 of the same size
and color crawdad crank baits. The only thing different was the
depth at which they ran. One was hitting the bottom the whole
time, and the other a foot or two off the bottom. I only had
one hook up with the crank bait that ran above the bottom and
I caught 7 fish with the one running along the bottom.
Just a slight change can make a big difference.
Line size for me is very simple. I use 10lb. on all lakes and
12 or 14 on shallow body's of water such as the California Delta.
I feel that you always need to have the bait running at it’s
maximum depth. If you want to change the depth at which you bait
is running, change the bill of the bait before the line. As far
as brands, I have been using McCoy and it has been great. It’s
green (which to me is a must) and it’s super strong with
a low diameter.
I like to experiment a lot with crank baits
on all the different brands. So far I have found that my favorite
is any of the Professional Edge series by Norman Lures. They
have great hooks on them and run true. Others that are close
the this would be any of the Luhr Jensens, and for shallow water,
you can’t beat a Luhr Jensen Speed Trap. Also any of the
Rapalas are good, but be sure to change the hooks on them, as
they aren’t that great.
As far as rod and reels stay with the standard
crank baiting stuff. For rods either a 6’6" fiberglass
rod or a 7’ fiberglass rod. Also Bass Pro makes a great
rod, for a great price called a "Crankin’ Stick."
If you are going to buy a rod just for cranking go fiberglass
but, if you plan on fishing with spinner baits and rip baits,
consider the "Crankin’ Stick."
With reels, the only important thing to remember
is that you want a low gear ratio. The low gear ratio will get
the bait down and hold it there a good steady pace. Also when
you are on the water be sure to check your drag all the time.
You want it to be somewhat loose, just to make sure that you
don’t pull the bait out of the fishes mouth, even though
the fiberglass rod does a good job of this.
Take care and tight lines.
Justin Lucas
Junior Pro-Staff |
