Crankbaits or hardbaits, wood or plastic, are thrown by almost every bass fisherman on the water. But only a few really understand them enough to consistently catch largemouth or smallmouth bass. In this article I will try to explain from an amateur's position on how and when to apply crankbaits in our search for our favorite fish.

The majority of anglers use  baitcasting systems consisting of a slow or low baitcasting reel gear ratio of  4.3:1 or 5.0:1 and anywhere from a 5'6" to a 7'6" in length, graphite, graphite composite or fiberglass rods, from medium to medium/heavy in action.

I certainly don't profess to be an avid crankbait fisherman, but we all must throw them when conditions warrant their use. The main times when I throw them is in the spring and fall, or when waters are calm on the flats near the shore line in the early morning hours when the sun has not yet reached it's apex, and when I find a long weed line just off these feeding flats, when the bass have tucked themselves into the weeds after the sun hits high noon. And lastly, fan casting over large expanses of open water in search of roaming bass. This is not to say that you can't throw them year round because you can certainly use them throughout the bass season.

The crankbait comes in an endless variety of sizes, shapes and colours and covers the water from top to bottom; from floating, jerking, popping and stick baits, to shallow, medium or deep running, to suspending and diving, lipless or billed. There are baits that you must move to impart a noise and there are baits with built in noise makers. Since the scope is almost endless, I will endeavor to cover what I think you can use and then you can experiment from there. Remember: not all bass fishermen are crankbaiters, it is only one system of a whole arsenal of lures. Practice makes perfect.

I’m not going in depth on every style or type of crankbait, but will start from the surface of the water and work down to the depths, with stops in shallow and medium waters. My favorite top water hardbait is the PoP “R” type. This is a small floating lure that you must move to create a popping sound to attract bass and to get them to strike. With this type of lure I like to use a 5’6” medium crankbait rod with a pistol grip type handle and 10 to 14 lb. test premium line. I like the shorter handle because it does not get in the way when I “jerk” the rod tip to move the bait. Use this outfit on the shallow feeding flats (1’ to 3’) early in the morning before the sun is too high, and the water is relatively calm. Cast it out over shallow weed beds or cover and wait for the ringlets to fade out. Then with the rod tip pointing towards the water, give your rod a short, sharp jerk using only your wrists. Wait for the ringlets to fade away and again give your rod tip a slight jerk. Remember, you are trying to move the lure ever so slightly toward you. Repeat this action four or five times and then reel in and repeat the process. This, I think, is the most exciting top water fishing there is. The anticipation of a bass exploding from below and hitting the lure tops it all. Remember to count to two BEFORE you set the hook. This will almost guarantee a hooked bass. There are quite a few other top water baits so please don’t hesitate to use the others. You can also use a floating Rapala or shallow running Larry Nixon Model “A” in this water and with the same outfit. Vary your retrieve action and hang on!

I like to use medium running crankbaits in water from 3’ to 5’ deep, just off the shallow feeding flats. I like to use a 6’ medium action rod, again with a low gear ratio reel and again 10 to 14 lb. test premium line. This setup almost guarantees that I don’t speed retrieve the lure back to the boat. I think the majority of bass are in this water depth during the spring and fall seasons, especially if there are long weed edges and schools of bait fish swimming near by. I fish this area when the sun has moved up and the bass have moved off the shallower flats to sit and wait in the shade. In this situation I like to throw something like a Rat-L-Trap. This is a flat sided, lipless crankbait and in a chrome or gold finish with a black back, this lure will bring it’s weight in gold to the boat. Throw it along the weed edges and retrieve back to the boat. Try to “hit and rip” the lure through or over top of the weed edge making the bait act like an escaping shad. Here again you can use different cranks like a suspending lure, where you would stop your retrieve for a second or two or a long or short sweep retrieve will trigger the bass. The longer rod will give you a longer cast so you can stay in the strike zone of the bass much longer than a shorter rod would allow. Again, you are looking for aggressive bass and you’ll know when you get a hit. One word of caution: when you bring a hooked fish to the boat, please watch out for the treble hooks, they are sharp and with a thrashing bass close to your hand you are better off using a net and then releasing him or her for another day.

For deeper water in the 6’ to 10’ or 12’ range I like to use something along the line of a Bomber Model 8A which dives to about 10 to 13’ and 12 lb. test line on again a low ratio reel and a 6’6” to 7’ medium to medium/heavy graphite rod. With this outfit, I’m looking for deep weed beds that come to within four to six feet of the surface. I make medium casts to the sides and over top of these deep weed beds. Often times bass sit in these beds during the day waiting in ambush of schooling baitfish. When a bass hits this lure you must set the hook and turn his head your way or you will lose him to the weeds.

Now for the deep stuff of 15’ or more. This is where the 7’ or 7’6” fiberglass rod comes into its own. Here, I like to use a lure along the lines of a Bomber Model 9A. This is a big billed lure to get you down deep with super long casts on 12 to 14 lb. test line. With this setup I fish mainly over coverless bottom that might vary in depth of a few feet and that is situated near a river mouth or channel. Here I’m trying to get the bass, mainly smallmouth that are staging and following huge schools of shad or other bait fish that are moving to their spawning grounds up these channels or rivers. I have known anglers to even kneel and stick there rods in the water to get that extra 2 or 3’ more of depth out of this outfit.

Contrary to what a lot of guys think, a fast retrieve will not keep your bait in the strike zone longer, when in fact it could hurt the action of your lure. The placement of the line tie, the shape and position of the bill, and diameter of your line normally determines how shallow or deep your crankbait will run. One trick I use before I put a hardbait on, is to write on the bill with a permanent ink marker what depth it will run. This way I won’t have to search through all my lures when I’m in a hurry to get it in the water. While I have mentioned specific name brand lures, there are many more out on the market and some you will like more than others.

As I’ve stated before, I’m not an expert at using a crankbait, but my partner and I have caught our fair share using this versatile lure during practice and tournaments on certain days and at certain times. Each fisherman should use a lure that he has confidence in and can use proficiently, and I hope some of you will give the crankbait a place in your tackle box. I would also like to mention that you should keep a couple of each kind in a couple of different colours in your box. Finally, I don’t recommend using a spinning outfit because the constant pressure of retrieving the lure will cause line to twist on your spool in these setups.

Good fishing and hope to see you on the water.

Leo

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