Don't be afraid to throw a crankbait into heavy cover. It was designed mostly for clear open water but a lot of the pros have found that by using heavier lines and baits with a longer lip, they can fish in places other fishermen wouldn't even look at.
Learn how to fish these areas and keep a lure knocker or retriever handy to free up a stubborn snag. More on crankbaits.
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Organize your crankbait box. Try to put lures that run close to the same depth in the same tray. If you want to stay at the same depth but want to change colors, you won't have to search the whole box. Everyone has lures that no matter what you do they won't catch fish. Weed out these lures to make room for ones that do work. Some people have to have every crankbait made in every shade of color available. Simplify your choices by sticking with your confidence lures. Whenever possible, cast parallel to whatever structure you are fishing. By retrieving along an edge your lure stays in the strike zone longer. Try varying your retrieve. Instead of cranking straight back, alter your retrieve by slowing down or pausing and allowing it to float up a bit. Try fishing heavy cover. Using a bait with a long lip will help it to deflect off of obstructions and a heavier line will allow you to pull out of some tough cover. Everyone knows that you should always tune your crankbaits so that they run true and to their maximum depth. Occasionally you may want to de-tune your lure so that it will run left or right under an overhead object such as a dock. When fishing fairly clean water, try using a lighter line. A thinner diameter will allow your bait to run a little deeper. If you are getting short strikes, slow down your retrieve. This might get you more hook-ups. Try to stick with natural colors in clear water. Most often you are trying to match a certain type of prey (shad, minnow, crawfish) with a crankbait and a natural finish is sometimes more appealing. |
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