Crankbait Basics For Bass

Various bomber crankbaits ready to dive deep for lunkers

Crankbaits – a broad classification of lures manufactured and designed to emulate bait fish that predatory fish feed on. Some common characteristics of crankbaits are:

• a wooden (usually balsa) or hard plastic body

• a front section that usually includes an eyelet for tying on the line and possibly a lip/bill that determines depth or wobble, or an attachment that enables action, vibration, flash, or sound

• one or more treble hooks distributed along the body and usually a trailing treble hook which acts as a tail

• painted or imprinted features that resemble the eyes, gills and other body parts of bait fish.

Why use crankbaits?
Crankbaits are one of the most popular lures used by bass anglers. One of the main reason they’ve become so popular in tournaments is their ability to cover a lot of water, fast. Crankbaits are usually constructed with various lips or bills, helping them reach depths they’re specifically designed for. They also have different actions and traits.

Some crankbaits suspend, meaning they will reach a certain depth and will sit still immediately after you stop retrieving, not sinking or rising but remaining in place. Some use a Countdown method, first introduced and made popular by the original Rapala countdown minnow crankbaits. These lures are designed to sink one foot every one second. Allowing you to reach and fish specific depths by simply counting down. This method is especially useful for reaching sweet spots and working in conjunction with a fish finder with a depth readout.

Examples of different Crankbaits:

How to use crankbaits:
Like most lures, when using crankbaits location is key. Rock beds, logs, wall edges, and weedlines are excellent places to throw these lures. Crankbaits are very effective when smashing into things. Crash them into rocks and bounce them off of logs. Doing this, will get a reactionary strike from bass who will get annoyed with bait fish that cause too much racket.

Just be careful not to use suspending lures for this style, as their inability to float will cause them to get stuck behind objects. So it’s best to use crankbaits that float when pausing your retrieval. Another great technique is a simple, fast, and aggressive retrieval it will incite an instinctive response from bass who feel as though the bait fish (your crankbait) is trying to get away or escape.

There are a couple of other preferred techniques when fishing crankbaits. While reeling in, twitch the rod tip once or twice every few seconds. Doing so causes slightly erratic underwater behavior, gaining the attention of aggressive fish. Another great technique is the stop and go. It’s simply accomplished by retrieving and stopping suddenly, pausing for how ever long you prefer and then retrieving again. I usually pause for a few seconds and continue my retrieve. This technique works great with suspending crankbaits.

What rod and equipment should I use with crankbaits?
When using crankbaits, the equipment you use really can be the difference between catching fish and not catching fish. I recommend using a 7′-7′6” rod with medium power, and moderate action. Choosing a softer rod, will prevent you from ripping the treble hooks out of the fish’s mouth too quickly and helping you achieve better natural hook sets. When you want to go deep, using 10lb-20lb fluorocarbon line will help get your crankbait down, deep and fast. Also adding the benefits of near invisibility and superior abrasion resistance. Monofilament 15lb-20lb, while not as abrasive resistant will help in situations where you want your crankbait to run slightly shallower. For your reel, a baitcaster with 5:1 or 5:4:1 will be a great choice for speed. This gear ratio will enable you to work your bait at the right speeds for realistic live action. Significantly improving your chances of success, while simultaneously giving you the power to reel in those nice big lunkers.

What crankbaits should I use?
Crankbaits have been some of the hottest and most ubiquitous lure types for competitive fishing in recent years. Many tackle companies are in the mix and each have a wide variety of colors and types to choose from. Seeing so many choices can sometimes be confusing to consumers. My general advice, and what i find most successful for me, is sticking with the natural colors of forage. By emulating the bait fish that predatory fish feed on in your local waters you’ll have the most success. For me, on most days nothing beats the basic silver and black colors of a natural shad. Then I simply determine what type of style crankbait and technique I use based on the situation find myself in.

From all the makes and models of crankbaits to choose from, your favorites will end up being the ones that end up catching you fish. Using some of our techniques and advice highlighted today, we’ll make sure of that. So go and test out some different patterns and retrieval styles to find out what works for you. You may find yourself loving these lures just as much as we at anglinganalysis.com have.