What are some good patterns for catching bass on a crankbait I have almost cast my arm off this year with a crankbait I heard to rip through shallows and stir up dirt Ive done the stop and retrieve Ive trolled them and managed to snag a trout not actually catch one, I have reeled in at steady pace nothing any tips would be great. Ive been using a crawdad looking rapala a silver rapala firetiger u name it. they range from 4to15ft also.
Cranking a crankbait
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This is a big topic but I’ll tell what works for me and what I am most familiar with
The three most common types of crank baits are wide slow wobble (these are your fatter / rounder crank bait) Tight wiggle ( Minnow type crank baits) and very fast vibrating crank baits (Cordell spots and other lipless style). Then for most types, you have different sizes and have different running depths
As in any type of fishing, you want to try and mimic what the fish are feeding on.
The best thing you can do is find some real clear water and play around to see how your actions cause a reaction in the bait. Then you can visualize what the bait is doing when it's in the strike zone.
Most of the time crank baits are targeting actively feeding fish. When your after feeding and active fish, you have to find what they want in the way of retrieve. I like the super slow retrieve of a rebel crawdad 5-7 foot crankbait. Reel it slow and you can feel the throbbing of the lure. If that does not work, try faster, Try stopping it try burning it or try all three in one cast.
If the they are not very active and not feeding hard, then you want to look for a reaction strike, Bouncing it off rocks and bottom or trees etc etc,, the lure will become erratic in its motion and that often will trigger a strike. Again, mimic what you think they are feeding on.
As an example, on Horsetooth the other day, I was fishing the damn. I caught a smallie on a small grub. When he came up, he tosses a crawdad that was red and white colored and about 1 ½ inches long. Since the wind had come up and jig fishing was getting tough, I started tossing a matching color rebel crawdad lure with a steady slow to medium retrieve and just caught a ton of 10-12” smallmouth and was getting bit on almost every cast.
Schooling fish like wiper, Burning a lipless crank bait through a school of them can be awesome.
Trolling minnow type baits can be very productive as well as casting and retrieving them in a jerky motion with a stop and go method.. X-Rap and Husky jerks fall into this category.
Sounds like your trying the right things. Fishing can be frustrating at times but when you nail it, It can’t be beat.
Keep experimenting, the only way to catch them fish, is for you to read what they tell you.
Brett
The three most common types of crank baits are wide slow wobble (these are your fatter / rounder crank bait) Tight wiggle ( Minnow type crank baits) and very fast vibrating crank baits (Cordell spots and other lipless style). Then for most types, you have different sizes and have different running depths
As in any type of fishing, you want to try and mimic what the fish are feeding on.
The best thing you can do is find some real clear water and play around to see how your actions cause a reaction in the bait. Then you can visualize what the bait is doing when it's in the strike zone.
Most of the time crank baits are targeting actively feeding fish. When your after feeding and active fish, you have to find what they want in the way of retrieve. I like the super slow retrieve of a rebel crawdad 5-7 foot crankbait. Reel it slow and you can feel the throbbing of the lure. If that does not work, try faster, Try stopping it try burning it or try all three in one cast.
If the they are not very active and not feeding hard, then you want to look for a reaction strike, Bouncing it off rocks and bottom or trees etc etc,, the lure will become erratic in its motion and that often will trigger a strike. Again, mimic what you think they are feeding on.
As an example, on Horsetooth the other day, I was fishing the damn. I caught a smallie on a small grub. When he came up, he tosses a crawdad that was red and white colored and about 1 ½ inches long. Since the wind had come up and jig fishing was getting tough, I started tossing a matching color rebel crawdad lure with a steady slow to medium retrieve and just caught a ton of 10-12” smallmouth and was getting bit on almost every cast.
Schooling fish like wiper, Burning a lipless crank bait through a school of them can be awesome.
Trolling minnow type baits can be very productive as well as casting and retrieving them in a jerky motion with a stop and go method.. X-Rap and Husky jerks fall into this category.
Sounds like your trying the right things. Fishing can be frustrating at times but when you nail it, It can’t be beat.
Keep experimenting, the only way to catch them fish, is for you to read what they tell you.
Brett
Thank you very much I love the way the lure looks in the water and Im dying for a fish to slam my crankbait. I have had a few chasers but thats when I seem to lose them I will try some of those techniques again thank you for taking the time to share your idea.
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At 5-7 bucks each. Ouch!McFish said:
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agreed, if your looking to catch bass, Yamamoto anything will do, you get like a dozen for $5, by some hooks, u dont even need weights or anything, that will catch them everytime. Just let it sink to the bottom, reel and twitch very slow, if the bass are there, either samllies or LM, they'll hit it. Spend $7 and for some reason you loose them all, not a hefty price to get more.
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