tuning crankbaits?

[crankybait]

hey guys. well after watchign the fishing hole today, i realized crankbaits were supposed to be tuned. im thinking thats why i cant feel them hit the bottom or move or anything. on the show it said to keep them well tuned. how do i tune these things? im bored as anything and hey, may as well add to my fishing skill

[JB]

cranky,
print my special instructions on paper, memorize these simple
principles, then eat the paper

1. If your crankbait runs to one side or the other, check the hook hangers. If the belly hanger or tail hanger is bent to either side, straighten it out. If the split ring is bent or jammed, replace it.
2. If the bait still runs to one side, use a pair of needle nose pliers and bend the line tie eye toward the side it is running to. Bend it very slightly with light pressure and then test it. It usually does not take much to correct this problem.
3. Look for damage to the bill of the crankbait. If it is damaged on either side, you may be able to take a file and even out the sides of the lip and make it run correctly.
4. Straighten any bent hooks and replace any broken hooks. This will make the crankbait run better and increase you hooking ability with the bait.
5. If the crankbait does not have a split ring to tie your line to, add one or use a clip between your line and the tie. This will allow the crankbait to move freely, run better and have better action.
6. You can touch up any damaged paint with fingernail polish. On wooden baits always seal damage to the finish with clear or colored fingernail polish to protect the wood and keep water out.
7. Add a touch of red fingernail polish near the head of the lure, making a slash like a gill. This may make the bait more attractive to fish and give them a target near the head of the bait, inproving hookups

1. Make changes slowly and test before making more changes.

What You Need:

• needle nose pliers
• split rings

[Rebbasser]

Cranky, before you go doing that make sure they need to be tuned. If it is running straight back to you it probably doesn't need tuning. You say you can't feel them-if it is running properly you will-you will feel it vibrate. If you don't make sure the line isn't tangled in the hooks. As far as not feeling the bottom you may be fishing water that is deeper than the bait runs.

[Marty]

2. If the bait still runs to one side, use a pair of needle nose pliers and bend the line tie eye toward the side it is running to. Bend it very slightly with light pressure and then test it. It usually does not take much to correct this problem.

I think you bend the line tie AWAY from the side it's running to. That is, while retrieving, if the bait is running to your left (the bait's right), then bend the line tie to the right as viewed from the bill.

I always had a little trouble bending the tie with the pliers. This year, for the first time ever, I saw a crankbait tuning key in the BPS catalog and I'm going to buy three or four of them.

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...=SearchResults

[crankybait]

ok. thanks. and reb, i always check my hooks to make sure theyre not on my line. about the water depth too deep, i doubt it. this is a 4 or 5 acre pond, and im throwing a bluefox deepdiver which goes up to 10'. and also, they sort of arch back to me. kinda lopsided... i cant feel any vibrations at all. would i feel a viberation when it wobbles, or only if it bounces? and marty. i may get one of those if theyre at dicks. shipping would cost more than the tool itself

[Rebbasser]

Cranky, if you do not feel it wobbling when you reel it in then something ain't right. If you can get a different crank and throw it so you can feel the difference.

[JB]

thats correct reb,
cranky, take a DD22 and throw it once, it (at first) feels like a bluegill being reeled in rofl

[Rebbasser]

Yeah-throwing a DD22 will wear you out in a hurry.

[crankybait]

the thing that stinks is the walmart i go to has a horrible fishing section. no DTs, X-raps, or Shad raps there. and ive checked hundreds of times. no senkos, no heddon no excalibur no other nice lures... and also, i bought a rat-l-trap a few weeks ago. ill try castng it and feeling a wobble. if youre supposed to be able to feel that much detail, im missing a whole lot. wonder how many fish ive lost. honestly, when i caught my first 1 pounder, i didnt feel the thing. didnt set the hook, it just happened to get stuck. then i realized i had one when i saw it flashing in the water. but hey ill try throwing a DD22, may as well get a workout if i dont catch anything

[bassnman30]

If you are able, find a swimming pool to test your baits. Sometimes crankbaits perform differently on top than they do down deep.
This way, you can observe the ones that go deeper than others. Especially the same type bait. You may also observe the ones that run straight under water as well as on top.

[crankybait]

some of my frends do have pools, but theyre drained for the winter

[crankybait]

oh, and also, what about bill shape? i hear its better to file it to a coffin shape and file the end to a sharp point

[lovinfishin9]

the coffin shape helps it bounce off cover more. i dont know about filing the end to a point.

[crankybait]

oh. sos should i file down all my crankbait bills?

[lovinfishin9]

not necessarily. onyl if you're fishing around cover like logs.

[crankybait]

i dont know what cover ive gt... how would i? and als, what advantages does the round shape have? if coffin shaped bills dont make the bait even a bit worse, ill do it anyways, since im bored and wouldnt mind the work

[lizardsrule]

Often times I want my cranks off tune LOL. I want them banging into a drop off ledge so I make them run so they will run into it, and bang as I go.

Lizards

[crankybait]

never thought of it that way... anyone ever tried lopsiding a very wide billed bait?

[bassnman30]

Cranky, just wait for the summer !

[crankybait]

thats about 5 months... a long wait