Bigger Fish on Cranks

[BigBassin144]

The recent crankbait thread has made me want to head over to BPS and grab a few more cranks (just what I need, lol).

But one thing I don't like about cranks is they seem to be more of a numbers bait, and aren't known for catching the big ones.

So does the general "bigger baits = bigger fish" rule still apply here? Do big bodied crankbaits (which are usually deep divers) catch bigger fish? and if they do, why don't more companies make a larger bodied shallow diver?

Any suggestions on shallow to medium diving cranks that seem to catch bigger fish?

BB

[Bassboss]

Mann's C4 Elite Series Crank. Nor sure if you would consider this a medium diver, but I do. It's a larger bait at almost 3 and half inches. Seems to catch bigger fish than my other cranks. I've got the blue gill pattern, and man oh man, in the fall if you bring ona these past a piling, better hold on! Caught a couple fish over 4, and few 3's a bunch of 2's. Great bait, check it out!

[Rebbasser]

BB, the bigger rule holds true. I haven't caught many dinks on a DD-22.

Good question on the bigger shallow cranks. Most are fairly small like a Bandit 100.

[BigBassin144]

Sammy, I'll check out the Mann's crank. That looks like a nice big shallow diver.

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

BB, the bigger rule holds true. I haven't caught many dinks on a DD-22.

Good question on the bigger shallow cranks. Most are fairly small like a Bandit 100.

It seems one of the few bigger bodies shallow cranks (at least that I can find locally) is the Strike Kine 4S, and it's still only 2.5" long.

BB

[Jim80]

BB I think it still boils down to putting that bait in the right place to catch bigger fish , but I'll look around for a bigger shallow crank haven't seen any I can remember though


Jim

[nofearengineer]

Anthony, the reason deep divers are usually big is just to hydrodynamically balance out the huge lip needed to offset the buoyant force of the fishing line. Especially so if it needs to be a floater. Form follows function in that respect. They're not necessarily designed with big fish in mind. It just a happy coincidence that bigger fish have an easier time than small fish in attacking a big crank.

The intrinsic problem here is that the crankbait lip has to perform two functions: depth control and action. Unfortunately, the size and the angle of the lip affects both. The issue is, as I mentioned before, the size of the crankbait body has to be somewhat matched to the lip size. A huge crank with a tiny bill will dive to the right depth, but won't have the right action, exactly like the problem a tiny crank body with a huge bill would have.

That Mann's crank looks interesting. If they've achieved the right balance, that could be a very good crank.

[MississippiBoy]

I've got a couple H2O Xpress shallow cranks (I think 4-7 ft divers, if I remember right)from Academy that are pretty beefy. I haven't measured how long they are, but they're fairly substantial.

[BigBassin144]

Well, I looked at a couple cranks at BPS today. They didn't have the Mann's Elite, but they did have a 1-minus that was 3" long. As big as a DD22.

BB

[Jrob78]

I just happened to have a few cranks handy, one of which was the Mann's Elite. The second one in the pic is a H2O CRM, last is a Bomber Sq. A, the larger sized one. The first two are pretty large, probably pretty comparable to a DD22, unfortunately I didn't have one handy.

For what it's worth I really like the Mann's Elite and the 1- Minus cranks a lot.

[rodnreel]

The LC Fat BDS cranks are pretty bulky. I have a regular LC BDS that I consider to be a pretty bulky shallow diver and the Fat BDS makes it look small. Not only is it longer at 3", it's much wider in the middle. The BDS catches fish for me, but the only downside is it's so expensive.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lucky...e-LCFATBD.html

[zooker]

here ya go jrob.

third bait down right side..under the bandit 600 and 700

Originally Posted by rodnreel

The LC Fat BDS cranks are pretty bulky. I have a regular LC BDS that I consider to be a pretty bulky shallow diver and the Fat BDS makes it look small. Not only is it longer at 3", it's much wider in the middle. The BDS catches fish for me, but the only downside is it's so expensive.

take not over th middle row in the above pictures three are lucky craft fat d-20's. i have a few lc fat dr's..they work..

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

The recent crankbait thread has made me want to head over to BPS and grab a few more cranks (just what I need, lol).

But one thing I don't like about cranks is they seem to be more of a numbers bait, and aren't known for catching the big ones.

So does the general "bigger baits = bigger fish" rule still apply here? Do big bodied crankbaits (which are usually deep divers) catch bigger fish? and if they do, why don't more companies make a larger bodied shallow diver?



BB

no i find that bigger cranks tend to be in differant to fish. my personal largest came on a lc fat cb d-20.but so did this one..



cranks are a numbers game..

zooker

[keithdog]

Hey Zooker, that Rapala DT in the lower left corner...have you had much luck with it? I have the same crank, thought it would be killer like my other DT's, but havn't caught a single fish on it. As for the posted question, while I have caught a few smaller bass on larger deep divers, I havn't caught many small ones. Most of my bass of large deep cranks have been larger in size. I believe that the deeper depths are more likely to hold larger bass as they feel less threatened than smaller bass to be in a more open water environment. When you at the top of the food chain and your big, you tend to be more comfy anywhere. Smaller bass, I believe, will tend to hang closer to dense cover, which usually is in shallower water around my parts.

[walkeraviator]

Im no tourney fisherman, but it was always my technique to find fish with cranks... then slow down and use soft plastics to find the big ones in the group.

BUt then I also caught a 5 pounder on a regular old wiggle wart... so who knows???

[bamabassman]

anthony, i am gonna send oyu a pic of a little fish i caught on a fairly nice size crankbait. it is a 6-8 ft diver. as i told zooker in a text message, i ain't too sure about cranks being a "go-to" bait just yet, but i ain't giving up either. just gotta throw em more i think. learn how and where to use em pal.

[carolina-rig-01]

Anthony, crankbaits are a great way to catch big fish too. In fact I have caught more 5lb or bigger fish on crankbaits than anyother technique out there. And I have caught some dinks on big crankbaits like a Strike King Series 6 and a DD22, and I have caught some real toads on Bandit 100's and Norman Little N's. Crankbaits are tools just like anyother bait, get the right tool for the job and the possibilities are endless.

[rrw4258]

I have caught several fish over 5 pounds on crankbaits. Like Jim said, it's about putting the bait in the right places to catch some of the bigger fish. Casting accuracy comes into play here, and you cant be afraid to throw a bait near some nasty looking cover. I used to be afraid of losing a bait to cover, but since then I have caught some bigger fish on cranks around some nasty looking cover.

As far as bigger shallow diving cranks, I throw a Strike King 4S, and personally I have never caught alot of fish on them. I would rather stick with a smaller crankbait and weed through the smaller fish to get to the big ones, especially in a tournament when I need to get a limit.

Ryan

[islandbass]

They can and will catch bigger fish just as many other "bigger" lures. The thing for you is that it has just not yet been your experience.

I have caught larger bass, say on the higher side of 4.75 lbs. and bordering 6 lbs. (large for my area) with cranks on medium crankers such as the Rapala DT6. I'm not sure if it were you or BBoss that had bad experiences with them, but they work for me.

[Raul]

I caught my PB ( 13.86 lbs ) with a Rapala Shad Rap. Have caught numerous 10+ pounders with cranks too, so yes, cranks do catch big fish, and no, you don´t have to fish with the largest crank you can find, normally bigger cranks dive more.

[Tavery5]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

Any suggestions on shallow to medium diving cranks that seem to catch bigger fish?BB

These are the biggest shallow cranks that I have found, they are called Fat Crank 30 and are made by SPRO. They work in the 1-3ft range and weigh about 7/8oz and are 3 - 3 1/2 inches long.



[

[3dkicker]

You can't go wrong with the RC series 2.5 or 3.5 if you want a bigger bait. They run 4-6 feet. If you want to fish the LC Fat CB BDS 3.0 or 4.0 you'll get a big crankbait that runs 4 -6 feet too. I know the Academy has knock offs of the RC series so you can get very similar baits for $5.

Manns 1 minus is a huge crankbait (similar size as the LC 4.0) that only runs 1.5-2 feet max. It puts out a huge wake in shallow water.

We catch small fish on these baits on the river but most of the time they are quality fish.

[96ecss]

Rapala Super Shad Raps are 5 1/2 inches long, 1 5/8 oz and dive 5 feet when cast and 9 feet when trolled.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te....form23&Go.x=0

Cabelas lists them as saltwater baits but they come in the standard Rapala colors like Perch, Bluegill etc.

Dave

[Justin2729]

biggest bass(10.3 LM) Ive ever caught came on deep cranking and Ive won several tournys on it, So i love it my favorite technique by far.

[BassAddict]

Most of my bigger bass on cranks have come in the summer on Rapala DT-10's in a bluegill color. PB on a crank is right at 7lbs.

[walkeraviator]

The 5 pounder i caught on teh wiggle wart was slow rolling points at Ky Lake in March... I dont remember it.. Dad had to remind me about it...