Crankbait mastery

[senkosam]

I've begun using crankbaits again after mostly using topwaters, jigs or soft plastics. I've come to the conclusion that the discipline to using crankbaits requires that I have different rods rigged with different cranks that run at different depths. With plastics or jigs it's easy to be sure your near bottom and work the different depths and structure you encounter. But crank design is pretty specific when it comes to depth, retrieve speed and action and none are created versatile.

Crankbaiting is truly a skill I think most bass anglers lack and considering VanDams success using them early on to win many tournaments, I can only hope to discover some of his secrets. You can't learn when and how to use them if you don't use them!