Crankbait question

[keithdog]

This question is for my fellow bassfisher persons north of the mason dixon line. I live in NW Indiana and up here, any bass over 4 pounds will draw a second look. If you land an 8 pounder, you've really nailed a hog. That being said, here is my question. I am an avid user of crankbaits. I do very well with them. However, I am thinking about buying a couple Rapalla DT16 cranks for working the deep water. Up untill now I have never pitched a crankbait that large. The DT16 is a very healthy sized bait. I am unsure whether or not that size crank is overkill for my region. Is it too big for this area? Do any other northern bass fisherman use a large crankbait such as this for probbing deeper water?

[Marty]

According to the Rapala site, the original DT16 is 2 3/4" long. That's not very big. A three-pound bass can get just about anything into its mouth that it wants. There shouldn't be any problem whatsoever with the size of that lure.

http://www.rapala.com/products/lures...shorsalt=Fresh

[JB]

I fish the big ones like the dd22 all the time, they dig up the bottom in water less that 10 feet. Most of my big cranks are normans

[pig n jig]

You might just be surprised how well big crankbaits will work. As JB said,the Norman dd22 is a very good crankbait.I also like the Manns 20+, the bill design makes it a great crankbait.I have mixed feelings about Rapala lures.They seem to be more fragile than I care for, but to answer your question.The dt16 are about the same size as the FT-7, they shouldn't be too big for your area, seeing what you decribed is nearly identical to what size of fish that are in my area. P N J

[zooker]

the dt 16 is not to big for your area.. it will hand out a whoppin on both ends of the rod so be prepared..

i use a lone american rod smith rod-in mh- for use with just the dt10,and dt 16 they are a hand full to cast all day and will not cast well on a medium action rod.-you can still cast it but not well-for me them big cranks gets the abu "winch" a 3.8 geared abbortion now residing in a 5500 body.-don't ask you don't want to know-i have caught dinks to 6+ pounders on them..

zooker

[carolina-rig-01]

not too big by any means! but like zooker said, those big crankbaits are man eaters when it comes to using them all day. they will flat wear you out so good luck.

[pig n jig]

When did they change the Mason Dixon line ? P N J

[keithdog]

Ok fellas. Thanks for the feeedback. Looking at the package, the DT16 just looked so darn big including the lip. I think I'll grab a couple of those and maybe a Norman too. Thanks again.

[ROBZILLA]

As you know I live in Canada and big bass are hard to get up here as well. Above is a picture I took of a river small mouth I caught on a huge B.P.S lure. I was fishing and doing well that day, So I decided to throw the biggest lure I had that day. To my surprise the smallie went for it. The lure it's self is about 4 inches long and almost 4 inches round. the picture is hard to tell but I could not believe it would go for another fish that wouldn't even fit in it's mouth. Seeing it was just over 1/3 the size of the fish. So I think you have nothing to worry about throwing that bait. Good luck.

Robby.

[JB]

when i grew up in the bass world those rapalas were the crank of choice. I used to throw and #5 n #7 all the time, but they got so dang expensive to replace. At that time the blue shad was a perfect color match for the shad up here by the great lakes. Have had alot of good luck with the #5 shadrap that is chartruse on top and white on bottom

[keithdog]

I've seen that color JB and have thought about picking one or two up. They look good. This past year, I starting using the bleeding olive shiner color in my Rapallas, and it was a killer color for me. I highly recommend that one too.

[zooker]

Originally Posted by JB

Have had alot of good luck with the #5 shadrap that is chartruse on top and white on bottom

that is a "silver fluorescent chartruse" shad rap - they still make it..

zooker

[lunker-lander]

Hell, I used a Rapala Shad Rap 7(I think), and that is atleast 4-5"...

-Lunk-

[InEccess]

Kevin Van Dam won the 2005 Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh with a full sized Rattlin Rogue. The fish he was catching were just a little longer then the jerkbait he was using. And I've seen plenty of Crayfish in the river that are bigger then any crankbait I've used. I've also seen bass eat full sized Bluegills here.

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by keithdog

I've seen that color JB and have thought about picking one or two up. They look good. This past year, I starting using the bleeding olive shiner color in my Rapallas, and it was a killer color for me. I highly recommend that one too.

I liked the looks of that color. I bought a DT Flat SS 07 in the bleeding olive shiner. Can't wait to use it this spring and summer.

BB

[Raul]

Size of the crank scared you ?

My man, I catch more 1-2 pounders on 6-7" hard swimbait than I catch 4+ pounders. Hardbaits are seldomly too big for the fish to not bite them, even the little fish.

[islandbass]

If you aren't already fishing with a reel with a lower gear ratio, you might want to consider it for the deeper divers. With most higher geared reels, and a less than ideal rod, it can really feel like a big workout.

I can notice a big difference in cranking effort between using my curado bsf and my cardiff. The latter reel has a lower ratio and it handles the deeper diving cranks much better.