Crankbait lures and rods?

[Bob60]

First I admit crankbait fishing IS my major weakness. I have made some choices and need some real feed back. First I got 2 crankin sticks from BPS, both 7ft. ,one med.light for 1/4 to 3/8oz. cranks. The other Med.hvy. for my deep divers 1/2oz.+. I have 10lb mono on the med/light, 14lb. Flouro on the med/hvy. Both rods have the David Fritts reel w/ 4.7:1. Lures: A fistfull of the DT Rapalas from 3ft to 16ft. plus the Rapalas X-treme slashbait (6) Mann's +4, some Bandits 3-6 squarebill flat maxx and some Storm Big Bass 6-8 and 10ft. 1/2 of my fishing is ponds the other a man made lake. I've never been much of a crankbait fan, spinnerbaits and 10" worms have been my choice. I just thought it was time to try some new(to me) stuff.

[Rebbasser]

Bob, looks like you have a couple great setups! The key to crankbait fishing is contact-the botom, trees, stumps, etc. I love throwing deep cranks shallow where they really dig into the bottom kicking up a mud trail, and throwing square billed baits like a Bandit 100 into flooded timber. The square bill deflects off cover and makes them surprisingly snag free.

Keep in mind the smaller the diameter of the line (lb test) the deeper the bait will run. I throw the real deep running cranks like a DD-22 on 12 or even 10 lb test to get them as deep as possible.

I use one of the same David Fritts reels for my big, deep cranks and love it.

[carolina-rig-01]

like reb said....contact the bottom for as much of the cast as you can! i really like throwing crankbaits that dive to 10 ft. in 4 to 6 feet of water. when you feel the bait hit a big rock or something odd just kill it and count to 2 or 3. you will be amazed how many bites you will get on the pause after banging into a piece of cover or structure.

[zooker]

bob
crankin is like a drug.. i want too even more every time i catch a fish on it.. though you abut go BROKE buying crankbaits...

now i have the 6 pack cranking set up...

my david fritts reels are in the shop for there yearly cleaning..



all but the out side rods are 7 foot the left one is 6'3'' the right one is 7'3''

the jerk bait rod normally has a lefty reel on it.. and well lizzy's worst nightmare.

nuff said

zooker

[keithdog]

Hey Zooker, is that an ABU C3 on the far right? I have two of those for crankin and love them. Bob, it sounds like you have a pretty good start there. With some practice you'll be hooking up on bass real quick. The guys gave you some great advise. I think my favorite crankin is in water about 12 - 14 foot deep with a good submerged weedbed that tops out about 8 foot below the surface. Especially if it's off a point with deeper water nearby. Those Rapala DT's you have will serve you well. I caught more bass than I can count last year on DT cranks of different sizes. I know there are those who complain about the DT's having a weak bill thats prone to breaking, but so far, knock on wood, it's never happened to me. And I use the heck out of them. Good luck with all your new gear.

[zooker]

keith
it is a 5500 cl-3 on the outside but all the gearing is from an abu winch-3.8-

zooker

[Rebbasser]

Zooker, I thought I was the only one with that many crankbait rods. I even have one dedicated to the Bandit 1000 (Flyrod gave me the rod and "loaned" me the reel on it). Including the jerkbait rod I have 7. And use them all

[BigBassin144]

Dang! And my dad thinks it's dumb for m to buy one (1) sepearate rod for cranking.

BB

[Bob Smith]

Another thing I like about Zooker! He's like me, by not being totally "Brand specific" and he doesn't get off on the high dollar stuff! Great selection for springtime there, Zook!

[zooker]

yeah bobber i LOATH the fenwick elite cranking rod the but end SUCKS and at $200 each dang.. there is 2 fenwicks, 2 lews, a shimano,and a american rodsmith in that picture.. though i do have a long history of liking fenwick rods-and owning more than 30-i find that the lews and the fritts rod work alot better than the fenwick rods do..the shimano is subing for the fenwick elite rod-which i broke- till i can find another lews..

as for reels i am not brand bais but will buy ever old silver quatum mag gear i can find. in the day and age of the smoking high speed reels the reels with slow gears are getting harder to find..i like the 5.1 gears for shallow divers as i have on the speed trap and bomber the mid depth cranking rod-with the wiggle wart- i normally have a 5.2 fritts reel on..the lipless bait i liked to run it fast so a 6.3 abu torno was put on it..

as for lures
i pretty much have every kind of prodouction crankbait made..left to right-
x-rap,strike king red eye,speedtrap, bomber fat free fry,wiggle wart,bandit 600



zooker

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by zooker

as for reels i am not brand bais but will buy ever old silver quatum mag gear i can find. in the day and age of the smoking high speed reels the reels with slow gears are getting harder to find..i like the 5.1 gears for shallow divers as i have on the speed trap and bomber the mid depth cranking rod-with the wiggle wart- i normally have a 5.2 fritts reel on..the lipless bait i liked to run it fast so a 6.3 abu torno was put on it..

as for lures
i pretty much have every kind of prodouction crankbait made..left to right-
x-rap,strike king red eye,speedtrap, bomber fat free fry,wiggle wart,bandit 600



zooker

As for my reels, I am inclined to do the same thing with the Lew's Model BB1NG. It has a 4.8:1 retrieve. I find this to be the perfect reel (IMHO) for the deep divers, or for any diving crankbaits. I also have the Lew's Model BB1 NGH, which is 6.3:1 ratio that fits the lipless cranks really well.

Regarding the baits, I have never bought a Lucky Craft or Jackal or any of the high dollar stuff (Mira-Vibe is the most expensive lipless at $7 to $8 a pop). The one thing I have discovered here in Georgia is that the Shap Rap without rattles is still a very popular bait. I cannot remember the last time I threw a crankbait in Texas without rattles. Maybe it was in the early 90s when I was into the Poe's Cedar bait rage?