CrankBaits

[youngbassman77]

Hey Everyone...

As some of you may know, I am a rookie bass fisherman, and I really don't have that many baits... I just previously got a baitcasting setup and I've been using spinner and buzzbaits with it...

I want to start using crankbaits and I am asking you guys on your opinions to what I should purchase to get started (brand, model, size, color, ect..). What works best for ya'll? Any favorites??? Thanks !!!

~YBM

[flachristopherkeene9]

manns minus 1 any color.

Chris

[Rebbasser]

YBM, if you go with shad and crawfish colors and get baits that will run to different depths you will be in good shape. There are a lot of brands out there. I like Bandit series 100 to 300-the higher the number the deeper they will dive-and Strike King series 1 to 4-the larger the number the bigger the bait. For shallow cranking a Mann's Minus-1 is tough to beat.

Norman Thin N baits.Nuff said......

[River stumps]

The manns 1 minus is a huge fat bait, where as the baby 1 minus is less than half that size. Might want to start off with the baby1 minus. Next I would get a topwater. Bagley makes a bang-o- lure, it is an awsome bait also. Any type of poppers will work. You have heard about the zara spook, takes a little practice but it is a good bait. These three baits are good top water. Get you a couple of rattle traps, lipless crank by Bill Lewis. Once you get started you will get the feel for what you should get next. Hope I've helped. Good fishing

[Fish On]

Well a few question right off the bat
Water Clearity?
Water depth
Cover(rocks,trees and etc.)

I will post my crankbait article in a few minutes

[Fish On]

Crankbaits-By David Scott
Fishermen all over the world use crankbaits to catch many different species of fish. Ever since I was little, I loved the crankbait and discovered that it is one of the most versatile and productive lures. The crankbait can be fished fast or slow, deep or shallow over and around a wide range of structures.
Crankbaits are available in many color combinations and finishes from flashy solid colors like chartreuse, orange, and chrome, to more natural finishes like baby bass, perch, and crayfish. The crankbait can be identified by a plastic, or metal lip, a body, and usually two to three treble hooks.
The most important part of the crankbait is the lip. The size and shape of the lip will determine the depth that the lure can swim down to, and the swimming action that the lure will have as you troll or retrieve it. For example, if the crankbait has a small lip, it will run shallow. If the lure has a large lip, the lure will run deeper. The lip can be tuned by bending it to run either more to the right, or more to the left. You should check the lure before fishing it to make sure the lure will run straight and true. if adjustment is needed, you can bend the lip to correct it.
Body shape also affects how the lure swims and what it imitates. A long streamlined shape will imitate a crappie minnow, or a small shad, while a stubby fat shape may imitate a bluegill, frog, or crayfish.
The hooks on your crankbait are very important. They should always be kept sharp, and checked to make sure that they are not bent. Replace the treble hooks if they become dull or distorted from use. Usually there are two to three treble hooks on a typical crankbait. Often fish are hooked on the back treble, but if you get a good hookset, the fish will get two treble hooks in him resulting in fewer lost fish. A new idea in fishing, is the red treble hook. This imitates a bleeding minnow and the red treble should replace the forward treble hook to attract the fish to hit the head of the lure.
Techniques for fishing crankbaits are many, but some of the basic ones that I use have served me well. My favorite is a steady retrieve with a pause and a small jerk. The steady retrieve gets the fish to follow the lure with it's natural swim action, the pause and jerk will trigger the strike. Another good technique is called "burning" in which you reel in extremely fast to cause a reaction strike. Burning imitates a minnow fleeing from a predator. Another effective technique is the stop and go retrieve. This works great for floating and suspending crankbaits. This will entice a fish following the moving lure to commit to a strike when the lure stops. Finally, there is "jerking" this works great for topwater bass. Cast out a shallow diving floating crankbait then give it an occasional jerk. Let the lure float up to the top and jerk it again this will entice an explosive surface strike from a hungry bass.
Structures to target can be endless. When I fish crankbaits I love drop offs. I will use a crankbait which dives to the depth of the deepest part of the dropoff. Another great area to target is weed edges. Often big bass will wait on an edge of a weed bed and wait for prey to pass by. When the prey passes the bass will strike! I will also target logs in the water and hit every angle around the logs. Finally I will fish crankbaits around and into docks. Often big bass will be waiting for a meal and when they see a crankbait they smash it.
Time of year for a crankbait is during the summer when bass can be most active!
When I fish a crankbait I prefer a 6.5 foot rod. When it comes to power I prefer a medium to medium-heavy!
Now that you know some crankbait basics, you can start fishing one of the best lures around. Try these techniques the next time you go fishing and keep tight lines!

More articles at:
www.alluringbaits.com
www.fish307.com
www.protackle.net
www.sunrizetackle.com
www.boatboys.com

This is my main article but I still need to add some fixes.

[Fish On]

I like some companies I like is Rapala(DTs)
Bomber
Bagley
Rebel(crawdad)
and many more

My best baits are crankbait, tube, worm, jig and topwater in that order.

[Curado]

My 2 favorite companies would be Bandit and Strike King, and Strike King is good on my budget as well.

Fish on , A crappie is a bluegill type fish, it should be in your short stubby bait list , not the long streamlined list.A cisco, shad,yellow perch, alewife, smelt, shiner family are long slender shaped.

[Fishie]

baby 1 minus for less fished waters definetly but I would go with the strike kings on all waters that get fished frequently. I like those baits. Also the boby flat cranks are a little different.

[JB]

I like Rapala, Bomber, Normans, Manns, Poe and Smithwick and Lewis RatLtrap

What you need to look for (the beginning crankbait angler) is
length of the bill..
Many that dive 3-5 or 7 feet have various lengths of plastic bill up front.
Many times a plug that will go past the 7 ft barrior will have a bill longer than the plug..
also note if the crankbait is a floater or sinker, for example most ratLtraps sink, which is an advantage when you need depths to fish that the normal crankbait can't reach.
Line consideration is something to think about too, certain pound test and brands can make a crankbait wobble or move dif to a slight degree.
I'd get some rapala shad #7 n #5 size , get a handful of ratLtraps, crome and blue or red/crawdad, get some brown crawdad bomber crankbaits, all sizes, and go try them out..

JB forgot to say the long billed crankbaits can fish shallow water too. It just takes longer to crank them back because they dig along the bottom with ease where the shallow water baits aren't capable of hitting bottom very often. P N J

[Fishie]

I like a certain color by rattle trap. When I get my fish for the tournament up I will send in a pic of the baits I used in the tournament which include this bait. It's pretty uncommon color I believe and it tears them up. A lot of you guys probably pass her up.

[lovinfishin9]

wow, fish on you have an article for just about anything dont u?? lol

[Fish On]

LOL working on it

[H2O]

After read all guys' recommendations, do you know what you want to buy? ! Find a cheapest one on your local storem, it works for sure.

[youngbassman77]

Wow....Lots of brands out there..!!!! Thanks everyone... I have an idea of what my ''first'' purchase will include...

[pig n jig]

The Norman deep little N's have been good for me. P N J

[lizardsrule]

If I was just buying my first crankbait it would be a Lipless crankbait in chrome/blue, your choice of Brand. That bait can be fished in many different places, and retireves. My second choice would be either a Bomber "B" in Crawdad or a Manns -1 in Grey Ghost. The reason for "MY" choices is because those are what I have caught more fish on than any others. So you will get lots of different responses, because everyone fishes their favorites more than others. But almost any crank in the right color at the right time can catch fish. But since it's your first one, try to keep it away from the trees and rocks, until you can get a better feel for it. I would hate for you to lose it right away, and then decide they aren't worth your time. Because they definately are.

Lizards

[youngbassman77]

Thanks Lizards....and everyone else... I'll let u all know how my first crankin' experience goes...

~YBM