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Old 08-17-04, 09:20 AM   #1
macgyver
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Default Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

I've been working crankbaits a lot more this year than any other time I've fished. Mainly because the fish have been suspended a lot more with the vegetation being sparse this year. I've had very little success, even after trying numerous techniques. I have had better luck with spinnerbaits this year however. Here's my questions.

1.Once you find the suspended fish at a certain depth(by your fish finder), should you select a crankbait that goes deeper than the fish or just above them. I assume ideally you would like to go right through them, but I am talking about selecting the right depth of crank bait. For example if the fish are suspended at say 11 feet, should I work a D-10 or a D-12 or something higher or lower.

2.I also would like to know which cranks in your opinions are the best suspending cranks. I prefer ones that rise up a little or suspend, even though I do like the lipless cranks, but they have to be cranked almost constantly to keep from dropping too far.

I've been using the bottom digging technique a lot with 0 success. Obviously I'm not great at cranks, but I feel it's one of the areas I need to work on to become a well rounded fisherman. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I don't want to be limited on what I feel confident in to use.

Lizards
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Old 08-17-04, 01:12 PM   #2
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

Lizards, the water in my area tends to be tinted and on the shallow side. I have used both Rapala and Smithwick Suspending stick baits with some success, especially in the fall, with a twitch-twitch-suspend slow retrieve.
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Old 08-17-04, 03:58 PM   #3
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

For suspended fish you can't beat a husky jerk in early spring or in fall. They want an easy meal in my opinion if they're suspended in the middle or you have to induce reaction strike. Husky jerks sit in their face and they can't take it. Late summer up here we've been throwning whacky rigged senkos or sluggos above them and letting it fall down to them. They don't like that either.

If they're suspending just like 1 - 2 ft off the bottom I'll bottom dig with crayfish patterened crankbait (or carolina rig). If they're up in the water I'll through shallow running crank or a zara spook jr.
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Old 08-17-04, 07:45 PM   #4
Rob Mak
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

lizard
ya don't say if they are below a shad school or have bait near by. this is a key area. i think that if you are fishing deep suspended bass with no bait near by. these fish are in a lock jaw mode. if they are below a bait school fish through the school using a crank that bottoms out under the bait. if the school is near by fish in to the wind cranking with the wind from the school to the suspended bass.

as for lures a dt crank is great if used in stained water it has a wide wiggle. a shad rap on the other hand will get down about 6-7 feet and has a great narrow wiggle and is deadly in clear water. also size matters-forget what she said-if the bait fish -shad- are 2-3" then leave your poes 400 home. a #4-5 shad rap would be a good choice. also if the bass are feeding on small bait a manns lil george is very hard to beat .word to the wise when using a lil george DO NOT LOCK THE DRAG DOWN. as every thing and it's brother will readly grab them. i would use a black and white or in stained water yellow most popular size i use is 1/2oz and ya can chunk it a mile in to the wind.


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Old 08-19-04, 05:27 AM   #5
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

Lizards,
I must tell you before I post anything, that I hate throwing crankbaits, lol. I know they catch fish, but I think it is just of those confidence type things. Anyway, your situation is one that I and many other anglers have come in contact with many times. Suspended fish are a pain in the butt most of the time. If I find a good school of suspended fish, the first thing I look at is what they are suspended around. Also, what depth they are suspended at. To me, fish suspended around absolutely nothing, are the hardest to catch, unless they are actively feeding on baitfish. Fish that are actually suspended around some sort of structure usually will bite more readily than the ones that aren't. These are the fish that stay stuck up in cover for the majority, and ease out and feed occansionally. Also, weather conditions can play a big role in this , as you probably already know. I always start out with a very aggressive approach. I like to pick apart the school. Throw a lipless crankbait, and try to trigger strikes from the more aggresive bass in the group. If this doesn't pay off, then go with a traditional crankbait. If the water is colder, or the fish are inactive due to high pressure, or whatever, use a bait with a wide, dull wobble. Something with little action. Try to fish it slowly right above the school of fish, then right in the middle of them, then right below them. If the water is warmer, or fish are active due to other weather conditions, go with a tighter, faster, more aggresive bait. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. One thing i have had good success with lately is slow rolling a rattle trap through suspended schools of fish. Most people think of a rattle trap as a fast moving reaction type bait. I have found to my surprise that this also has its exceptions. Throw it out, let it sink to the desired depth, and slow roll it back. Just a few suggestions, that I hope will help. Good fishing.
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Old 08-19-04, 08:11 AM   #6
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

[quote author=zooker link=board=news;num=1092745226;start=0#3 date=08/17/04 at 18:45:01]lizard
ya don't say if they are below a shad school or have bait near by. this is a key area. i think that if you are fishing deep suspended bass with no bait near by. these fish are in a lock jaw mode. if they are below a bait school fish through the school using a crank that bottoms out under the bait. if the school is near by fish in to the wind cranking with the wind from the school to the suspended bass.

as for lures a dt crank is great if used in stained water it has a wide wiggle. a shad rap on the other hand will get down about 6-7 feet and has a great narrow wiggle and is deadly in clear water. also size matters-forget what she said-if the bait fish -shad- are 2-3" then leave your poes 400 home. a #4-5 shad rap would be a good choice. also if the bass are feeding on small bait a manns lil george is very hard to beat .word to the wise when using a lil george DO NOT LOCK THE DRAG DOWN. as every thing and it's brother will readly grab them. i would use a black and white or in stained water yellow most popular size i use is 1/2oz and ya can chunk it a mile in to the wind.


zooker [/quote]


Yes to both zooker. The fish are suspending with no baitfish around them, and then I get some that just following the schools of baitfish. Now when they are absoulutely pounding the baitfish, I can run a spinnerbait or even a lipless crankbait, and catch 1, but then they stop hitting, and go back down under the schools again. Here is where the biggest problem for me is. I realize that the ones suspended are usually looking for nothing or a specific bait(usually baitfish). But boy am I having a heck of a time catching any of them.

mt,

yeah I'm with you on the cranks, but I feel I gotta learn em, too many folks can catch fish with em, so I should be able to also. It's one of those things you don't neccesarily enjoy as much, but I gotta get it down, especially if I get into tournaments. I need to use all the repetoire, since I'll start out as a non-boater, I will be going to wherever the guy driving wants to go.

Thanks to all for you responses, I leaned a couple of things, and I need to get a few more cranks also ;D I do have several husky jerks, and other brands. And I haven't really used them much, just thought they were too big, considering the baitfish are a lot smaller, but I will pull em out, and give them a shot. I keep trying to match the hatch, but that ain't working, so I'll try that next time out. Plus using cranks or spinners/buzzbaits can flat wear you out.

Lizards
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Old 08-20-04, 01:05 AM   #7
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

Lizards in some cases you can catch the suspended fish with a spoon. The fish that are below the bait ball are sometimes just waiting for stunned or injured fish. Hence the spoon. As you know the spoon flutters down looking like an injured bait fish. By the way I would use a swivel in this case.
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Old 08-20-04, 08:57 AM   #8
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

[quote author=bassguy2004 link=board=news;num=1092745226;start=0#6 date=08/20/04 at 00:05:52]Lizards in some cases you can catch the suspended fish with a spoon. The fish that are below the bait ball are sometimes just waiting for stunned or injured fish. Hence the spoon. As you know the spoon flutters down looking like an injured bait fish. By the way I would use a swivel in this case.[/quote]


That's a good Idea. I hadn't even thought of that I haven't pulled out a spoon except during the winter, for years. It's another one of those baits that I just got away from ??? Have caught numerous bass on them, and I can't even tell you why I don't throw them anymore :-[ I'll give it a shot next time out, thanks for the tip

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Old 08-20-04, 11:13 PM   #9
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

Good question. While I am certanly no expert, I have become in the last 15 years a very dedicated cranker. They are my favorite lure to use, and i have developed many techniques for using them.Non of which have proven efective on suspended bass. In order for a crankbait to be at its best, it has to come into contact with SOMETHING. Not just swimming wildly through the water column.The crankbait is an awesome lure, once one takes the time to learn the proper presentaion and locations in which to use them. They are not good for suspended bass.

My favorite way of catching suspended bass, if they are truly suspended in the middle of the water column is a weighted Lazy Shad(Fish Formulas version of a super fluke).count it down and bring it right through the middle of them.
If they are not after bait, they probably won't bite anything.

A Rat-l-Trap is also fair.

Good luck.

Charles
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Old 08-21-04, 04:19 PM   #10
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

same problem here lizards. old boy at the bait shop gave me the only hint that has helped is go LOUD. he said think of suspended fish as lazy or sleepy gota really knock on the door to wake em up. rat l traps have helped bring a few strikes but still not having alota luck with suspended fish so i wind up targeting more active fish
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Old 08-25-04, 12:18 AM   #11
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

The other thing you might want to try is different sizes. Sometimes if you go to a bit smaller crank bait you will trigger more hits. If the crank bait wont go as deep as you would like, Throw a split shot on the line 16 or 18 inches up the line.
I agree totally with much of what has been said.
1. Crank baits truly are meant for fishing underwater structure where they can pop and bang on something and give it an eratic action.
2. If fishing without structure, Go LOUD.
3. I like susspending Cranks because you can vary your retrieve and keep the lure in the strike zone. Again this goes back to the "Annoyance Theory". If you can keep a lure in a Bass's "Area" long enough they generally will hit it just to remove it from thier "Area".
4. Try really hard to throw a crank bait that will match the color configuration of some of the other bait fish or prey in the lake. Ie. If you have a lot of perch or Bluegill in your lake, try and find a Crank bait with these patterns.
As far as types, I have always been partial to Rapala products, however, Storm is making a really nice Crank bait that is holographic and rubber coated. This lure has GREAT action in the water, but I havn't found one yet with rattles in it.
The other thing that was said that is also true, is fish all three depths. Above the school, Through the school, and Under the school.

Now with that being said, LOL> I really dislike crank baits, but they are effective in some situations. If you are haveing trouble getting susspended fish, here are a couple of other options. LOL>
Hook up a drop shot rig, Cast from deep to shallow and bring it through the school. However, if the fish are too high up for this, you can try a spoon (which I think was also mentioned before.) The other option, and probably the least used, but one of the most effective, is to Verticle Jig them. You can do this with a bass assasin Paddle tail jig, or just a good twister tail. The key to this is in the weight of the jig. If you are going deep, Use a fairly heavy Jig Head, and I know most probably wont like to hear this, but Tip it with a Minnow or a worm (live) if the fishing gets really tough. LOL>
However if you are going to tip your Jigs, try to match the Head color with what ever you tip it with, IE. If it is a worm, try and use a dark colored Jig, If it is a Minnow, try to use silver or and Unpainted Jig, or even White.
The nice thing about verticle jigging is that you can start at the bottom Jig in 6-12" jigging motion for a few min, and reel up a foot or so, and start again. , then reel up a foot, etc. You will cover the school from top to bottom. Buck tail jigs seem to work pretty well too.
At any rate, have fun and be safe.
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Old 08-25-04, 02:50 AM   #12
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

i tried diving down one time when we "had a school of suspended fish on screen that just wouldnt bite" turned out the suspended fish were 2 liter soda bottles on string to rocks. somebodys old makeshift channel bouys when the water level was real low. still think its funny we fished that spot for almost an hour trying to get suspended pop bottles to bite. :-[
however we did learn we were interperting the graph wrong about were the back of the boat was what was under or behind. buddy said i looked like one hell of a fish swimming down there on sonar. guess it helps to read the direction book.
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Old 08-25-04, 09:58 AM   #13
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

[quote author=snag-a-matic link=board=news;num=1092745226;start=0#11 date=08/25/04 at 01:50:16]i tried diving down one time when we "had a school of suspended fish on screen that just wouldnt bite" turned out the suspended fish were 2 liter soda bottles on string to rocks. somebodys old makeshift channel bouys when the water level was real low. still think its funny we fished that spot for almost an hour trying to get suspended pop bottles to bite. :-[
however we did learn we were interperting the graph wrong about were the back of the boat was what was under or behind. buddy said i looked like one hell of a fish swimming down there on sonar. guess it helps to read the direction book.[/quote]


HARHARHAR!!!ROFLAO. ;D

Charles
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Old 08-25-04, 08:48 PM   #14
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

Lizards, find Bill Lewis ratLtraps but make sure they are the red zone traps. They will suspend to the depth you want to fish.It is a little tricky but here is 2 ways you can determine the depth use your fish finder on a flat and count how many seconds it takes to reach a depth and take a subtract or add time depending on the depths you are wanting to fish, or mark fish at a depth and move in shallower until the bottom is the same depth as the fish and count down the lure until it hits bottom. go back to your area and cast and count down and start your retreive. The trap will suspend at the depth you start the retreive at.I hope you understand this post. ;D P N J
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Old 08-26-04, 06:58 PM   #15
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

This year I've been throwing cranks more than ever too. Two things I've noticed is, while working a crank bait, really try to hit the bottom or actually off any of the structure you think the fish are by. It really does trigger more strikes. And the second thing is, really slow it down. Reel until you get your crank to the desired depth, but once your there use the stop and go retrieve, that works really well for me!

good fishin

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Old 08-26-04, 09:55 PM   #16
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

ok,i know nothing about crankbaits as most of you know.i do use the traps and stickbaits and once in a while a baby minus.
is there a reason to persist in throwing crankbaits if they aren't working?try a different bait.i've had much success just throwing a soft plastic out there.i use either no weight or very little weight.
that bait is going through the strike zone slow enough.if the fish won't bite it,i simply change tactics.go shallower or deeper.not all the fish are suspended.
just a thought
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Old 08-26-04, 11:40 PM   #17
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Default Re: Crankbait Depth for Suspended Fish

[quote author=bassintom link=board=news;num=1092745226;start=0#15 date=08/26/04 at 20:55:13]
is there a reason to persist in throwing crankbaits if they aren't working?try a different bait.just a thought [/quote]


No, and that is a good point.

AS you may know from some of my other posts, I LOVE and ADORE the almighty crankbaits.(especially wooden ones).I have been fishing them with extreme dedication since 1985, and I have learned and fine tuned almost every trick there is to get a fish to hit.
But there are days, no matter how hard i try, the fish absolutly do not want a crankbait.

I agree. try something different.

Don't become so single sighted that you miss out on a good day of fishing. If my favorite style or technique is not working, i will(reluctantly) swich to a backup.

Charles

A good second bait is a soft plastic.
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