Deep Cranks

[Bender]

Nobody uses the Luhr-Jensen Hot Lips? That is one bait that I actually don't have any of. I need to get some... I did have a couple Radar 13s but I don't know where they went.

Regarding the depth, I've always heard that most baits are rated using 10# mono. I'm not sure if that is true or not. Here's a neat but old chart: http://www.luhrjensen.com/downloads/...DepthChart.pdf
I also have the Rapala book that shows diving depths of casting vs. trolling and it has similar results in that trolling gets baits a lot deeper.

While fishing the deep lakes of New York I was always looking for the deepest diving jerkbait and the Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk 12 was the deepest I could find, but it is a bear to cast far since it is light.

I haven't fished too many lakes where I could crank deep this year. The times I did I had the best luck with the Strike King 6XDs though. I do throw the Series 5s quite a bit, but I don't consider that too deep of a diver. I only tried the Little John DDs a couple of times but they went too deep for where I was throwing them and just dug mud. I did also try some Lucky Craft Flat deep divers and found the two I used to run horribly. I got them tuned in but they still didn't catch anything.

[bassthumb32]

luky craft cbd20 is the best it gets down faster than most casts like a bullet and really works well. I deep crank a ton and that is the one that I grab first. 10lb fluro kneeling and reeling.

[pro reel]

I need to find some of the 30 + baits. The DD 22 works as long as I kneel and reel with an 8 ft rod all the way in the water, but thats a hard position to fish from and left my knees and back sore. Thinking about trying smaller, thinner line and posibly adding some weights a few few feet in front of the bait.

[keithdog]

Just a thought, but what if you used a 3/4 oz rattle trap type lure, cast it out and let sink to the bottom. Then start a slow retrieve like slow rolling a spinnerbait with occational pauses and jerks? I would think that would be similar to a large deep crankbait working the bottom.

[pro reel]

Originally Posted by keithdog

Just a thought, but what if you used a 3/4 oz rattle trap type lure, cast it out and let sink to the bottom. Then start a slow retrieve like slow rolling a spinnerbait with occational pauses and jerks? I would think that would be similar to a large deep crankbait working the bottom.

Slow rolling a spinnerbait or a big lipless bait were both things that we looked at and tried some in the 2 trips that we fishied these conditions. I can't say that any of us stuck with it long enough to give it a fair shot, but they didn't do any better than the other stuff we tried. I think that with the conditions we saw, it took something that would trigger a reaction bite from those deep fish. They simply would not grab or chase a slow moving bait even if it was dangled in front of them. KVD saw the same situation in early spring at the last classic. One day one, spinner baits were the ticket. They just had to swim a spinner bait by the stumps and were catching bass. On day two, something changed and the bass quit hitting spinnerbaits. KVD was the first to switch to a crankbait and started catching bass by banging the bait into the stumps. His after report stated that the bass were feeding when they were on the spinnerbaits, but they stopped feeding and it took a crankbait to get a reaction bite on day two. I think our lake has been in a non feeding or vey little feeding situation for a while now , possibly due to the turnover and murky conditions of the normally clear water. What we found, and we heard the same thing from other anglers also, was that you could catch a few small bass here and there with some finesse baits. You could get very lucky and put a bait in just the right spot and catch one or two decent fish. You could easilly get skunked. OR, you could use big cranks and catch several nice bass in areas that you could bang the rocks or brush piles at the deep areas. This really set in my mind that the normal reaction to tough conditions, going small and finesse, is not always the best choice. Bass can almost always be made to bite if you can slam a crankbait into an object close to that bass.

[bamabassman]

intresting pro. very interesting. daniel and i will try this this weekend.

[Crankbait]

Good info Pro. That’s one of the reasons I like Rapalas Crankin Rap. Fishing it with the thin braid I use lets it get down way deeper than with mono or fluorocarbon. But the real ticket is it’s a different crank…..a lot smaller than the DT-20’s that are being pulled along some of the ledges and creek channels I’m fishing. Easier on my arms too.