Crankbaits.

[james86]

Just wanted hear what brands of crankbaits you guys think are the best. I'm trying to expand my collection. I only have around 25-30 right now. Mostly I have strike king, jackall, rapala, and a few bombers and old poes.

[Jrob78]

I fish shallow square bills more than any other. My favorites are XCalibur XCS, (not Excalibur) Strike King KVD's and Academy H20's. I also like some of the Rapala DT series, Lucky Craft RC's, Daiwa Flat Flash and Spro Little Johns. After that, it's a random mix of Bombers, Bandits, Strike Kings, Lucky Crafts and just about whatever else I can get my hands on. XCalibur, KVD and H20 are my top 3 though.

[MississippiBoy]

Academy H2O's are very good, and they're only $3.79 apiece for the shallow ones, and I think $4-something for the deeper ones. I also have also have Bandit 100's, 200's, and 300's....these are pretty lightweight so they don't cast as far as some other brands, but man, do they catch fish, and they're usually comparably priced to the H2O's. Norman DD22's are my favorite deep divers, for about $5-$5.50 each, if I remember right.
I'd definitely check out the H2O's at Academy, if you don't have any already. They can't be beat, for the price.

[Bender]

They are a bit pricey, but for me the best is C-Flash. 22-Magnum mostly but also 44. You can buy them online from Mike's Rx.
I'm still trying different squarebills but so far the KVDs have been really good.

[Tavery5]

RC 1.5, DD22, SK KVD, and I have been buying the oldest Poes that I can find, plan on having them custom painted.

[bluebasser86]

I use a lot of Lucky Craft RC cranks, mostly the 1.5's, Strike Kings, Bandits, Bombers, H20, Xcalibur, Luck E Strike, Rapala, and a few others I'm sure. The all serve a purpose and all catch fish for me.

[bobkayla]

cotton cordell big o,,,,been using them for 30 years ,,i wish they didn"t work so good i would brodden my crankbait box

[keithdog]

I use a lot of Bandit 100 and 200 baits, but other favorite are Strike King KVD squarebills, LC 1.5's, Xcalber squarebills, Rapala DT6's, and the Norman deep divers. The Strike King 1.5 and Bandit 100 in Tennessee Shad has been the real deal for me!

[bassinbob]

IMHO Lucky Craft often catch me the most fish. Followed by Mann's baby minus 1. The LC for shallow and mid depth. The Mann's for shallow. Haven't done much deep cranking.

[BigBassin144]

Bandits are my go to crankbait. They catch fish, they're durable, and affordable.

I've got some LCs, KVD square bills, XCalibur XCS, Bomber, Strike King, Spros, and more.

BB

[basstech]

Rating crank baits as "best" is very subjective and really can't be done. Different cranks have different properties and to say rapala's are better than Balsa B's, well that would be comparing apples and oranges. Some cranks I use that I catch a lot of bass on tend to be very fragile. Bills break off easier, others with really strong bills, bodies tend to split and let water in, Some of the wooden ones I use the paint and protective outer coat crack down to wood. But, they all have thier places in my arsenal of cranks. Instead of going with what's considered to be best you might be better served thinking of them strictly as a tool and building your collection based on what they can do that cover your needs. Some are great swimming through brush and timber without getting hung up and some do better deflecting off objects. Some work better cranked at slower speeds and others really shine when being burned. All of the major manufacturers cranks will catch fish, it just comes down to when, where and how they're used.
Strike King and Bandit are essentially the same designs, and since you already have a bunch of SK, no point in getting Bandits. You might consider something like Normans, Balsa B's. or Cordell Big O's (although I prefer these in late summer and fall). Balsa B's work well in the spring espeacially when bass are spooky and shy away from baits with rattles. If you're not sure, research, research, research or experiment if you don't mind spending the money on stuff you may end up not using.

[Mike304]

Lucky Craft RC's seem to just run well right off the bat, and they do catch fish. I've been in a boat with a buddy using an LC while I was using a Bomber of the smae basic color and he outfished me big time.

[Hef]

It's all subjective brother. 80 people and 80 different opinions. Throw what you have confidence in. I myself don't even like the same brand for different depths. I like RC 1.5 for super shallow cover, Bandit 100's for 2-5' range, Bombers for grass in same range, DT Rapalas for 5-8'. I throw what I have confidence in and that includes different models/brands

[james86]

Thanks for all the info guys. Gives me something to go off of. It might sound strange but I've only caught 1 bass on a crankbait in my life. Not including lipless, I've caught a ton of bass on those. Also a question, One of the old Poe's that I recently bought from ebay had very strange hooks. The were an almost triangular shape and had the barbs on the outside of the bend in the hook. Is that an old stock hook or is that something someone put on there?
Also Hef, are you in the navy? If so what's your rate and where are you stationed? I'm an AE2 stationed at NAs Jax right now.