Crankbaits come in a dizzying array of sizes, shapes and colors that all catch fish occasionally because they generally look like something a bass should eat.
"When I'm throwing a crankbait, I try to imitate one of three things -- a crawfish, a bluegill or a shad," said Alton Jones, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion. "For crawfish, I like browns, greens or orange. To imitate bluegills, I like firetiger or chartreuse with a blue back. For shad, it's either a pearl white or chrome with a blue back. On a bright day, I throw chrome and blue. On a cloudy day, I throw pearl and white."
Crankbait bills also come in many configurations including squared, rounded, pointy, scooped, or even almost chisel-shaped, each in several different widths and lengths. Sometimes, conditions might call for a short, fat crankbait with a squared bill or a rounded lure with a pointed bill. Professional anglers must know what to throw under many different kinds of water and weather conditions.
"The thinner the bill, the tighter the wobble," said Gerald Swindle, a professional bass angler from Warrior, Ala. "Whenever I'm fishing really hot water, I want a big, wide wobble. I usually throw a square-bill crankbait from late spring through early fall. It's a good bait to fish during the post-spawn. In the winter, I like to throw small wooden crankbaits with tiny, rounded bills that produce very little action. The tight wobble is like a shad in cold water, almost like a lipless crankbait."
Use Square-lipped Crankbait In Warm Water In the spring or summer, predators and baitfish generally turn more active so anglers want more wobble in their baits. A square-lipped crankbait, pardon the pun, fills that bill since it makes more commotion and displaces more water than other configurations. It also works well in thick cover, thumping against objects where lunkers lurk.
"The warmer the water, the more aggressive I want a bait to work," Swindle explained. "Everything swims faster in warmer water. In warm water, a bream swims very erratically. When bass target bream, I throw a crankbait that looks like a bream. If I'm throwing in shallow cover that I can see, I always go with a fat, square-lipped crankbait. Square bills deflect off shallow targets like stumps, or blow downs."
Most crankbaits have excellent action with little help from the angler. Therefore, most anglers simply throw a crankbait into a likely looking honeyhole and retrieve it steadily toward the boat, repeating the motion with little variation in speed. That catches fish, but anglers who vary their retrieves generally catch more and bigger bass.
"Very seldom do I just steadily retrieve a crankbait," Swindle said. "I don't jerk a crankbait either unless I'm trying to clear the grass. Most crankbaits are not designed for that kind of retrieve. The stop and go retrieve is probably the most effective way to retrieve a crankbait. I make a few turns on the reel and stop for a few moments. Then, I start winding again. The more rounded a bait is, the more buoyant it is. If the bait bumps something, just stop and it will float back up. When I'm bumping bottom, I let it float up and then run it back down into the bottom again."
Bill length does not affect the bait action. The length only affects the depth to which the bait generally runs and the angle of the dive. A crankbait with a large, square bill still makes a good wobble, but just goes deeper than similar models with smaller bills. Baits with long, scooped bills run deep, but can easily tire any angler repeatedly trying to crank them back to the boat. However, they make good choices for trolling.
User Larger Lure In Shallows "Often bass in shallow water want a big crankbait," Jones said. "I might take a crankbait that dives 12 feet deep and fish it on 30-pound line in five feet of water. I reel a crankbait very slowly, trying to feel the lip hit the cover. When I hit the cover, I pause a second to let the lure float up over it. I walk it down through cover, feeling my way and moving the bait with the rod instead of the reel. On the edge of grass lines, I pick a bait that runs down to the submerged tops. As soon as I feel the top of the grass, I quit reeling and let the bait float up a bit. Then, I pull it with my rod until I start feeling grass again."
Sometimes, bass like a particular color and configuration, but not the size of crankbait you are using so keep a variety of similar baits in different sizes handy. Anglers may need to try the same basic lure, only in a larger or smaller size. Experiment with colors, shapes and retrieves to see what works that day.
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