Crankbait on the Rocks Please! (Pic Uber Heavy!)

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Guys, for the past few weeks I've been on a great crankbait bite around rocky points on the south end. The deep divers have been working the best but we've been catching a few early in the morning and late in the evening beating the banks with a little square bill in my Z shad pattern. When the sun get up a little we've been switching over to deep divers in my Sand Key pattern and working them in 20+ feet of water, keying on rocky points and humps. I've also had some success working the deep divers very very sloooow, keeping them just over the top of brush piles holding fish. Generally speaking, the casting and retrieving bite has been the most successful, but if we can't get them on the C&R, I'll fire up the big motor and troll through the fish to get them to react. Sometimes they want the crankbait very slow and sometimes you have to burn it through or troll it. Sometimes I have to cast and crank hard to find the bottom with it and just work it slow along the rocks on the bottom as far as I can back to the boat. I'd say the majority of the fish we've caught on the Sand Key deep divers are quality fish and the majority of fish on the squarebill are dinks but every once in a while we'll get a good one. I don't think the crankbait bite will last too much longer but I think you can still get a few quality fish on it. I'd say the best color is the blue over chartreuse for the big boys.
Here's a few pics and video from some recent crankbait fish.
(<I>You can click on any pic for a high res close up image</I>)
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Worley

Senior Member
Crankbaits

Might I suggest a pair of Kevlar gloves when u hold the baits, I can't watch another daggum video.:rofl: the paint on those baits are awesome. And that yellow / blue would be magic on hartwell too...I used to throw that color in spring and catch good largemouth...
 
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Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Might I suggest a pair of Kevlar gloves when u hold the baits, I can't watch another daggum video.:rofl: the paint on those baits are awesome. And that yellow / blue would be magic on hartwell too...I used to throw that color in spring and catch good largemouth...
Ha ha Worley! Lisa told me to get some gloves so I was thinking Kevlar like those shark feeding fellas wear.

I haven't tried that pattern yet on Hartwell but we took the little Z shad jerkbait pattern to Clarks Hill earlier this spring and the Largemouth loved it. I caught a lot of good fish on that pattern. I'm sure it would work well on Hartwell. I think that bass see a lot of color patterns over and over but every once in a while they see something they've never seen before and react to it. Here's a few pics from Clarks Hill this spring on the Z shad jerkbait pattern.
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StriperrHunterr

Senior Member
Kevlar gloves only protect from slicing actions, not puncture wounds like a hook would cause.

People overlook the trolling technique with crankbaits and I can't for the life of me figure out why. There is no other technique that allows for the same, consistent, depth to be covered over such a large area while targeting aggressively feeding fish.
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Kevlar gloves only protect from slicing actions, not puncture wounds like a hook would cause.

People overlook the trolling technique with crankbaits and I can't for the life of me figure out why. There is no other technique that allows for the same, consistent, depth to be covered over such a large area while targeting aggressively feeding fish.
I think the reason is it is illegal in most bass tournaments, but another great technique for deep diving crankbaits that is legal is long lining cranks. Bassmasters had a show from Lake Fork Texas this weekend and they were slaying huge LM's long lining cranks. It's another great technique and has won some big tournaments in the past.
 

StriperrHunterr

Senior Member
I think the reason is it is illegal in most bass tournaments, but another great technique for deep diving crankbaits that is legal is long lining cranks. Bassmasters had a show from Lake Fork Texas this weekend and they were slaying huge LM's long lining cranks. It's another great technique and has won some big tournaments in the past.

Long lining cranks? I don't have cable, so is that like long lining with live bait for swords? Multiple baits on one long line?

I was referring to recreational fishermen ignoring the tactic, really. Some of them are under the opinion that it's an "easy" method and they prefer the challenge of casting or other tactics for both green and white fish.

I'm of the opinion that maintaining the depth contour, keeping your lines straight, and planning ahead for your troll are just as difficult to master as picking apart cover with the more "classic" tactics.

I also figure if I am going to use the gas to scout out an area, having one or two cranks out trolling while I do it is just being prudent and making maximum use of the resource.
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Recreationally speaking, yes it's a great tactic for searching and if you have kids. It keeps you moving and looking.

Long lining is basically loading up as much line on your reel as possible and dropping your crank over the side of the boat and letting it out while moving forward with the trolling motor. As soon as you run out of line, stop the trolling motor and start cranking the crankbait back to the boat. Some guys can load up 200 yards of line for this. It's a great successful tactic for a lot of pros.

Long lining cranks? I don't have cable, so is that like long lining with live bait for swords? Multiple baits on one long line?

I was referring to recreational fishermen ignoring the tactic, really. Some of them are under the opinion that it's an "easy" method and they prefer the challenge of casting or other tactics for both green and white fish.

I'm of the opinion that maintaining the depth contour, keeping your lines straight, and planning ahead for your troll are just as difficult to master as picking apart cover with the more "classic" tactics.

I also figure if I am going to use the gas to scout out an area, having one or two cranks out trolling while I do it is just being prudent and making maximum use of the resource.
 

StriperrHunterr

Senior Member
Recreationally speaking, yes it's a great tactic for searching and if you have kids. It keeps you moving and looking.

Long lining is basically loading up as much line on your reel as possible and dropping your crank over the side of the boat and letting it out while moving forward with the trolling motor. As soon as you run out of line, stop the trolling motor and start cranking the crankbait back to the boat. Some guys can load up 200 yards of line for this. It's a great successful tactic for a lot of pros.

Ahh, ok.

Not exactly trolling, more like how Jeremy Wade sometimes uses rafts to get his baits out really far.

Interesting.
 
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