King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah
Fishing ? Instructor!
Here in the second half of the how-to guide to crankbait fishing, we'll get into specific kinds of crankbaits and their specific uses, some pros and cons of each and then some fishing tips for a few of them. These will be listed from top to bottom according to their diving depth range. Here we go!
The Wakebait (0-2ft): Waking crankbaits are a category of crankbaits that actually work the top layer of the water column, often times barely getting down more than a foot or so on a fast retrieve. Most often, they're fished slow and steady on the surface and have a wide wobble more so than a tight wiggle. They're excellent when fished in shallow water over or around cover, along the bank, and are an excellent pond fishing lure as well. Spotted bass love a wake and will come up from several feet to attack one, especially on herring lakes and if it rattles. They work well for schooling fish in open water and they tend to be more snag resistant than other crankbaits because of the lip angle. Waking crankbaits tend to have a fat body and a diving lip that faces straight down or is at a steep angle to minimize the actual diving depth and force the bait to stay close to the surface for the entire retrieve. Perfect example would be a Yo-Zuri 3DB or Rapala DT Fat 1
Shallow Divers (3-5ft): Shallow diving crankbaits are great during any time fish are shallow and active. This category includes the majority of squarebill crankbaits. They only get a couple feet down, but these are some of the most snag resistant, strike triggering, fish catching reaction baits there are. Great for shallow, woody cover, rocks, and other hard cover underwater, especially squarebills. The key here that these baits do that other crankbaits DON'T is these lures have the best ability for deflection - They make contact with the cover and just bounce off, roll over or just pull through whatever stump, log, or rock it just hit.... All the while very rarely if ever getting snagged! Oftentimes, this ability to ricochet off of cover is what triggers the "reaction strike" you hear so much about. For example, imagine that a group of bass are sitting near cover, you keep pitching the same worm over to them with no bites, so you pick up a shallow crank, likely a squarebill crankbait and it comes flying by that fish kicking up mud, rattling, vibrating, and then kicking up and over a stick in the water with a very distinct "tick" sound on impact, rolling over and flashing it's sides. The sudden change in direction and vibration triggers that bass feeding instinct, so they lash out and grab the crankbait before it can get away - That's how they work. The million dollar example is the ever popular Strike King 1.5 Squarebill that Kevin Van Dam won the 2011 bassmaster classic on the louisiana delta with. This bait in the black back chartreuse color has been one of strike king's best selling baits ever since, and anybody who fishes crankbaits has one.... or a few for that matter, myself included.
Medium Divers (5-10ft): This category is another all on its own and mostly features traditional round bill lures that get a little deeper. Very much the same as the above category, only more snag prone and better used on points, deeper riprap banks and the like. Great during transitional times like spring and fall or any time fish move just a little further from the bank. A good example of this kind of bait is a Bomber fat free shad, Rapala DT6, or Norman middle N. The Rapala DT6 Has won a absolute TON of tournament money too. Particularly the red crawfish color they call "Demon". Just ask tournament pro Mike Iaconelli...or David Fritts...or Seth Feider...or you could ask Jacob Wheeler, Ott Defoe, Gerald Swindle, or.... ME! Anybody who's ever tried one has caught a ton of fish on them, you get the point. This has likewise for rapala become a top seller as the 1.5 squarebill did for Strike King.
Deep Divers (9-15ft): Deep divers work great on fish that are holding on bottom in larger reservoirs and for fishing deep points, large humps in shallower depths and fishing along the creek channel edges. These are normally great summer and winter lures when fish are in deeper water or even suspended. They work on ledges too. They do have more torque then a normal crank though and require special setups or you'll be losing fish and stripping gears in your reel. A good example here is a rapala DT 16 or Strike King 8XD.
Super Deep Divers (15-20+ft) These baits are the deepest of the deep without actually sinking. Many even have a lead weight in the lip or tungsten in the body to make them dive deeper at a faster rate. They are great for deep, clear water, ledge fishing, steep drop-offs, points, humps, and more. They can be trolled to reach extreme depths up to and sometimes even OVER 30ft! A perfect example of this category would be a Mann's 20+ crankbait. One of the baits that set the all time total weight record for bass fishing in a B.A.S.S. tournament by Paul Elias at 132lbs!
That covers the first section of part 2! I'll be back with more right after this pop up fishing trip!
The Wakebait (0-2ft): Waking crankbaits are a category of crankbaits that actually work the top layer of the water column, often times barely getting down more than a foot or so on a fast retrieve. Most often, they're fished slow and steady on the surface and have a wide wobble more so than a tight wiggle. They're excellent when fished in shallow water over or around cover, along the bank, and are an excellent pond fishing lure as well. Spotted bass love a wake and will come up from several feet to attack one, especially on herring lakes and if it rattles. They work well for schooling fish in open water and they tend to be more snag resistant than other crankbaits because of the lip angle. Waking crankbaits tend to have a fat body and a diving lip that faces straight down or is at a steep angle to minimize the actual diving depth and force the bait to stay close to the surface for the entire retrieve. Perfect example would be a Yo-Zuri 3DB or Rapala DT Fat 1
Shallow Divers (3-5ft): Shallow diving crankbaits are great during any time fish are shallow and active. This category includes the majority of squarebill crankbaits. They only get a couple feet down, but these are some of the most snag resistant, strike triggering, fish catching reaction baits there are. Great for shallow, woody cover, rocks, and other hard cover underwater, especially squarebills. The key here that these baits do that other crankbaits DON'T is these lures have the best ability for deflection - They make contact with the cover and just bounce off, roll over or just pull through whatever stump, log, or rock it just hit.... All the while very rarely if ever getting snagged! Oftentimes, this ability to ricochet off of cover is what triggers the "reaction strike" you hear so much about. For example, imagine that a group of bass are sitting near cover, you keep pitching the same worm over to them with no bites, so you pick up a shallow crank, likely a squarebill crankbait and it comes flying by that fish kicking up mud, rattling, vibrating, and then kicking up and over a stick in the water with a very distinct "tick" sound on impact, rolling over and flashing it's sides. The sudden change in direction and vibration triggers that bass feeding instinct, so they lash out and grab the crankbait before it can get away - That's how they work. The million dollar example is the ever popular Strike King 1.5 Squarebill that Kevin Van Dam won the 2011 bassmaster classic on the louisiana delta with. This bait in the black back chartreuse color has been one of strike king's best selling baits ever since, and anybody who fishes crankbaits has one.... or a few for that matter, myself included.
Medium Divers (5-10ft): This category is another all on its own and mostly features traditional round bill lures that get a little deeper. Very much the same as the above category, only more snag prone and better used on points, deeper riprap banks and the like. Great during transitional times like spring and fall or any time fish move just a little further from the bank. A good example of this kind of bait is a Bomber fat free shad, Rapala DT6, or Norman middle N. The Rapala DT6 Has won a absolute TON of tournament money too. Particularly the red crawfish color they call "Demon". Just ask tournament pro Mike Iaconelli...or David Fritts...or Seth Feider...or you could ask Jacob Wheeler, Ott Defoe, Gerald Swindle, or.... ME! Anybody who's ever tried one has caught a ton of fish on them, you get the point. This has likewise for rapala become a top seller as the 1.5 squarebill did for Strike King.
Deep Divers (9-15ft): Deep divers work great on fish that are holding on bottom in larger reservoirs and for fishing deep points, large humps in shallower depths and fishing along the creek channel edges. These are normally great summer and winter lures when fish are in deeper water or even suspended. They work on ledges too. They do have more torque then a normal crank though and require special setups or you'll be losing fish and stripping gears in your reel. A good example here is a rapala DT 16 or Strike King 8XD.
Super Deep Divers (15-20+ft) These baits are the deepest of the deep without actually sinking. Many even have a lead weight in the lip or tungsten in the body to make them dive deeper at a faster rate. They are great for deep, clear water, ledge fishing, steep drop-offs, points, humps, and more. They can be trolled to reach extreme depths up to and sometimes even OVER 30ft! A perfect example of this category would be a Mann's 20+ crankbait. One of the baits that set the all time total weight record for bass fishing in a B.A.S.S. tournament by Paul Elias at 132lbs!
That covers the first section of part 2! I'll be back with more right after this pop up fishing trip!
Last edited:
