Welcome to the monthly section we like to call Bassin’ 101. I’m your host CNU Fishing Club President Joe Wilkerson and each month I’ll introduce you to a Bass Fishing Technique that will help you improve your fish catching on the water. So get out those number 2 pencils and get ready to take notes because class is now in session!
The Crankbait
The crankbait seems like a pretty simple bait to fish and it can be, but learning all the nuances and tricks can help you load the boat faster than your buddies.
Retrieve
A common retrieve that most anglers use is the simple cast out and reel steadily back in. This is a proven fish catcher but I like to vary my retrieve especially while I am trying to figure out what the bass want on that given day. For example, one cast I will begin my retrieve with a few jerks before I begin my higher speed retrieve back to the boat. Changing your retrieve can give you those one or two extra, much needed strikes come tournament time. Other times, I will suddenly stop my retrieve and trigger a reaction strike with sluggish fish. Another retrieve to employ is “ripping” your crankbait. For this technique the bait is cranked down to the right depth and then pulled sharply with sudden sweeps of the rod. The retrieve I end up using most often is bumping the bait off the bottom or structure. It’s quite simple really, just select the bait you want to reach a certain depth and ensure that your bait is in contact with the bottom or cover, stirring up silt and causing quite a commotion along the way. Slight changes in retrieve can give you clues as to what the bass are in the mood for that day.
When to use a Crankbait
A crankbait can catch fish on just about any day but my personal favorite times of year to crank are in the spring and fall. Crankbaits can be used around a lot of different types of cover and structure. I use them on drop-offs, bridges, weed lines, overtop of submerged grass, around stumps and wood, off of points, and especially around riprap or any kind of rock structure. I have even used them around a dock or two. As with every lure you throw, remember to key in on where the fish and what the conditions were when you get a strike. What color bait was I throwing? How much water was the fish in? What type of cover or structure was he relating to? What type of retrieve was I using? Did he hit the bait when it was moving or motionless? You get the idea, use the clues the fish give you to figure out a pattern and duplicate your results.
Selecting and preparing your Crankbaits
As far as colors go, I like to keep it simple with shad/crawfish colored baits for clear water and more extreme brighter colors such as chartreuse for muddy water. I’m not a big believer in color when it comes to crankbaits. Some days, yes, I admit that the color of the bait I was using got me a strike I wouldn’t have had; but in general I would credit my fish catches on retrieve not color.
There are so many different types of crankbaits that it can be overwhelming trying to fill your tackle box so that you can be prepared for any given situation. I advise you to find a crankbait company whose products you have confidence in and stick to them for all your cranking. Personally, I love all the Lucky Craft cranks and would fill my tackle box with them in an instant if they didn’t cost $15 a pop. I find that bandit cranks do the job for me and they are a lot cheaper. I have four different colors of each size of bandit crank so that I am prepared when I get out on the water. Whatever you buy make sure you know how deep each bait runs and organize them in your boxes as such. This can save a lot of headache on the water. Speaking of headache, you also want to make sure that your baits are running straight towards you back to the boat. This can be done by ever so slightly bending the split ring on the crankbait in the opposite direction the bait is running. As you become more advanced, you’ll tune certain baits to run right or left purposely for specific situations.
I replace the front treble hook on my crankbaits with red gamakatsu trebles to give a bleeding effect to my cranks. I’m often asked why I don’t just replace both trebles with red hooks and for me the answer is simple. By replacing only the front treble with a red hook I am encouraging the fish to bite more of the bait. The odds of landing a crankbait fish go up considerably if they are hooked by the front treble (more than likely both in this case) than if they are hooked by the back treble alone. I am not sure if studies have been done to prove the theory that more bass will be hooked by the front treble, but I believe it has help my hookup to landing ratio with crankbaits substantially.
I work my crankbaits with either a medium or a medium heavy rod, and a high speed reel. The high speed reel allows you to crank more with less effort. Try cranking for eight straight hours and you’ll be glad you had that high speed reel. I like the medium to medium heavy rods in this situation because the rod needs to have some give to it so that the bait is not ripped out of the fish’s mouth. You want the fish to be able to get the bait in its mouth and get hooked up. Using too heavy a rod won’t allow this to happen as easily in my opinion, but Rick Clunn, voted the greatest angler of all time, uses solely heavy action rods for his cranking and all his baits for that matter. So it really must be a matter of what appeals to you. The best advice anyone can give you is use what’s comfortable for you. The best equipment may not always be attainable so find something you like and give it a shot, work with what you have or can afford.
FAQ of the month: How can I catch the bigger fish I know are in the area I’m fishing?
If you’re catching small fish, consider why this might be happening. Smaller bass in general tend to be more aggressive than larger ones. Ask yourself a few questions to determine what you are doing wrong: Do the bigger ones want a bigger meal? Do they need a different presentation? Is there one isolated part of the cover? Your results should improve if you ask yourself these questions and make the proper adjustments. Always make an effort to look for and target that one part of the cover that is different from the rest. For example, the largest rock, a small turn in a weed line, or a small rise on a flat. Look for these subtleties they will help you find the biggest bass in an area. In general, you can increase the average size of the bass you’re catching by switching to a bigger lure, however this is my resort only when I have my limit and I am looking to upgrade because bigger baits will usually sacrifice bites. I want to keep a bait that I think can catch “keepers” as well as five pounders wet until then, unless I have good reason for a change.
