15 replies to this topic

[B@ssCrzy]

I am looking at fishing a sunken island that is surrounded by water that is 10-15 ft and then 6-7 feet on the top of the island. I am wanting to crank around the sides. It is a rock bottom and very clear water. Any color suggestions would be great as well. Thanks.

[ironmike12]

Have you seen what the bass are feeding on naturally? Maybe start with something close to that? Some natural craw colors might work as well, especially because the craws are out now with the water warming.

[B@ssCrzy]

What brand do you prefer to fish with for deeper water?

[WCCT]

A Hotlips is an old stand by up here in Washington for the smallmouth. Crystal Craw pattern works very well.

[WookieeJedi]

I don't fish for Smallmouth very often, but I have had a lot of luck with the Luhr-Jensen Hotlips in the brown craw/orange. It worked so well, it felt like cheating, and generated a lot of maniacal laughter.

[smallieking]

i love using rapala DT10s in a bluegill or shad color in clear water to pull out some hawg smallmouths.. for deeper water than 10 feet i really like the strike king 5XD. i have best success with the 5xd when the water is super clear and i use a ghost sexy shad color. its a great way to get 4 to 6 pounders out from the deep

[BradH]

I have pretty good luck with Norman Deep Little Ns and DD22s in SX shad, charteuse shad and nutter shad. Just bang the heck out of the bottom with them or ding them off the vertical structure where it drops.

[osbornj2]

It's hard to argue with what Brad said - I LOVE the DD22's, exactly the way he described..bangin' and clangin'. At night, I like to throw the Chilibowl color (dark craw with some glitter mixed in).

Another deep crank that I am just in love with, is the BassPro Shops "pro series" or whatever is the name of their upgraded store brand is ( I think it's the XPS). Anyways, the stock hooks (red) are not the best, so I will usually replace them. But, it has a kinda coffin-shaped bill which allows it to take a lot of abuse down in the rocks. It is surprisingly well-made (durable), and it will absolutely catch some fish!! My fave color is the Ayu Shad. They're usually a buck or two more than the DD22's, but they work and they stand up well to a lot of grinding.

[senco lover]

ratle traps rainbow trout. dosent matter if there are rainbows inthe lake or not. i cought my pb (6lb) on one and i dont even have rainbows in my lake

[iceintheveins]

Storm Wiggle Wart or a Bandit 300.

[aclark609]

Ask some locals. Look on websites etc. Crankbaits are a regional thing a lot of times. One thing I would say for sure is to work your spot from every angle possible until you find the right angle that gets bit. This may sound senseless but a lot of times it's just about the angle with crankbaits.

[ww2farmer]

I caught a decent ammount of smallies deep cranking last year, I mostly use SK 5xd's, and 6xd's.............all the smallmouth came on the 5xd.

[TidePride37]

ratle traps rainbow trout. dosent matter if there are rainbows inthe lake or not. i cought my pb (6lb) on one and i dont even have rainbows in my lake

So you buy a deep rainbow trout crankbait?

[B@ssCrzy]

Thanks everybody for your help. Looks like *** is getting more of my business!!

[Crestliner2008]

I really like the Luhr Jensen's Hotlips cranks and/or Norman's Little N's. Both have been around a long time and do produce some quality smallmouth bass from time to time. I never leave home without them.