Chris

senile1 Nope if I find that I am hanging up a bunch and the hooks are the problem then I change to a crankbait with a longer bill. The bill will act like a weed guard. If the bill is just getting lodged in the rock I change to a longer bill and a wood bait. Your not going to be smacking it against the rocks as much because of the bill and the wood will help float the bait out of hang ups. I just reel fast enough to keep contact and just tick the rock.

I shave lips, cut lips, add rattles, glue rattles together to make them silent, drill out rattletraps and replace the bb's with a single splitshot, bend line tie eye to change action, shave and sand the body, re carve a bait totally, change colors, change split rings to the oval rings, drill out wood baits and pour lead in them, move placement of the line tie ring and a bunch of other stuff.

Yep, I change hooks all the time. In heavy cover I change to triple grip hooks because it tends not to hang up as much as round bend hooks. By the same token if the fish are slashing at my bait I like to use round bend hooks. If the bass are slashing at my bait in heavy cover I change the front hook to short shank round bend hooks with a round body bait I want the hook to be covered by the bait so that the bait helps deflect objects. If I am using like a crappie Bill Norman crankbait I like to change out the back hook to a larger hook because it adds weight to the bait and you are able to cast it on a baitcaster easier. It also changes the vibration of the bait and feels more like a jointed bait. I also change sizes of hooks to a larger gap hook if the lure comes with a smaller hook because it helps hook the bass deep.

It is a false eye shad and bluegill both have a false eye. Many believe that by putting one on a crankbait it looks more natural and feel that a bass might target their attack at the eye. Some tournament fishermen will take out a black sharpie and mark up the sides of the crankbait because they feel that it draws the focus of the attack to the black marks.

I also like suspending crankbaits around standing timber because you can bring the bait to the flooded trunk of the tree and ram the bait and then pause the bait and ram it again and continue doing that till the bait hits a corner on the lip and moves around it. Your just knocking the bait up against the tree till something takes it or it works it's way around it. :

I usually weight mine much like a jerkbait. By the time I am done with a crankbait they all suspend about the same. I do this because I might want to have a bait that slowly floats up or one that sits dead still this way I can also adjust to the water temp because the temp will effect how much weight it takes to make the bait suspend. I fish them in cold water like late fall, early spring, winter, bedding fish.

What I try to find is where the bass are hanging on something either below bait or on some sort of structure or with structure close by like off of an edge. Bass that are just suspended without these elements are hard to catch because they are in a neutral mood. If you are fishing a group of suspended fish hanging under a school of shad then it just a matter of figuring out depth..the depth the bass are at and the depth the lure is running. You want to use a crankbait that runs deeper than your target depth. The reason why is because of line drag. In order for a crankbait to reach it's max depth it need enough running room to dig it's way to the depth which means long casts. If you are marking fish at 15 ft scoot off away from those fish and give yourself about a boat length (20' out). The reason why I say that is because when the lure reaches it's max depth the closer it gets to the boat the more depth it looses as it makes it's climb back to the rod tip. The deepest that bait will run will be about a boat length away from your boat before it looses depth. You also want to use a suspending crankbait because your not going to be fighting the buoyancy of the bait as much and you can slow it down more.

The wider the wobble the more water the bait displaces. Think of it kinda like a spinnerbait. Most guys use a Colorado blade for muddy water if it was a crankbait a wide wobble would be comparable. In stained water most guys use an Indiana blade a medium wobble would be comparable. In clear water a willow spinnerbait works a tight wiggle would be comparable. Tight wiggle would be like a Bomber model A medium would be like a Bandit wide wiggle would be like a Deep little N * In cold clear water super tight wiggle tends to produce well. * thin crankbaits with a wider wobble displaces more water than a round wide wobbler.

In general most guys use braid and lipless crankbaits to do this technique. The reason is that if you use a regular crankbait the lip will dig in and you get a chunk of salad. What your trying to do is slow down the bait just enough till you feel the grass then rip the bait and snap the rod to free any grass that might be clinging to your hook. If you are using a regular crankbait you just want to tick the tops of the grass. I feel that a wood crankbait is a better choice if your just ticking the grass because if it gets stuck it tends to float out better. Make sure you beef up your line

If you have a specific question about using crankbaits I will try my best to answer them. Time to get the skunk out of the boat and get you catching fish on them.

here is another place http://www.luremaking.com/catalogue/catalogue-index/catalogue-items/crankbaits/glued-crankbaits/glued_crankbait_index.htm

Flipping: Put you rod at a 12 o'clock position and engage and reel and put your thumb on the spool. Pay out enough line so that your lure has dropped down even with the reel. While your lure is even with the reel grab the line at the reel with your other hand laying the line at your finger tips. You want to pull out enough line from the reel so that the lure is still even with the reel and the line is taught but at a right angle from the reel. You want the line from the reel to your hand to have like a bow and arrow effect while the lure is still even with the reel. Now you want to swing the lure as if your rod was a cane pole without a reel and your thumb still clamped on the spool. When the lure reaches the object you want to bring the line that is in the other hand back to the rod. The line in your hand is there to give the lure enough slack on the fall so that it falls straight to the bottom. Pitching: Set your reel as free as you can with no magnets. You want to set the reel to the lure you are pitching so that when you engage the reel the lure falls to the ground with the magnets set on zero you don't get a backlash. *Remember that you set the antibacklash breaks to zero and before you make a regular cast. Make sure you reset them otherwise you will be sorry you forgot. You want to put your rod at a 12 o'clock position and engage your reel and let the lure fall till it is even with the reel with your thumb clamped down on the spool. Take the lure in the opposite hand. Dip the rod to a 9 o'clock position with your rod hand palm down. Use the same swinging motion as you did with the flip but let go of the lure and let it swing. As the lure swings out lightly feather the spool while giving out line. Practice by setting out a cup and try to get the lure in the cup at a distance away. You want the lure to land in the cup soft and under control.

Look on some of these tackle sites like bass pro shops and post a link picture of the bait.

I hate using them in clear water too except if the skies are overcast or in low light conditions and around thick cover.

Simple they don't understand the lure. They don't understand when a spinnerbait is a better option or what conditions make it excel. They don't understand blade combinations and how it effects the lure. They don't understand that a spinnerbait needs to be tuned for it to catch fish. They don't understand how the different arm sizes and materials that the blade arm is made of effects the amount of vibration the lure produces. They don't understand how the materials a skirt is made of and how it is trimmed can make a difference on how much motion it has in the water. They don't understand what blades work better in which water conditions. They don't understand depth control. They don't understand how to maximize the strike and catch ratio of the lure.

Many years ago when I first started my lure company I was shopping around for a place to print my labels for my packaging. I met an old gentleman that was in the printing business that was a fishermen. He brought me back to a back room and pointed out a sign that was hanging on the wall that was printed in red letters that said "colors matter." He told me to read the sign out loud so I did then he flipped a switch and the room lighting changed to a red lite room. He then asked me to read the same sign and the sign had no letters. The letters blended in with the light. Your lures do the same thing under water. They either blend in or are able to be seen. When you get around different kinds of weeds, brush, or different bottom colors, different water clarity's, different light conditions, or color water, the color is either seen better or just blends in. Do lure companies make a point to come out with a ton of colors to up their sales..sure but by the same token under different conditions some colors excel and some colors fall short. Bass cannot see all colors all of the time because if they did then the baitfish wouldn't have a chance to grow big or reproduce. The bass would clean house and eat everything it can put its mouth around. If you talk to people who own a fish tank that has a bass in it they will tell you that anytime they put a baitfish in the tank the bass eats it. Most people keep a clean tank I would think so the bass can see anything that is dropped in it. In the wild, water color changes and most places have weeds or other cover that the baitfish hang around. When conditions change the bass can either see the baitfish real well because they don't blend in or they can't because they do blend in. Baitfish do change colors in order to blend in with its surroundings. This is because if a bass could see them all of the time and if they didn't blend into the surroundings life would be short. It is natures way of checks and balances that helps each survive and flourish while keeping populations of each in check. *Weather and water temp determines activity level of the bass. *Color determines success or failure of a bass to see your offering. *Yes Catt it was color when light conditions, surroundings changes the amount of colors that can be seen also changes. There is a big difference between fish that become active because of pressure systems or you catch one fish in a school and the rest turn on and fish that start to feed because they now can see your bait. In every example that I gave If I used the original colors that I started with the catch rate wouldn't be the same. I was fishing another tournament when the guy at the back was using a PBJ/Banana Bandit crankbait (violate purple back yellow sides). I was using a Luckycraft chartreuse black back crankbait. I caught my limit in the first 1/2 hour of the tournament the guy in the back of the boat had 2 fish a 5lb and a 3 and I had squeekers. We changed up and fished back through the same area using soft plastics. He was using redbug I was using black blue flake. I upgraded two fish and he finished up his limit with an 4lb fish, another 3, and a 2 pounder. The fish could see that reddish purple color in the greenish water better then the colors I was throwing. We caught fish the whole tournament so it wasn't like the fish just became active.

I was fishing a draw tournament with a guy that is like that. I had to sit him down and tell the guy "Hey the bite is going to be slow so we need to milk areas otherwise we will be running over catchable fish and if we fish fast we will miss them." I would tell the guy "hey let me make a couple casts on this spot I think there is a fish there or I just had a strike lets spend some time here and see if I can't pick it up". I was fishing another tournament and I swear my jig never hit bottom the whole tournament. ;D

Interesting... I was fishing a tournament and you know what I couldn't buy a bite. I was throwing a black and blue jig with a black pork frog fishing shallow in muddy water. I knew I was fishing in the right places and I knew the fish should be there but for some reason I got nothing. I was making perfect pitches with my jig and my presentation was flawless with proper boat control and the weather and conditions screamed jig bite. My boat partner was throwing everything in his box trying to figure out what's up with the fish thinking that the fish might have changed to a different lure or change positions in the cover. I changed my jig trailer to a black and yellow pork chunk and started whacking fish. The fish where having a problem seeing my lure. I was fishing late fall and had been catching fish with a light jig fishing shallow. My jig skirt was black and blue with some green/yellow in it trailer was black blue flake zoom super chunk. Most of the day I caught fish on this jig and then later in the day I stopped getting bites. I changed to a sapphire blue trailer with the same jig and started whacking fish. Why? The sun was low and the fish could see the lighter blue better. I was fishing a topwater lure most of the day in clear water targeting points. Most of the day I had been catching them on natural colors. When the sun was setting the topwater bite fizzled I changed to a watermelon color topwater lure and started whacking fish. Fish can see the green better in low light. I was cranking a bandit fishing shallow using khaki color because it looked like an albino shad that you sometimes see in shad schools. Most of the day I caught fish on this lure. The sky turned overcast and the bite stopped cold. I changed to a chartreuse and blue back and started whacking fish. I was fishing a lake in late fall early winter and had been catching fish on crankbaits but the bite was real slow. On one cast I hooked a shad and noticed that the nose and mouth of the shad was bright orange from the cold water or from feeding. I changed to a parrot colored crankbait (parrot-orange nose, green/olive back, tan/cream sides, orange belly) and ended up having one of the best winter fishing trips ever. Water color was brown. I was fishing a clear lake that had an algae bloom. The water was pea soup and because of the temp most of the fish where deep hanging on sunken brush piles. I caught fish noodling a violate purple straight worm called an air worm (it is a worm made in Japan that the tail is hollow and traps air). This was the only color that worked and I tried many. I was fishing in Florida with a culprit red shad worm. I had one spot that the fish would just nip at the worm and spit it. (yes it was a bass not a bluegill) I was having a real hard time catching a bass out of this area. I decided to turn the worm over figuring that the bass might be having a hard time seeing the bait. Before I was fishing it red side down this time I fished it red side up and started whacking fish. I was fishing late fall and found fish positioned on a flat. I had been catching fish swimming a white jig. Late afternoon the sky became overcast and my jig bite went to pot. I started fishing a spinnerbait thinking it was what I should be doing and only had one fish boil on my bait. I changed to a black and chartreuse jig with a chartreuse zoom twin tail grub and started swimming it through the flat and caught some of largest fish of the day. I could give you example after example but I think you get the idea :

You can also take a finishing nail that you can buy at a hardware store and place it in the middle of the worm then hook the lure as you would normally for a wacky rig and the nail will prevent the hook from ripping through the worm. You can also use a flat head shingle nail (or Florida rig weight) and put it in the head and fish it like a shakeyhead on the bottom or just use the same finishing nail in the head and rig it with the J hook weedless and it will really slide backwards works great around docks and such. You can also put a splitshot up the line to keep it deep while using a regular wacky rig. wacky rigged lures also works great on a dropshot or a floating worm on a short Carolina rig with the lure suspended up off the bottom just a wiggling away each time you shake it.

In stained water fishing shallow or tight to shore greenpumpkin is a great color. If the water is way muddy black, black/chartreuse or flipping blue would be better. Dark brown muddy water you want some orange in the lure. Green pea soup color water you want more purple or violate colors.

You can also take a "J" hook and just stick the point in the bait and have the shank of the hook run parallel to the bait it makes it weedless and also gives you a sliding side action if you mess with it. *Raul a shad..what? :-? "jerkbaits like shaddicks or flukes."

Straight shank worm hook I don't expose the hook point. I poke the hook through to create a hole then bring it back into the worm or in heavy cover or a super soft worm I just texas rig it with the point still in the worm....with a EWG or off set hook I poke the hook through the worm and skin hook the point (texas exposed)

Noise from the peddles smacking the boat will spook fish or atleast alert them that something is near. I have caught tons of fish in a paddle boat just make long casts and give the area some time to cool down. If you need to move a little in an area peddle real slow or bring a paddle. I have even flipped out of one with success. I was kinda in the same situation I was fishing a lake that was private and the owner let me use the boat. The first day I ever used it I caught a 9lb bass on a fluke and brought it back to show the guy. After that he let me use the boat anytime I wanted. Most of the time I would paddle the boat to an area and let the wind drift the boat while I fished. Other areas like floating weeds I would ram the boat in the weeds and then flip or fish the edge.

I use a jighead worm when I want the bait to be suspended above the bottom or next to objects or when I am noodling. I also use something like a shakeyhead jighead for fishing rock, sand, or sparse cover. I use a Texas rig for fishing heavy cover or places that I might get a lure hung up. Why a jighead worm is the rage...no idea. I talked about this technique on this forum for a few years now well before fishermen picked up on it and before they came out with jigheads designed for this technique. Nobody had much interest in it till here recently. go figure :-/ I guess what is old will become new again given enough time.

Well, that critter bait has been around for a long time. Gambler Guido bug ring any bells? I personally do not like to use a plastic crawfish with big claws except for spawning fish. For years I used a pocket claw that had a pocket in the claws that you could stick a round rattle in it. It also made the claws float up. Pumpkin green flake with bright orange claws took many big bass for me on beds. On jigs or just flipping I want my claws to float up. I don't use zoom super chunks anymore in cold water because I found that the 3x trailers by strikeking catches more fish for me. I am by no means saying go out and buy 3x trailers but I am saying that the fighting position might draw more attention by a bass then a crawfish acting like business as usual. I know in cold water that little movement when the jig is sitting still and then the claws slowly float up is just the ticket. In my opinion large claws is a turn off to a bass in the way that it might be intimidating to it. I don't feel that the fighting position has as much to do with strike ratio.