I don't have many crankbaits in my tackle box, I am looking to expand.. I don't have a ton od budget, but would like to focus on maybe 5 crankbaits that I should have.. Let me know if they are square bill, round bill - the model number, color... whatever I need to know... I have very limited knowledge of cranks and would like some help....thanks

I think just learning cranks you should stick to shallow and mid depth divers say down to 8' and no deeper than 10'. By using shallow cranks it will give you an idea of how they feel when you hit bottom and what it feels like when a fish hits and it is also much easier to learn what triggers strikes by fishing shallow and medium divers. The square bill cranks are designed to be fished fast and deflect off cover while the round lip is meant to dig deep to not only help get the bait down fast but also skip along the bottom without hanging up. For 5 good solid baits I think you need to have at least one super shallow bait so get a Manns baby 1 minus, Rapala DT Fat 1, or a Bandit Footloose, then get yourself 2 square bills like the Strike King KVD 1.5, Cotton Cordell Big O, or the Rapala DT Fat 3. The other 2 you want to get will be medium divers, a Rapala DT 6, Strike King series 3, or a Bandit 200 series, any two of those will be good and that will give you a good start to learn and catch fish while doing so.

Squarebills and lipless are the way to go IMHO if your just starting out. You can fish the squarebill in 1-5 feet of water and the lipless in any just about any depth. I like Strike King baits, a KVD 1.5 is a good all around squarebill, and I have a ton of confidence in a Red Eye shad. Keep the color selection simple, Bluegill, Sexy Shad, and Red Craw all work in just about any water clarity.

Lipless- Strike King red eye shad- Blue/ Chrome, Sexy Shad

- Rattle Trap- Blue/ Chrome

Square Bill- Strike King KVD 1.5- Chartreuse/ Black Back, Sexy Shad

I catch more fish on those 5 crankbaits than any others I have ever thrown. I do have a ton of them, but those are my most consistant producers. You can cover a lot of water with a lipless and fish it as deep as you want simply by counting it down. I favor a SK RES for its action on the drop, but favor the RT on the retrieve. I mainly use Blue/ Chrome on sunny days and SS on cloudy days.

The KVD's just flat out catch fish. They have a great action, and I havent had to tune a single one out of the package. I fish them shallow, mid depth, and over deeper water, and they will draw fish to them throughtout the water column. I fish the Ch./Black in stained or muddy water, and the SS in clear to lightly stained water.

These are just my opinions, and what works for me.

I would go with 2 square bills lucky craft IMHO I guess it is just me but I have broken 3 kvd 1.5 bouncing them off cover... The lip snapped clean off, then I would get 2 red eye shad and one mid/ deep diver 10-15 feet. And def stick to colors similar to your waters forage

Shallow: Norman Fat Boy (Redear pattern); Bandit 100

Medium: 1/2 oz Red Eyed Shad (Blue & Chrome); Bandit 200 & 300;

LC RV2.5 & 3.5

Deep: DD22; LC Stacey

Deep - the Strike King 6XDs

Shallow/Sq. Bills - the Strike King KVD 2.5s

These are the two sizes I am almost always throwing, and more than likely, I am using the Sexy Shad, Tennesee Shad, or the Bluegill color.

Hope this helps.

Bomber square a, in baby bass, foxy shad and chart brown back. Bomber fat free in citrus shad. Flat a is also good.

These are inexpensive but effective options.

Xcalibur has some good square bills for a little more money, the smallmouth, foxy shad and brown craw colors

If you have a dicks near check them a bunch in my area have the fat free series on sale for 2.99 each, very nice cranks