im pretty new to bass fishing but I can usualy catch fish with everything but lipped crankbaits. Any tips on how to use crankbaits properly?

Bang them off of rocks, bounce them off of wood, stop-go, steady retrieve. All will work at different times. Use the lipped cranks along docks with a steady retrieve.

If fishing grass, use a crank that only dives to just below the grass top. Crank it until you feel the grass, then stop so it floats a foot or so above then begin to retrieve again, repeat until you get the lure back to the boat.  Or use one that barely reaches the grass and use a steady retrieve through the tips of the grass.

Use a suspending crank in rocky structure. Take the crank to the structure, just after you strike the structure, stop. Wait, then begin again.

Shallow crank with square bill, slow steady retrieve through shallow structure. The square bill will make it bounce off the structure and the erratic motion from the deflection will generally trigger a strike.

I have found some good crankbait information in the fishing articles.