As of now, I have a Curado K (7:4) on my Dobyns Fury 705cb.  I’m throwing shallow-mid-deep square bills on it. I read that a 5:1 or 5:4 is the ideal gear ratio for crank baits. To experiment, I picked up a Revo X Winch in 5:4 to try. Supposedly the lower ratio allows for better feel and action.

 

Thoughts? Anyone recommend a solid reel for crankbaits?

I run a 6.3:1 Fuego on my FR-705CB for all my cranks. So far it's worked great for both bass and pike.

TONS of recent posts on this, with a lot of good info

I like a 6 ratio reel for shallow baits, a 5 ratio for mid to deep divers. I switch both to the 5's when the water is cold so I don't overfish the baits.

I’m very satisfied with my Revo Winch.

Lews BB1 is another reel you can look into. It is a solid, deep spooled cranking machine. 

 

I have the new zillion sv tw in 6.3:1 it's pretty awesome for shallow and medium cranks.  Its probably a mental thing for me, but I dont care for the shallow spool for deep cranks.  My deep CRANKING rod has a lews bb1 (o.g.) with 5..4:1.  

I have an older Revo Winch and I'm pretty happy with it. I like the slower gear ratio and IPT.

Enjoy your new reel!

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Picked up a Revo 4 Winch as well. So I went from being budget minded to listening to the tackle monkey.

 

Like I tell my wife though....better to have 10+ rod and reel setups than 10+ mistresses!

If you're talking squarebills for shallow, anything works from 5s to 7s.

You can use any ratio you want.  They don't require high speeds, like a buzz bait, nor do they require high torque, like a deep diving crankbait.  6ish is my preference.  But I've used as slow as 3.8:1 and as fast as 8:1 and never thought any of them were unnecessarily difficult to use for shallow cranks. 

8 hours ago, Bankc said:

You can use any ratio you want.  They don't require high speeds, like a buzz bait, nor do they require high torque, like a deep diving crankbait.  6ish is my preference.  But I've used as slow as 3.8:1 and as fast as 8:1 and never thought any of them were unnecessarily difficult to use for shallow cranks. 

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