The season's winding down and I'm pawing through my tackle and reminiscing.  I'm fishing natural lakes with the usually structure and cover, but I never find myself choosing a crankbait presentation... jerkbaits yes, I love them, but never a crankbait.  Strange I guess.

 

oe

Just depends on what you like throwing, I guess. My buddies in the northern third of our state (the natural lakes section) have been killing it on cranks and spoonplugs this fall, especially trolling. Happens every fall here once the thermocline gets eliminated. 

I think I know what you are talking about.  I have them for all depths, many of them brand new.  I have rods set up for them.  I put them on my deck.  However, I never throw them nearly as much as I might plan to the day before going fishing.  Part of it is because the water I have been fishing this year (California Delta) and how much vegetation there is, but I guess I just have more confidence in other things. 

I never ever fish a crankbait. 

Crankbaits are all I used to have confidence in since they were pretty easy to use and they caught fish.  But in the last 4-5 years I've fished more weedy lakes and brushy streams that have caused me to switch over to more weedless presentations.  When I'm in a nice clear rocky bottom lake though I'll break them out.  I'm not a big fan of getting handful of trebles in my hand when a fish thrashes though.

 

Are you saying, " be the bait."

I always have 1 or 2 tied on. It is one of my top lures and a great confident bait for me.

Cranks are a very hot and cold bait for me. They're either one of the best options I can fish that day, or they won't touch them. A majority of the year, it's the latter. Right now though and all through the winter is when I do most of my damage with them.

Soft plastics are my favorite way to fish. But I fish crankbaits heavily. I like the reaction strikes, and over the years of fishing, crankbaits have gotten my bigger fish. Hard to not fish them. 

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Cranks are a very hot and cold bait for me. They're either one of the best options I can fish that day, or they won't touch them. A majority of the year, it's the latter. Right now though and all through the winter is when I do most of my damage with them.

 

My exact experience! ?

 

Spinnerbaits for me are the same way, When they're hot, they're hot
& when they're not...you can put that rod in the box!

I typically have a squarebill on one rod all the time.  Some days shallow/medium cranking is the deal and some days it's not.  But its worth having one tied on. 

 

 

Squrebills, Lipless & mostly mid-depth baits see the most action for me. 

Hardly ever deep crank anymore.

In fact, I am going to re-home the majority of the deeper baits this winter.

Just don't need that many.

Some basshead's going to get a good deal. 

A-Jay

21 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Squrebills, Lipless & mostly mid-depth baits see the most action for me. 

Hardly ever deep crank anymore.

In fact, I am going to re-home the majority of the deeper baits this winter.

Just don't need that many.

Some basshead's going to get a good deal. 

A-Jay

Same here buddy.  I just stopped buying them.  I do just as well with a heavy soft plastic swimbait, swing head, or a rig in place of it.  I have a box full of 5CD all the way up to 10xds and dt20s that dont get fished 

35 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

In fact, I am going to re-home the majority of the deeper baits this winter.

 

 

16 minutes ago, Teal said:

I do just as well with a heavy soft plastic swimbait, swing head, or a rig in place of it.

 

Yup. I have precisely 3 lures that dive deeper than 5 feet. I've thrown each of them no more than a handful of times. Just doesn't fit the way I fish.

 

If I'm in a situation where I can go deeper than that, I'd just as soon have a paddletail or a swim jig tied on.

Dont get me wrong I like a medium driver in the 7 to 10 range.  But for let's say 16 foot, I'll go a different route

Some years cranks are my most successful lures and always near the top .This is the first year I counted fish caught and what lures , they are in 3rd  behind spinnerbaits and worm/jigs . They could easily slide into second if I get out again and find the bass schooled deep . I could pop 50 fish with them fast .

38 minutes ago, Teal said:

Dont get me wrong I like a medium driver in the 7 to 10 range.  But for let's say 16 foot, I'll go a different route

I can dig it. Just doesn't work for the places I fish to the point that it's not even worth keeping them on me.

Recently, a squarebill crankbait has become one of my go-to presentations around hard cover.  If I see something to deflect one off of, it's getting thrown.  I'm still working on my medium and deep diving game, but have a few spots in mind to give them a try real soon. 

I  use to not catch bass beyond 12 foot until the Dredgers came out . Now I catch them as deep as 22 foot . I had to go  to a hvy action rod to chuck those 25.5's but they get down there and catch them . I like the 3/4 ounce Red Eye Shads out in  20 plus foot of water too .

23 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

The season's winding down and I'm pawing through my tackle and reminiscing.  I'm fishing natural lakes with the usually structure and cover, but I never find myself choosing a crankbait presentation... jerkbaits yes, I love them, but never a crankbait.  Strange I guess.

 

oe

I'm the same way often..have to remind myself to pick up crank a it's instead of swim jigs and spinnerbaits. Btw my dad fishes the same lakes I'm assuming you do based on your name and location. He retired in Milford a few years ago...my uncle just retired up there this year and he lives by East lake.

Like everything else crankbaits will be in the rotation when conditions are right.

 

Rat-L-Trap in early pre-spawn/spawn will mess em up!

 

DD-22 on deepwater structure is a must have!

6 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Squrebills, Lipless & mostly mid-depth baits see the most action for me. 

Hardly ever deep crank anymore.

In fact, I am going to re-home the majority of the deeper baits this winter.

Just don't need that many.

Some basshead's going to get a good deal. 

A-Jay

I’ll inform the wife there’s a good possibility I might buy some crankbaits I’ll probably never use because the deal was too good to say no. ?

Some years the bass seem to hit crankbaits better than other years, but I start using crankbaits as soon as the water thaws, and I use them right until the water freezes up again. 

Crankbaits are a tool like any other lure.  If the situation is right, there is no better tool than a crankbait.   Here is an example:  I took a co-worker out and we started at the mouth of a small feeder creek that had a channel but the edge was only 12 to 18 inches.  The sun was still low.  We started fishing all the cover and channel with small willow leaf spinnerbaits and caught a couple of dozen.  The sun came up and the spinnerbait bite stopped. We changed to shallow square bills and got the fish going again.  The sun rose higher and that bait slowed dramatically.  Out came the Senko and we picked up several more fish.  

 

I'm ready to see what A-jay puts up for sale.