I often fish (from shore) down at the river in a rocky spot, and I lose a lot of crankbaits. I'm thinking about putting braid on my favorite crankbait rig so that, when the lure is snagged by the hooks I can straighten out the hook and bring her back in.

 

There are others that fish this spot, and I have been snagged on old nets previously and numerous times on other's line. Mostly catfishing line of the approximate 17-20 pound mono variety. However, God only knows what's there.

 

I've fished braid some, but mostly in spinning tackle. Casting distance is important to me at this spot, and 12 pound big game mono casts good for me with my current rod/reel.

 

What pound test of braid should I use?

JMHO but I'm using straight 40 lb. PowerPro braid on my baitcasters and 30 lb. PowerPro Hi Viz yellow w/17 lb. leader on my spinning gear. All my casting reels are Abu Silver Max's and the like and I can cast a mile with the above mentioned braid. Like I said, this is just my opinion.

If the bill of your crankbaits are too short to protect your hooks, remove the leading tine of the front hook with a side cutter.

I used to throw 30# 832 on my crankbait rod, mostly because of the action it had and the fact I was throwing lipless crankbaits on it mostly.  30# will straighten most cb hooks, but you have to watch with the heavier wire ones like come on an OG6.  I swap out those hooks for lighter wires.  30# 832 also casts a mile.

 

Also note that if you're down in the rocks grinding a crankbait you might just cut your braid every now and then.  I've lost a couple that way where the lure burries between two rocks and the rocks abrade the line and snap it.  Not the end of the world on a boat with a floating crankbait.  Shore or a sinking crankbait though....

Thanks for the replies.

 

I'm not sure if my hooks are snagging or the crankbait itself is wedging in the rocks. Honestly, I think there is some rope, line, or net out there that I am snagging on in a couple of specific spots.

I would go to a different bait. Using braid and bending out hooks is probably not the answer.  Plus there is potential damage to your rod and reel. 

 

I would Texas rig a swimbait or use a weighted swimbait hook. It's cheaper.  

 

If your 100% sure your snagging the hooks and settled on using crankbaits,  you can change the hooks for inline singles.

It is snag city there. But it s also, catch city there. I’ve experimented with different stuff. Crank baits work. So does curly tail grubs. It ain’t nothing to lose 5-6 cankbaits and 6-8 grubs/jigheads in a trip.

 

i had not thought about jig heads with paddle tails or similar. Thanks for that idea.

 

My thinking was that if I lose $25 worth of tackle every time.  And I can recover half of the crankbaits, I’d be saving a lot by switching to braid.

I might try switching to single hooks and see how that does too. Thanks. 

I believe single hooks are the answer, or at least the first option before switching to braid. The best scenario is braid with single hooks. 

Losing 5-6 crankbaits per trip ❓ 

Scuba diving kit.

I use 30# braid. I've bent several hooks on KVD 1.5 squarebills, and it honestly ticks me off. 

Yes, losing 5-6 per trip. For the last 2 trips, I lost 9 jigheads and grubs, and 5 crankbaits. I only fished crankbaits for 1 of those trips.

 

However, I've caught a mess of smallmouth and largemouth out of there and I've seen a huge smallmouth, like a 4lber, caught by a friend. Which is why I go back.

10 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Yes, losing 5-6 per trip. For the last 2 trips, I lost 9 jigheads and grubs, and 5 crankbaits. I only fished crankbaits for 1 of those trips.

 

However, I've caught a mess of smallmouth and largemouth out of there and I've seen a huge smallmouth, like a 4lber, caught by a friend. Which is why I go back.

I'd be selling every piece of gear I own if I lost that many baits on one trip. I do appreciate the fact that this doesn't stop you because the fish are biting in that area... lol 

Thanks! Another factor is that I am the only person I know of that fishes this area. I learned that as long as I don't grind the bottom, or hop the jig, I am less likely to hang up.

When fishing cranks, I believe the key is not setting the hook. It will doom you on snags. Let the rod load up a bit until you actually feel the fish pulling back. I have found the pulling the line and letting it snap back without tension gets most baits out, square bills I’m saying, that float. Don’t know the name of the method, but it works extremely well for me.

i went from losing many, to only a handful a season from shore. Key is not pulling hard the moment you feel the bait hit something. Give it a bit of slack, if it’s fish it will pull back. If it’s a snag, it will usually back out.

Thanks @Dan N, I do exactly that. I get snagged a lot and recover, but I also lose a lot.

On 5/14/2025 at 9:15 AM, casts_by_fly said:

I used to throw 30# 832 on my crankbait rod, mostly because of the action it had and the fact I was throwing lipless crankbaits on it mostly.  30# will straighten most cb hooks, but you have to watch with the heavier wire ones like come on an OG6.  I swap out those hooks for lighter wires.  30# 832 also casts a mile.

 

Also note that if you're down in the rocks grinding a crankbait you might just cut your braid every now and then.  I've lost a couple that way where the lure burries between two rocks and the rocks abrade the line and snap it.  Not the end of the world on a boat with a floating crankbait.  Shore or a sinking crankbait though....

Good advice.  I've straightened 3/8 oz. jig hooks with 30# braid.  A quick search on youtube will reveal that braid and rocks don't play well together.

 

Another option is trying a spinnerbait.  They are much less likely to snag.  I'd also try a weedless plastic lure.  I like ribbontail worms.

 

EDIT:  Straightening hooks will not hurt the rod or reel if done properly.

I've tried spinnerbaits and they don't seem to do well in the current. It's flowing pretty good there. I do fish texas rigs of various kinds there, with some, but little success.

 

I will agree with you Bazoo, on the fact that you gotta throw where the fish are, and losing a few lures is part of the deal! 
guys that won’t throw into snaggy cover, just will not have near the success. 👍🏻

Load up on some cheap cranks when bps or whomever has a good sale! When 6th sense had ridiculous deals on the crush 50 squarebills, some like 3-4 $ 

I would order a bunch!

BPS brand aren’t bad, and sometimes they have great deals too. 
it’s really no different then guys that buy live bait every time they go fishing. 
It’s part of the game, losing baits.

A lot of Pike here that cut a line clean and steal a bait in a second.

I will have to try a spinnerbait again next time.

 

Today I tried a rooster tail, and it did okay. I didn't catch anything on it before I lost it.

2 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I've tried spinnerbaits and they don't seem to do well in the current. It's flowing pretty good there. I do fish texas rigs of various kinds there, with some, but little success.

 

 

If that’s what you’re fishing, that’s cheap lead ballhead jigheads and grubs, paddle tails, and anything else you want to put on the back.  With a Texas rig, go as light as will take you to just skimming the bottom so as to not hang up on the bottom.  Drift them all through with the current and you’re golden.  That type of layered rock though is heck on line.  Slate/shale is even worst (it chips into really thin sheets that are sharp) but that stuff you’ve got has nooks and crannies for every sized lead head or line.  

I appreciate the conversation and suggestions.

 

I've fished a variety of stuff there, including carolina rigs. A 3/4 oz carolina rig resists the current well enough. But of course they hang up like dagnabit.

 

A 1/4 oz jighead does okay. I get a lot of hits on crankbaits, and as long as it's a fast floating model, a lot of times I can run it through there without snagging it.

 

I have done well with the cheap bomber Fat free Guppy.

 

Others I've met fish grubs there, but I've never seen anyone else fish a crankbait, and I've never snagged one there.

 

I met a chinese guy there a couple years ago that showed me a picture of probably a 4lb smallie he pulled out of there. His response when I asked what he did with it was "Delicious!"