I've never fished larger crankbaits, but I found a 6xd and tried it today on a point from shore. I'm not sure how deep it is out there but I could feel the crankbait on bottom starting from the initial dive so I'd guess around 15 feet.

 

So I have a question regarding using crankbaits in their depth range. If the crankbait is rated to 19', what is the minimum depth I'd want to use it in? 8'? 10'? 12'? 15'?

 

What happens when a crankbait that is a 19' diver gets used in 8'? Will it do something weird, like a crankbait does when it's close to shore?

 

When fishing the 6xd, I was mostly using a sweeping motion, and I could feel it dragging bottom good, going over or around rocks. But I'd pause it between sweeps while I took my line up because I didn't want to dig it in too much since it was a bit rocky.

 

My BPS Crankin' Stick 7'3" H/F handled the 6xd beautifully. I didn't feel under powered on the rod at all.

You DO want it to hit objects - always.  The erratic deflections, combined with pauses followed by rapid retrieves, can elicit violent strikes.

 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

 

I personally stick to squarebills for the most part when I'm throwing them from the shore and generally speaking I like to go with a lure with a depth rating that's just a little deeper than the water I'm fishing. To answer your question about throwing a 6xd in 8ft of water it would hit the bottom more than what the lure manufacturer might consider to be normal and might get more wear and tear on it sooner. Not to say it wouldn't work and rocky shorelines can be great in general for crankbaits when they are on a crankbait bite.

 

Either way you might try a few other options out and then see what works best and going with what actually catches fish (and not necessarily what others say you should use) is really what matters. Good news is there's a good amount of larger size (eg. 1oz) squarebill and mid diving crankbaits out there and as an example Deps make an Evoke 3.0 squarebill that's also 1oz...but there are plenty of others and you might also find one on sale that you really like. Either way my vote is consider the depth of the water and lure depth but still try different stuff out and then narrow it down based on what ends up working the best.

 

 

Very few deep diving crank baits can reach maximum advertised depth by casting and retrieving. Trolling is another story most crank baits will run close the depth range stated.

You can run a deep diver just under the surface like a wake bait or bottom bumping and anywhere in between. 
Our late mentor Catt would remind us of Paul Elias Neelin n Reelin!
Tom

 

It sounds like you are doing the right thing.  Throw it, crank it down to the bottom, smack something and freeze.  Then crank again until you smack something.  This helps to prevent hang-ups, but more importantly this pause is when 90% of your bites will happen as @Glenn said.  I think you're saying you are sweeping the rod to run the crank?  I reel it down fast until it hits, pause, reel slowly to keep it bouncing, pause, reel, pause, you get it.  

 

You can run a 25ft crankbait in 6ft of water if you want to.  It's just more pausing and much slower reeling than if you were in 20ft of water.  On one of my home lakes a go-to in the summer with some wind blowing is throwing a 15ft crankbait on rocky points in about 8-9ft of water.  I can really load the boat if the conditions are right.  They always hit it on the pause.  

You’ve got the idea - once it starts loading up on the bottom or hits an obstruction, kill it and let it float up some. 
 

 

Deflecting off of the bottom is a good thing, it triggers strikes. You generally want to reel, hit something, pause, reel again. Should you snag weeds, sometimes pulling it out of weeds can trigger a strike.

 

As far as depth goes, crankbaits often do not hit their advertised depth. In order to get that, you have to reel super slow, use thin fluorocarbon line for maximum sinkage and a consistent, slow reel (no pausing) to keep it down in the water column. For example, I use River2Sea Tactical Bassin cranks that are rated up to 18ft but generally closer to 13-15ft in the water column under normal usage.

10 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

Deflecting off of the bottom is a good thing, it triggers strikes. You generally want to reel, hit something, pause, reel again. Should you snag weeds, sometimes pulling it out of weeds can trigger a strike.

 

As far as depth goes, crankbaits often do not hit their advertised depth. In order to get that, you have to reel super slow, use thin fluorocarbon line for maximum sinkage and a consistent, slow reel (no pausing) to keep it down in the water column. For example, I use River2Sea Tactical Bassin cranks that are rated up to 18ft but generally closer to 13-15ft in the water column under normal usage.

How do those crank baits run for you? 

5 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

How do those crank baits run for you? 

Generally, I get 13-15ft pretty easily like I said. If I really need to, I can get them a little deeper.

 

I put those in my box because they have good depth without being too heavy to overload my rod - although my particular rod can handle a little extra weight than rated. But these seem to cast really well.

15 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

Generally, I get 13-15ft pretty easily like I said. If I really need to, I can get them a little deeper.

 

I put those in my box because they have good depth without being too heavy to overload my rod - although my particular rod can handle a little extra weight than rated. But these seem to cast really well.

I started to buy a few couple weeks ago, but the reviews kinda changed my mind so I just wanted to ask. 

1 minute ago, F14A-B said:

I started to buy a few couple weeks ago, but the reviews kinda changed my mind so I just wanted to ask. 

I haven't had any issues with them yet.

I just started fishing a really clear lake and using a 6xd.  I wouldnt throw it in anything less then about 12 but even at 12 its going to drag the bottom.  Big time.  I was fishing in about 20 FOW on the side of a point pulling down the the 18-20 ft range.  Worked good.

There are occasions when I reach for a crank that won't contact the bottom, but those aren't the norm. I will generally pick a crank that occasionally hits bottom, if I'm retrieving it fast. When I'm looking to slow it down, like after a front has moved through, early spring, or late fall, I'll go with one that runs considerably deeper than the water I'm fishing. Once it reaches bottom, every turn of the reel handle will send it crashing into the bottom again, but it only moves a short distance. I've not had much success with a steady contact retrieve where the bait is constantly digging bottom. The exception is when targeting smallmouth.