I’m planning to crank more this season and wanted to get input from those who primarily crank. Do you typically run three rods all with 10–12 lb line and rotate different crankbaits, or do you prefer setting up multiple rods with different line sizes (such as 14 and 17 lb) to fine-tune running depth by a foot or so between setups?

I use the following.....

A 7' medium power, moderate action with either 8 or 10 lb mono for smaller crank baits and for use in very clear water or when I want the lure to dive deeper than it will on higher lb test line.

A 7' medium heavy medium fast with 12 or 14 lb mono for most crankbaiits that weight 1/3 oz to 3/4 oz that dive anywhere from 6' to 14'.  This is pretty much my "go to" rod for crankbait fishing.

A 7' 3" heavy, fast rod with 17 lb mono that I use in areas that have a lot of snags or around rip-rap. I use this because it allows me to pull the lure out of most wood snags, and the line holds up better to abrasion on rocks. I also use this set up for extra deep diving crankbaits that cause a lot of drag. The extra power of the rod and line handles the larger/deeper diving lures better for me.

I use mono line only for crankbait fishing as it has some stretch (important to prevent pulling the lure out of the fishes mouth and to prevent break-offs when a fish freight trains the lure during the retrieve) and it is more abrasion resistant then florocarbon line. I never use braided line...I don't like the way it handles, and when crankbait fishing the added sensitivity it provides is not really an issue. It does have the advantage of smaller diameter which allows a lure to dive deeper (less line resistance) for the same lb test, but I just don't like it.

I don't claim to be an expert at crankbait fishing, but it is my favorite way to fish, and these set ups work well for me. I am sure you will adjust your set ups to what feels best for you, but at least these set ups are a reasonable starting point.

I hope this helps you.

 

Basically what Kirtley recommends above.  I use either mono or floro except I differ in by using braid on my Hvy/Mod. action as it provides a more powerful hookset with larger trebles.  If there's pike around, which is common in the area's I fish, I'll put on an all black wire leader.  Pulling larger cranks on stiffer, faster acting rods for pike/muskie, I go back to mono for the stretch as these rods are so powerful with little bend.

I usually bring three or four rods with a dedicated hard bait. I typically bring the following......

 

BFS cranks - 6 or 7lb Fluorocarbon - P5 Kasumi Six Eleven

 

Square bills - 10lb Fluorocarbon  - IMX Pro 903c 

 

Med. Divers (around 10') - 10lb Fluorocarbon - St. Croix Legend Glass Medium 

 

Deep Cranks  - 12lb Fluorocarbon  - IMX Pro Deep Flex 866c

 

I have almost totally switched from mono to fluorocarbon when it comes to crankbaits.  It took a bit for my brain to adjust but I don’t loose as many fish and I don't loose as many baits.  It lasts, for me, way longer than mono. 

 

 

I run 6lb CXX for tiny cranks.  8lb CXX (.012") for most 1/4-3/8oz shallow and medium cranks.  10 or 12lb CXX for wobblers and heavier presentations. 12-16lb fluorocarbon for deep and extra deep cranks. I am factoring in light cover, and will bump up a size when needed.

12lb McCoy Mean Green for all. No fuss. Abrasion resistant. Solid knot. 

10 or 12 across all crankbaits

Spinning: 8#XL (3/8 & under)  Baitcast: 12# XL (3/8 and over)           k.i.s.s.

I use 14lb Sunline Super Natural for all cranks. It is the same diameter as most 10 lb lines

Mostly 8# mono/co-polymer although I recently purchased some 10# J-Fluoro to try.  Almost never use a deep diving crank, but when I do it's on a MH with 12# mono/co-polymer.

• 12 lb Sunline Sniper for standard crankbaits
• 6 lb P-Line CXX Co-polymer for BFS crankbaits. 7 lb Sniper works too, but I occasionally throw BFS topwater with trebles on that rod, so I opt for a non-sinking line most of the time. 

I believe I have 10 or 12 lb flouro on pretty much all of my regular cranking setups. The only thing that may change is I believe I am running higher 15lb on one of my squarebill rods, and 12-15 lb mono on a couple of my real shallow crank rods running things like a wake bait or Hybrid Hunter.

8# or 10# Yo-Zuri Hybrid depending on the crank-rig. I've found that YZH is more neutrally buoyant than Nylon or Flouro so the cranks run truer to depth.

 

It's also stronger than rated - the 8# tested by the IGFA actually rated at 12# breaking strength, the 10# rated at 16.5#.

Fishing from the bank or a small boat restricts the number of rods you use.  I use a MH rod with 14# Sensation to throw 2.5 and 4.0 squarebills and deeper diving baits.

A M rod with 10# floro for small cranks and jerkbaits.

If you got a big boat you can go crazy with different setups if you want to.  

Line diameter is a big factor in proper presentation, but I make those two work for me.

I have a few setups

7'6 F/M with 30#braid/12#FC leader  Baitcaster

7'0 Mod/M with 30#braid/15#FC leader Baitcaster

7'3 Mod/M with 15# Tripolymer Spinning

6'0 Med/F with 15#FC Spinning

All the line have small diameter

 

I generally use 12# fluorocarbon which is the best all-around rod for crankbaits, as I can pull them out of a little grass with 12#. Sometimes I have a second reel with 16# that I can use for squarebills in grass, but that may be used for other things.

 

If I had two reels dedicated to crankbaits, I would run 10# and 14#, but that would require another reel, and do I really need another reel?

 

For rods, I have two Daiwa glass rods that get the job done. A Tatula 7' M/R (they call R regular, basically the M side of MF) which gets used for shallower crankbaits in open water and casts them a mile, and a 7'2" MH/R rod for deep divers and square bills in grass. Frequently I just take the 7'2" rod with me because I can switch from a deep diver to a square bill and it'll still work.

I use 12 lb mono on a 7 foot mh rod. This year I am going to add a second crankbait combo for lighter lures. It will be a work in progress, I dont have it figured out yet. I want to be able to roll cast 1/4 oz lures with the same muscle memory as heavier lures.I have a 6'6" ml Shimano Compre which should suffice. Matched with a light weight Piscifun Phantom I'll have to figure out the right line weight. I might start with some Trilene XL in 6 lb tst.

Straight 30# PowerPro braid. Covers all depths, strong knots.

I fish with shallow and medium diving crankbaits 99% of the time. The line size depends on the weight of the lure and the cover I am casting around.

Fishing in open water with crankbaits 1/4 through say 7/16 ounce baits I'll use 10 lb mono. For larger baits I use 15 lb mono,

If there is wood or a lot of vegetation around I will fish the lighter crankbaits on the 15 lb mono.

@MN Fisher

YZH and CXX are similar in that both brands underrate their lines significantly. If everyone just used the diameter of line they needed, more would see how strong these lines are 🙅‍♀️💪

On 1/8/2026 at 8:15 AM, MN Fisher said:

stronger than rated - the 8# tested by the IGFA actually rated at 12# breaking strength, the 10# rated at 16.5#.

Where did you find that IGFA conducted these tests with these results

22 hours ago, Motoboss said:

Straight 30# PowerPro braid. Covers all depths, strong knots.

^^^ This ^^^ only I reduce it to 15lb to 20lb straight braid for cranking lures depending on whether cover is around or open clear water and no cover I go lighter, even sometimes as light as 10lb braid. Never use any clear lines and no leaders except for backing line and that's it. I walked away from clear line use over 25 years ago and never looked back. But to each their own.

Forget the site, but this chart was published

I've got a lot of different crankbait setups (all Dobyns because reasons). I like their 705cb for a lipless or squarebill and their 736cb glass for a 6xd (and also a bladed jig). That leaves mid to semi-deep crankbaits and I've actually been having a hard time with that range. I've tried several (including glass and non-glass st croix and dobyns models) and currently own a 735cb but honestly there's just a bit too much pull on that one for me when I throw something like a 5xd or a cloud 9 c10. Having said that I just ordered a 706cb a few minutes ago. I'm in a kayak so prefer shorter rods (most of the options I've seen have been in the 7'6 - 8' range) and while this one doesn't seem to be the most popular model out there I'm hoping it will turn out to be a great 5xd rod for those 10-15' lures that are just a little too much for the 705cb. Don't get me wrong you could throw a 5xd on a 705cb I guess I'm just a little picky these days.

Line wise I usually stick to 14lb or maybe 12lb fluoro. Too many zebra mussels around me to try and go any lower...suppose I could if I really needed to but those JDM lures that I seem to like lately would probably start to get very expensive at the rate they would be breaking off...

I have four dedicated cranking rods (not including BFS and BIG stuff) to throw crankbaits with and may have anywhere from zero of them to all of them with me as space is limited and my entire roster cannot all fit on my bus. Three of them are 7'6" and one is 7'11". Line size would be anywhere from 8 lbs to 15 lbs mono.