I have read in numerous comments throughout this forum over the years fisher people mentioning lures not running straight and having to be repaired, replaced, or adjusted to run straight. So I post this poll to show results of what percentage of fisher people think about this subject.

Does a lure have to run straight to catch more fish? And, does a lure not running straight not catch as many fish? Is this a real issue, problem, concern, or merely a pet peeve of no consequence, and a waste of our time and energy to correct and for what reasons?

I look forward to the poll results and comments.

Buzzbaits dont need to run straight. I bump cover easier with a buzzbait that runs off to the side.

I like cranks to run straight especially the deep divers.I have a vintage Rogers squarebill that cannot be tuned. It run right then left , hunting .Its fish catchingest squarebill I have. I ended up getting some more on the auction site.

The Lower right is the one that hunts. I'm hoping the others prove just as good.

Not a super common subject matter on the forum, but one that, IMO, matters.

I haven't fished every bait, so I cannot say that they all need to run straight to get bites.

However, IME, the few I have fished, are most effective when they do run straight

These include but might not be limited to, most anything with treble hooks, swimbaits,

topwater baits and my biggest pet peeve . . . spinnerbaits.

I suppose there could be times when I was working a jerkbait hard & fast,

that a bit of a sideways tilt might not matter.

Under normal circumstances even these baits need to be performing without any hitch in their giddy-up.

In recent years, the fishing industry has began coining the phrase "Hunts."

I interpret that as some baits will run off center at random times and in a random manner during any given retrieve. Sounds cool. I was taught that the same deal was something a basshead imparted to his or her bait on their own. I still do it all the time by changing speeds, pausing, and occasionally altering the rod retrieval angle up or down.

It plays a role but in the best-case scenario, the bait still needs to be running straight.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

😎

A-Jay

I prefer to have my lures running straight. Even a crankbait that hunts needs to run straight. If it is out of tune and runs off to the side it will not get to depth or hunt correctly. A good hunting crankbait temporarily kicks off to the side then returns to running straight. It does not constantly run to one side or the other.

I don't catch bass on spinnerbaits that don't run straight because one that rolls over drives me insane, and I will change the bait. A bass will never get the chance to hit one before I have either tuned it or changed it.

Buzz baits can run off to one side, but still must remain vertical. Again the bass may not care, but I do.

Lipless crankbaits that run on their side are worthless in my opinion and not worth taking the time to tune. I don't buy expensive ones, so if they don't run straight they get thrown in the injured reserved box at home and will remain there for eternity.

Topwater prop baits that turn on their side drive me crazy, but I get used and bit because some only do it when the speed of the retrieve is excessive. I do prefer Chopos, over Whopper Ploppers because they do not roll over at higher speeds as much. Torpedoes role on their side and often get bit when not running straight and I have had to learn to live with this annoying trait because they can be absolute bass catching machines reeled straight back at high speeds. Prop baits with two blades that counter rotate run straight and I am very happy when they are what the fish want.

I tune floating Rapala's even though most of the time it is not necessary because I am twitching them on the surface, and they only run off to the side when retrieved, but I am an anal angler, and tune them anyway. The few other jerkbaits I have tried run straight and I like it that way.

Lately I have started purchasing slightly more expensive crankbaits from 6th Sense and Spro,(I refuse to take the first dangerous step down the Megabass road) because I do not have to tune them as often as my old bombers, and Normans. The Spro Rock Crawler, and Rapala DT series are two baits I don't think I have ever had to tune. My old favorite Norman Deep Little N's I have to tune once or twice a day, but they still get some starting line up time because they do produce.

Acadamy Sports H20 crankbaits often need to be tuned, but usually stay tuned after the first adjustment, and the square bills are as good as any plastic square bills on the market.

My old Bagely square bills need to be tuned often, but don't get much playing time becasue I'm scared to loose them. No square bill outperforms a balsa bait that has the IT factor, but they can break the bank, and the new Bagley's don't seem to have the magic for me.

Short answer, yes I want my baits to run straight.

I think generally speaking, a lure that runs true is using more of its potential than a lure that doesn’t. Especially when we tailor our equipment around specific baits, them running in a predictable manor is more efficient.

Something I neglected to mention in my previous post ~

I believe a contributing factor to baits not running straight,

especially hardbaits, is reel gear ratio or IPT.

Not sure I could slow myself down enough to overcome the 10.5:1 or 42 inches per reel handle turn

of this KastKing offering, to keep any bait from turning over and over and over.

And yet there are folks out there doing, and even making it work.

😵

A-Jay

If a bait is designed to run a specific way or have a particular action, it won't reach its true potential unless it runs straight. I think in this day and age it's not too much to ask for a bait work as it should out of the box. Also, I want a crankbait to deflect off of cover the way it should and it will not do that unless the bait is running properly.

23 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Even a crankbait that hunts needs to run straight. If it is out of tune and runs off to the side it will not get to depth or hunt correctly. A good hunting crankbait temporarily kicks off to the side then returns to running straight. It does not constantly run to one side or the other.

Thats what my Rogers does. I have cranks advertised to do it but dont.

There’s a fine line between a good and properly tuned bait that “hunts” and catches bass good, and a piece of crap manufactured bait that they SAY “hunts,” but is really just a cover because it doesn’t run properly and never will no matter how much tuning you do…

I don’t know that I can answer the question accurately because a lure that is not running straight will not get more than a couple of cast from me before it’s replaced.

I voted yes. When a bait runs straight either straight out of the box or after adjustment/tuning it is more effective overall. The only exception is when you want a bait to run either left or right because your trying to keep contact with structure like a bluff wall or the side of a point. Cranks that run true achieve deeper depths & those that truly hunt like a Hot 'N Tot will kick left or right randomly triggering bites like crazy. You can also achieve faster running speeds with a straight runner than one out of tune.

Crankbaits, yes. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, no. Sometimes i will bend the wire on a spinnerbait so I can get it to track into a stump or laydown and bounce off of it.

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

Buzzbaits dont need to run straight. I bump cover easier with a buzzbait that runs off to the side

Same with dog walking baits to do exactly what you're doing scaleface. I learned it from reading a Bernie Shultz article many years ago.

5 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Same with dog walking baits to do exactly what you're doing scaleface. I learned it from reading a Bernie Shultz article many years ago.

Does the bait run crooked or do you manipulate it to do so?

You want the bait to run how it was designed. You need to start with a true running bait before you can tweak it to make it a little different. You won’t reach full depth or full action of the bait till you do.

Spinnerbait is the one bait that I want running perfectly straight.

I'm actually a little obsessed about it.

13 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Does the bait run crooked or do you manipulate it to do so?

You want to bend the line tie just a bit to get the lure started that way, and you jerk a little harder in the direction of the structure. You still want it to walk the other way so if you bend the line tie too much then it won't work at all.

So for instance: Slight jerk when the lure walks right, heavier jerk when the lure tracks left towards the stump.

I have two spinnerbaits that are designed to run left or right.

Grubs both paddletails and twist tails have to absolutely be rigged straight and run straight. For some reason I am not good at threading a grub on a jig perfectly straight.

Keep in mind, KVD talks about when he was younger buying a couple dozen crankbaits in hopes to get one or two that ran a little funky..

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

You want the bait to run how it was designed. You need to start with a true running bait before you can tweak it to make it a little different. You won’t reach full depth or full action of the bait till you do.

Ditto

Most angles will modify, tweak and adjust for sight and/or sound changes regardless of how it was intended run.

But there has to be a starting point or nothing thrown will be consistent from one bait to another.

For me probably more so for plastics than hard baits.

Mike

On 2/15/2026 at 12:06 PM, scaleface said:

Does the bait run crooked or do you manipulate it to do so?

You can 'walk' a bait to run left or right with a combination of short and long pauses, but need to run straight.

I will 'tune' a crank to run left or right when targeting docks, or a line of standing timber, so it will run under the dock before hitting a support and then back under.

No, I dont believe lures HAVE to run straight. I mean, come on, if one of your spinnerbaits runs crooked or veers off and you catch giants on it, who cares? Now, in some cases, I think straight running lures definitely catch more fish. Sometimes, lures like bladed jigs can get busted up and want to dive or veer off. I think this will hinder your results since you dont have as much control of the action in most situations. Also, in some situations, fish want lures that are more erratic and unpedictable like fleeing prey, like wonky running chatterbaits. I think in some cases, fish will want to see something different, and in others, precision is key to the application.

I'm not sure.

But I'm inclined to believe the bass don't care. They don't seem to be bothered by erratic jerkbaits, chatterbaits, flukes, etc

And I have a hard time believing fleeing prey only move in straight lines....

I voted yes, but there's certain semantics at play. Highly erratic retrieves are my best way to trigger fish in many situations, whether it's a left/right, up/down, or start/stop.

scott

My best squarebills are squirrelly. My best deep divers are perfectly straight and run up under the boat.