Let’s say, I think that they’re biting crankbaits, or at least I want them to bite crankbaits…

How many varieties of crank baits would be reasonable to try?

Today I fished Fat free guppy, in 3 colors, fat free fingerling, kvd 1.5, bandit 100, wiggle wart, 2 traps, and a kvd 1.0. I lost them all at the river. Pretty much all my crankbaits. I do have more traps and 2 more 1/4oz squarebills.

I caught fish on the kvd 1.5 and fat free guppies. The others didn’t produce anything.

It got me to thinking, in the past I have tried only 1-2 crankbaits and pretty much decided the bite was on or off for crankbaits. But perhaps I need to try a larger variety of types and a few different color families before saying it’s a no crankbait day.

What is everyone’s progression on deciding what, if any, crankbaits are the days producers?

When I’m hitting the ponds off the bank I’ll usually “test the waters” with a ‘trap at different speeds, then toss a squarebill. Color-wise I usually go with something natural (shad/bluegill/etc) based on forage.

If I am not getting any hits or followers, I’ll toss a Texas rig out there and see if they’re on a slower bite.

Dang man, you lost 10 cranks!? I'm still figuring out my crank game, but sure love when squarebills are going. I had some good days early season on them and they hooked me. I fish jigs and bottom contact a ton, but am gonna go on run of moving baits and other stuff to mix it up. I'm pretty eager to let it rip!

@Bazoo "Let’s say, I think that they’re biting crankbaits, or at least I want them to bite crankbaits…"

What you want and what you think is the wrong approach IMO. Listen to the fish, they will tell you. If you listen.

I'm not so big on changing colors when using cranks, most of mine are shad or bluegill colors, some with shiny sides, some not. I base that part on how bright the sky is and the water clarity.

When I'm trying to determine which ones to use I base it on depth and change baits accordingly as I work my way through the column.

Early in the morning, especially this time of year, if you can find one, Mann's Baby 1 Minus and Cabela's Grave Digger. Both, from the bank, in shallow water, produce -- especially in ponds.

Good Fishing

32 minutes ago, GreenTrout said:

Early in the morning, especially this time of year, if you can find one, Mann's Baby 1 Minus and Cabela's Grave Digger. Both, from the bank, in shallow water, produce -- especially in ponds.

Good Fishing

I used to love throwing a Baby 1 Minus. I always caught them on chartreuse with a red spot on the belly and white.

When I'm fishing water that has a lot of vegetation in it I will stick to wakebaits until I get a feel for the depth and the thickness. If I think I can get a medium diver through, then I'll change baits. I hardly ever us a deep diving crankbait any more.

I don’t throw cranks of any kind that much down here as I feel there’s always something better.

So my opinion could be all wrong here.

Since color choice is always my last consideration in choosing a bait of any kind, changing colors without changing depth, size, action or location first is a waste of time.

But that’s me

Mike

I choose cranks based on depth , cover...and past expierence. If one or two do not work I will do something else.

My fishing partner uses moving baits all the time while I can't cast as much I'll drag/hop a worm. If he's catching fish on crankbaits I'll use one too.

Much of the time, if fish are hitting moving baits at all, they will hit other moving baits. A crankbait, vibrating jig, spinnerbait and cover similar territory and depending on the cover you’re in one might be better than the others. If you’re catching a few fish but not like you’d expect, then a change in color or a change in specific bait can make a difference. I use this same logic for crankbaits as well as all the moving baits. Like MikeL said, I’ll vary the retrieve or location in the water column first before I change baits. Heck, you already have it tied it, so fish it’s different way for a bit.

13 hours ago, Bazoo said:

It got me to thinking, in the past I have tried only 1-2 crankbaits and pretty much decided the bite was on or off for crankbaits.

That’s pretty much the deal for me. You throw one or two cranks reasonably chosen for the conditions (depth, color, etc.) and give them a fair shot in the rotation. If it doesn’t happen in the first 30-60 minutes, it’s probably not happening. I like to cycle through options rather quickly, unless the trip is geared with some specific goal in mind.