I hope this don't sound stupid but how do you keep track of how deep all your crankbaits dive?  Some of my Rapalas have it inscribed on the lip but my luck crafts don't.  

I was going to use a sharpie to write it on the lip in very small #'s.

You could do that or put them in a 3600 or 3700 style box and label them shallow, mid, and deep.  Nothing sounds stupid about your question.  If we all didn't ask we would never learn.

Get a fine point sharpie and write the number on the bottom side of the crank bait.....

i made the mistake of starting out and put them all together...for the life of me i don't know which ones are which now.

i made the mistake of starting out and put them all together...for the life of me i don't know which ones are which now.

You got a chuckle out of me.  

Jimzee,        I thought about that but I'm sure i'll get them mixed up.  

I just got a lucky craft in the mail and I'm already researching bass pro on the web trying to see how deep it runs cause I forgot.  DUH....

I write what they do on the bottom cavity of the Plano box.  I had the same problem before, good luck!

You should be able to look at the bills of the baits and tell without any marks.

Fat bills create wide wobbles, good for late spring thru summer, water is not as clear in those months normally and vibration is the ticket.

Thin bills are for tight wobble, and good from fall to early spring when water can be the clearest of the year and bass are feeding primarily from sight.

The longer the bill, the deeper it dives in relation to where you tie to.    So simply compare a few different sizes of bills to the depth range and you will be able to identify on sight.

a bill that is 1/2 inch long isn't going to dive 10ft, more like 0-2ft.    

Hope that helps.

Matt

I hope this don't sound stupid but how do you keep track of how deep all your crankbaits dive? Some of my Rapalas have it inscribed on the lip but my luck crafts don't.

I was going to use a sharpie to write it on the lip in very small #'s.

In many the diving them is part of the model code: DT10 ---> 10 ft

In others it 's printed on the box: Bandit Series 100 ---> 2-5 ft

In others certain on-line sources have the information like BPS, the diving depth is in the description of the bait.

If all those fail then consult the manufacturers website.

After you throw it a time or two - you'll know. But really, just looking should do the trick for most of them. You can make a 6' diver go 3 to 8' deep with a little practice. You don't need a different crankbait for every 2' increase in depth, crap- you'll be changing lures instead of fishing.