When you are reeling in your crankbait and in the middle of your retrieve.what causes your crank to surfice and act up.I always have to stop and start over again.I believe it is tuned because it comes back straight.

you might be reeling too fast, what gear ratio reel are you throwing?

you might be reeling too fast, what gear ratio reel are you throwing?

Question: by running it too fast does that cause maybe a cavitation problem or something? I don't understand

I have a 5.1 ratio. 50 lb power pro. I maybe reeling to fast. I didn't know you coul'nt reel fast.

I to think too fast of a retrieve.  Slow down and do some intermitten pauses and see if that doesn't fix the problem.

You didn't mention the crankbait style. Some flatside cranks are reel-stop reel-stop getting them to walk the dog deeper these will roll and surface.

Something like  rapala dt 16 if you reeling hard enough to get it to roll and surface quit lifting wieghts.

So it's most likely not tuned good our you over powering it.

Garnet

Your reel ratio is fine.

May I suggest using 20-pound mono in place of the braid?

A 7-foot cranking rod can be beneficial with your setup, too.

Swing rod to right or left when setting treble hooks and NOT over your head.

Heavy crankbaits are easier for the fish to throw, too, so you may want to change the hook sizes to one size larger if you are using a heavy crankbait.

You can use a Floater/Diver or a Suspending crankbait or one that does not float or suspend, like a Rat-L-Trap.

If you are using a floating or suspending crankbait you may want to reel, stop, wait a few seconds, reel, stop, wait a few seconds, etc.

This will cause the crankbait to stop in its movement and if a bass is following or watching it cause the fish to hit it.

Or by stopping it, the crank will either stay in place or rise slowly to the surface. A slowly rising plastic crankbait is good in for cold water and also to have it rise to the surface in warmer months if you choose this technique.

Balsa is lighter and more bouyant than cedar and it has a stronger wiggle. So you may want to throw a balsa crankbait this winter.

Crankbait fishing is a science within itself.  The pros will use four or five different brands and types of crankbaits for different situations.

And then you can drive yourself nuts when selecting a crankbait as they come in all shapes, sizes, with rattles, without rattles, wood (balsa or cedar), plastic (Butyrate or ABS), metal (Mudbugs), bill shapes, fat or slim, maximum depths they reach (about three-quarters of the way back to you) and all colors of the rainbow.

I have had some wonderful results with the Lucky Craft 1.5 Ghost Minnow this year. Caught seven (7) largemouth bass within an hour of using it for the first time.

All I can add is to read all you can about crankbaits on this site, the pros' sites and the internet so you can understand the bait and get all confused like the rest of us.  ;D

Here are some of the pros' picks.

Mark Davis - Bomber Flat A as is his choice for cold, shallow water.

Kevin VanDam - Bomber Model 6A or 7A - Water below 60*.  Use between 10 to 17 pound mono.

Paul Elias - Mann's Paul Crankbait - same bouyance as wooden lures.

O.T. Fears - Norman Deep Little N/O - Good coldwater bait.

Throw your confidence crankbait and try different techniques and the bass will tell you what they want.

Good luck.  

You are definately reeling too fast , slow down.

Could be a couple of things I have experienced and one you have to ask others about.

1. Check and see that it is running true, you may need to change the eyelete angle in fornt.

2. Make sure when casting that the front trebele is not catching onto your line.

3. If you are cranking in water under 6 ft and bouncing it off structure, it can push the bait sideways. If deeper check #1 you may need to tune it

4. Even with a 5.3:1( I use a Pflueger Trion lpns) you can retrieve certain cranks too fast and it can cause them to not run right. This is especially true with the Rapala DT's

5. Do not hold your rod sidearm on the retrieve, I hold mine almost straight up, helps the lips dig in! Go to the side slightly with a sweeping motion on your hook set

6. The one I am not sure aobut. I use 15# Mono, the stretch is more forgiving on an over anxious hook set, maybe the braid has some issues, but I have no experience cranking with braid, maybe someone else can chime in on this one

PS Sam said most of this already , and I got some of these tips from older threads he posted in I would read his post very carefully. Then go to the articles on this site 8-)

1.  What crankbait are you using?  

2.  What connection are you using to it (split ring, snap, both, direct to eyelet, etc....)

Sometimes a snap can foul in the line-tie if it is a certain orientation on the lip - - Norman Speed Clips are especially pesky about doing this.  

Also - if you are tying directly to the line tie (without a split ring or snap) the action of the bait is restricted - which can also cause a blowout at high speed.  

Does the particular crankbait have a line-tie molded into the lip?  If so, it can loosen over time and during the stress of the retrieve begin to move - causing the bait to run out.  I've had this problem with a lot of Poe's.  

FWIW....braid is awesome for cranking, and it's all I use.  You get maximum depth and maximum sensitivity....and if you fish heavy cover with these baits - especially in deep water - you need to feel every pebble, stick, and rock.    

As always, that's what works for me, and I realize it doesn't work that way for others......you simply have to put enough time in with the tools to figure out what works best for YOU.  

Fritts,Clunn and Iconelli all recomend Mono for cranks, I read articles by all 3 this year as I charged head on with my crank bait fishing this year. All three pointed out the smallest diameter mono, was essential for good hook ups, becuase of the trebels. Fritts also downsized his hooks on some of the baits he uses.

1. What crankbait are you using?

2. What connection are you using to it (split ring, snap, both, direct to eyelet, etc....)

Bass Pro Shops® Rick Clunn's E.T.I. Orion Crankbait

I also use black round snap swivel. And a Bandit 200,.I'll try a few things and see what happens. Baybe Bass Pro Shops® Rick Clunn's E.T.I. Orion Crankbait is'nt a very good one.It is a new one though.

Fritts,Clunn and Iconelli all recomend Mono for cranks, I read articles by all 3 this year as I charged head on with my crank bait fishing this year. All three pointed out the smallest diameter mono, was essential for good hook ups, becuase of the trebels. Fritts also downsized his hooks on some of the baits he uses.

No disrespect to those fishermen - but the gamut of crankbait fishing covers way too much base to generalize about what equipment to use for all of it.    

Throwing the "smallest diameter mono" where I generally throw cranks will get you nothing but a broken line and lost fish.  If I'm fishing a cedar tree in 20' with some angry 5 lb. bass in it, there's no way I'm using 8 lb. mono to get my crank down there.  

Braid enables me to get maximum depth without sacrificing line strength, and the sensitivity lets me work the bait around the branches with much more precision than mono.   I don't have any problems hooking or landing fish, either.  

The bottom line:  those guys put in the time to learn what set of tools works best for the conditions they face, and we can take their advice, but we eventually have to decide for ourselves, through experimentation - actual on-the-water experience - what is going to work best for us.

As always.....just MHO, FWIW, etc...    

"The bottom line:  those guys put in the time to learn what set of tools works best for the conditions they face, and we can take their advice, but we eventually have to decide for ourselves, through experimentation - actual on-the-water experience - what is going to work best for us."

As always.....just MHO, FWIW, etc...

Nice honest outlook on the situation

What works for one person in Texas may not work for me in Indiana and vice versa.

-John

Here is the collective input on Cranking Line choice from the fellas Here:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1225079901/0

 For me Mono, and I fish wood and rocks that make grown men cry. I feel my lure I loose a few, but for me there is nothing better than mono when crashing into stuff and then stopping, that brings out the right lure action to get the strike! 8-)