i wanted to know what the best ways to retreive a crankbait are?

thnaks

There is no "one best way".You just have to throw it as far as you can so it will have longer time in the strike zone.You really just have to experiment with your retrieves until you get bit and when you do get bit,trying to remember how you were reeling is the hardest part.

If the fish are actively chasing bait,most any retrieve will do as long as you are in the strike zone(depth wise).If you are using a high speed reel with your crankbait,I would not reel it very fast,especially this time of year.Only reel it fast until it gets to max depth (or hits bottom) then just reel a little then use your rod to pull the crankbait along the bottom.You will learn alot obout the bottom if you do that.  

Fivebasslimit nailed it, there 's no best way, but erratic action when reeling does alter the action of the bait. The idea is to immitate something that could represent an easy meal or a scared meal to the fish.

I recently was using a lipless crank, and after I cast, I got a tangle, and didn't retrieve for some time (a minute at least), so the lure surely went to the bottom (abt 20 ft I believe) and sat there for a bit.

Cleared the tangle, 2-3 cranks, and slam!

Clearly not a "standard" retrieve, but it was a nice fish  8)

IMO, the best way to fish a crank is to hit something. By something, I mean the log jam you are going to fish, the trunk of a tree, the rock sticking off the side of the rock bluff, the tops of the weed bed, and also the bottom of the lake. I have found that I get bit more often when the crank is banging off some form of structue or cover. Once it hits something, it will bounce off of the obstruction and turn on its side and give off a different flash and vibration. This all helps to envoke a reaction strike.

Sometimes once you hit the obstuction you just have to kill the lure for a moment and a bass will attack it. Baitfish will sometimes run into objects when they are scared. This will stun them for a second and a bass will take advantage of an easy meal.

I hardly ever use a steady retrieve. Reason being is simple. How many bait fish do you see swimming for long distances in a straight line? They swiim a little ways turn, change depths, or "hover" for a few, then start to move again. Even when thay are fleeing from a predator, they are zigging and zagging. A straight in retrieve just doesn't look natural to a well schooled bass.

If you have to use a crank in an open water situation, I would use an erratic retrieve. By this I mean throw in stops, starts, jerks, and change the depth the lure is running. You can change the depth by raising and lowering the rod tip during the retrieve. sometimes after I stop a crank, I will raise the rod tip quickly. This sudden change in depth can trigger a reluctant bass to bite.

The speed and amount of changes is all going to be based on the water temperature, or the activity level of the fish. Sometimes after a frontal passage even in warm water situations, you will have to use a slightly slower and less erratic retrieve.

I guess I could of summed it all up by saying, I try to make all my cranks either look scared or wounded. Hind sight is 20/20. LOL

I do not fish cranks alot, but what I have learned from some buds who fish them all the time is to fish the structure.  1) Bottoms with rocky and sandy soils, get the bait to hit the bottom and stir it up.  2) When you are hitting trees or grass, when you feel the bait hit a limb let it sit a sec, time depending on how fast it rises, and with grass, try to skim the very top of the grass, not burying the bait.  Those are a couple tips what I have picked up on.  They seem to work well for me and the guys i learned from.

haha ernel you beat me to it

In the past when bass are in the shallow waters I will throw a deep diving crank. On the retrive ill pause give it a jerk or two and keep it coming. This stirs up the bottom and has the same effect as ernel stated.

i was told the best way to fish a crankbiat and any other lure is to make it the odd man

lol i dont think anbody is going to know waht i am talking about so just look at the article

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/s/f_fea_odd_man_theory_F&HN.html

Fivebass was the only post when I started typing. I type so slow that the question was already answered!

i was told the best way to fish a crankbiat and any other lure is to make it the old man

lol i dont think anbody is going to know waht i am talking about so just look at the article

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/s/f_fea_odd_man_theory_F&HN.html

awesome article, thanks for the link. 8)