i had a question about crankbaits and fishing them in ultra clear water i fish mostly in strip mine pits and was told dont bother fishing with crankbaits because the fish can see the hooks i figured i would ask the experts before i go out and buy some . thanks in advance.

I'm really not a big time cranker so I don't know if this is accurate, but I have heard that bass in really clear water will smack a completely clear crankbait.  Like I said, I've never personally caught fish this way but I know a few that have killed them with it.

That is absolutely not the case, however you will typically fish crankbaits much faster in clear water.  I would say that a lipless crankbait, suspending jerkbaits as well as tight wiggling crankbaits fished quickly maybe just the secret in your clear lake.

Steve

I fish small cranks on clear shalloe flats with some success but we fish a deep clear spring fed lake, and I kill them on traps, I will catch much larger fish than the people drop shotting of throughing worms will.

The short and easy answer is yes.

Everything you fish with will have a hook on it, so why would the hooks deter the bass from the crankbait, but not from any other type of bait?

Crankbaits work great in clear water. I like throwing finesse cranks in clear water, the best colors for me have Ghost Sunfish and Classic.

The short and easy answer is yes.

I'll second that.

I agree with everyone.

 

The thing about clear water is that the fish can see the lure much easier. YES THATS OBVIOUS! but thats the point. The fish can see the lure so much better. This means that you have to disguise the lure in some way that doesn't allow the fish to be able to detect thats not real.

One of the best ways of doing this is to use colors that are harder for them to see. As Ryan(senko77) said clear works well because the fish can't see it well enough to say that its not food. The basic scheme is that you need more translucent colors.

The second way to do this is to use faster retreives. The faster retrieves cause the fish to see the lure as mure of a blur than a solid form. Don't worry about retrieving too fast because a bass can move 5 times faster than you can retrieve you're crankbait but do experiment to learn how fast is just fast enough.

One more thing is that shallow diving crankbaits can be effective if you use them near the surface. Their body will silhouette off the water surface. This makes the lure harder to preceive for the bass ( also why spinnerbaits are so good when used fast in clear water).

Hope that helps some,

Mottfia

Another  

I have always tried to use natural looking colors/patterns in clear water I will have to give the clear cranks a try.

Yes!  I like to throw translucent colors however in this situation and a killer ultra clear water color is CLEAR.  Did I just say that????? No but seriously don't tell anyone else.    oh wait , its a public forum.   ;D

Caught 03-29-09.

Luck Craft RC 1.5

Visibility- approx 12-20 feet, depending on sun position.

Line size- #12 Yozuri mono.

Total fish caught on the crankbait- 11

Time frame- just over 1 hour.l

Depth on FF reads 28+ feet.

Do Crankbaits work in clear water? I think so.

Do you guys use pre-existing stock clear crankbaits, or do you have to take the paint off of a standard plastic crankbait?

I do know that you can buy clear crankbaits at janns netcraft. I saw them on their website.

Natural and forage matching cranks (and rattletraps) will catch in clear water.  I have also caught on lighter and silver colored cranks (only) as well.  Have caught most near the surface.

Eddie

You can buy Norman Original cranks in clear.  You can also strip them of the paint with paint thinner.   As long as the baits were made of plastic you'll get a clear effect.

I have a lot of success with 'clear' cranks in clear water. Specifically, The Yo Zuri Rattlin Vibe in Ghost.  

Cranks sure do work in clear water. I use smaller cranks in colors that match the natural forage. Go with fluoro or thinner mono. If there isn't much cover, don't be afraid to go as light as 6 pound test. You will need light line and spinning gear to throw little cranks.

Lucky craft 2.5DD in Ghost absolutely killed them last year in super clear water.

LC BDS 1.2 in Ghost Minnow.

Allen