Do any of you catch fish with 14+ crankbaits? If so how? What do you look for structure wise, how do you run the crank, what equipment, and what crankbaits?

Deep cranks is just about all I throw from June thru August, no lie. I generally look for any cover on the bottom in channel swings, big deep rock formations, brushpiles, humps, points, ledges or any structure thats close to the main channel.

Until you get a good handle on things, it's a good idea to drop buoys on spots you pass over with your electronics. The buoys will help you to find and stay on a spot. If you find a big hump or something, drop a couple buoys on each end of it. Once you fish the spot a couple times with buoys, you'll learn the spot and won't need them anymore. When your idling thru an area watching your graph, have a buoy ready to drop at any time. Whenever you see something you like, drop the buoy over the side, circle around and go to work.

You'll need to hit these spots with the cranks from several different angles, especially if current is a factor in your lakes. If they are pulling water, I usually have the best results throwing against the current, retrieving with the current. But they will fool you sometimes so you have to hit it from all directions until you get the bites.

I use LC CBD-20's, Catching Concepts deep diver (cant remember the model # but its BIG), Mann's 15 and 20+, Jackall Muscle Deep, DD22's, DT16's and BigM has made me some deep diving flat cranks that look like certified killers.

I usually like to have a crank that will hit bottom or at least come within a foot of it if the fish are relating to the bottom. I want to be making contact with whatever I can,  whenever I can. If they are suspended over a spot, I just mark their depth and pick a crank that will hit that depth. Sometimes on main channel points that don't have a lot of cover on them, I'll just dig a trench with my crankbait. The deflecting and stop and go and noise and mud trail will help draw strikes from fish that may be roaming in the area.

In standing timber, you can just thread your crank right thru it if you just maintain a good feel and pay attention. When you hit something, let off for a second, the lure floats up and is free for you to reel again. Most strikes occur after deflecting off of something so hang on tight and pay attention.  

A lot of people just dont throw deep cranks for whatever reason but man you can flat load the boat with a deep crank on the right spots.

Just keep trying them until you hit paydirt and dont be scared to throw them. Sure, you'll get hung up sometimes and lose a fish now and then but when you get bit in 15 to 20 ft on a deep crank, its usually a better quality fish. It's without a doubt my favorite way to catch bass.

You'll need a good plug knocker so go ahead and buy one.  

Scott that info is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Any reccomendations on line, reel, and rod? Also any colors you prefer? If it were me getting colors blind I would stick to the shad colors.

Talk about deep...

http://www.***.com/descpageMANNCRANK-MDP.html

http://www.***.com/descpageHDCNORMAN-DD22S.html

I use a 7'6" M glass rod with a 4.7:1 ratio reel spooled with 10# (most times) or 12# mono although I have been using fluorocarbon and it's been good enough for me to use again in the future. I like the stretch factor of mono with most treble hook lures. Actually, Yo Zuri Hybrid (fluorocarbon coated) is a good strong line for cranking deep and has decent stretch, which is important to me.

As for colors, I keep it pretty simple with the basic shad colors because of the clear water here but I do own and throw a bunch of chartreuse baits as well. I like chartreuse when its cloudy or the water is a little discolored but on sunny days I like the shad patterns the most.

I do a ton of deep cranking in the summer.  I use a 7'6" or 8ft rod with 10lb mono with a Norman DD22 or LC-20. The DD22 has been dominating at times. I cannot wait to try the Jackall Muscle. I have heard nothing but good things about that crank.

five.bass.limit, one of these days me, you, & a crankbait

Sign me up as a big fan of the Jackall Muscle Deep, have app 10 more coming in this week to gear up for summer, I also like the Rapale DT series and the Norman DD 22. This year I'm expierimenting with florocarbon on my Deep Divers. Good post by 5 Bass limit on what to look for.

five.bass.limit, one of these days me, you, & a crankbait

Right on    and in between, you can help me gain the patience to drag a texas rig around.

Robby, pm sent

Scott, that was a great post.

I use a 7'-4" medium/fast or a 7' medium/fast rod for deep cranking, with a Revo SX 6.4:1, although my deepest cranking will only be about 16'-18'. I use Trilene XL 12#.

All my deep cranks are either different variations of shad or crawdad.

Falcon

What is the various effect on the crankbait between a 6.4 or if you go down to a 4.7 reel? What are the pro's and con's betwene the two? Why is the 4.7 the cranking standard? I have never used a low gear ratio before so this is new to me.

I can't answer the question about the gear ratio but I have been using the David Fritts cranking reel with the slow 4.7:1 ratio and I like it because it takes the worry out of "am I cranking too fast"..if I still think I am, I crank slower. This one is for Scott if he's reading this, what about the Manns 30+? I bought a few and man they're big! They seem ideal for Smith..opinions? Thanks guys!

Talk about deep...

http://www.***.com/descpageMANNCRANK-MDP.html

That bait doesn't get nearly that deep......20-22' is more like it.

Deep cranking is an ART. 5BL brought up some good points and advice.

I spend a lot of time deep cranking....my most productive time is actually late fall (around November). During this period I deep crank bass up from as deep as 25'.

Good baits have already been mentioned. For mid-teens divers, the DT-16 is an excellent place to start, as well as the Poes Competition Cedars 4400. The Poe's is the more aggressive of the two, and the Rapala is better for when you need to burn. An experienced deep cranker can actually get closer to 18' out of both of these plugs.

The Muscle Deep 15+ has also been mentioned and it's an excellent bait, but I like it better for low teens.....it doesn't dive like the Rapala or Poe's. For some reason smallies really like this bait.

One thing I always bring up......if you're deep cranking areas that you KNOW fish are in and can't seem to get bit with a typical retrieve - BURN the bait through them. I can't tell you how many times I've caught a kicker doing this (actually a very typical pattern around here for post-spawners that move out to deeper water.......some of the biggest strings of the year fall to this method).

I'm in the minority around here because I like to crank with braid. I use 20 lb. PowerPro, which has a very fine diameter for it's strength (I can get baits deeper with this than with 10 lb. mono). Some people don't like to crank with braid, but it's all I use - and I don't have any problems with it.

For deeper than mid-teens (17'-20'+), I prefer a Poe's Comp Cedars 4500 LR or a Big M Custom. I've started messing with the LC Flat CB20 as well and it looks like a very promising bait.      

I saw the Poes Cedars on sale at Sportsmans but didn't buy one..had my hand on it because it looked great..I'll look at the Muscle Deep. I've never really had an success cranking and it's probably because I haven't spent any real time doing it. I want to be good at it! What should I do to try to gain some confidence? I've cranked on rock and timber like I've read about and it bangs the crap out of the structure..still no takers! I grab a spinnerbait and bang....fish! I'll check out the Muscle Deep too. I have some DD22's which I like but still, no fish.

Try the Rapala DT16, Luhr Jensens and the Bomber Fat Free Shads for deep crankbaiting.  Normans and Lucky Crafts are great too, though we warned, the LC baits have a thin lip and if you're banging against rock do it gently.  

Rod:  M/H slow action rod, preferably a glass or glass composite rod works quite well.  Some guys like a slow action graphite, some don't.  The best thing to do is buy a few or use a buddy's and see which you like.

Reel:  Deep crankbaiting, I like a slow speed reel 5.0:1.  It slows the bait down, but more importantly it won't beat you up like a high speed reel.  Again, try both and see what works best for you.  

Line:  Mono or fluoro - I've used both, but these days with the glass rod I have been using 100% fluorocarbon and have done well with that.  10-12 pound is my preference for the fluorocarbon.  

Good luck

Thanks I'll try those! Yeah, I have the David Fritts American Rodsmiths 7'6 composite rod and the slowwwwest Fritts crankin reel with Yozuri Hybrid on it....I like it so far. Still haven't caught any crankbait fish on it but I like it I have a couple of the Fat Free Shad's and I like them(still no fish) but I like em'/ I will get some of the DT16's...they do look sharp. Thanks, I won't give up on cranking just yet

Does anyone else share my feeling that the Fat Free Shads are still good, but the quality was even better when they were Excalibur? Those old color schemes were unmatched.

I didn't own any of the Excalibur's but I think the one's I have are pretty good looking and well made baits. What happened with Excalibur? Here's another question, is there a crankbait that someone would recommend that would cover moderate , even shallow, to say 20 feet or so? One crank I can throw on and work all of those depths..would the Fat Free Shad work or even the DD22? If I'm cranking it pretty shallow wouldn't the deep runner get down in there and tear the bottom up or bang the heck out of the rocks in say 6-8 feet? That's a good thing right?

Does anyone else share my feeling that the Fat Free Shads are still good, but the quality was even better when they were Excalibur? Those old color schemes were unmatched.

It appears that my local Dick's still had a box of the Excalibur's in the back somewhere. Dropped by yesterday, and low and behold....2 for $4. I about pooped. Needless to say I'm stocked up for a while!

But yeah, I like the old colors better for sure. Though the Bomber white is pretty sweet.

I didn't own any of the Excalibur's but I think the one's I have are pretty good looking and well made baits. What happened with Excalibur?

New ones are def good lures. Same action, heck, probably same molds. Just different colors than SOME of the old ones.

As for what happened to them, i have 2 theories. Neither one is probably right though. LOL!

First theory: They were a previously seperate body, and then got purchased and absorbed by the company that owns bomber, booyah, heddon, cotton cordell, rebel, etc. Then the product lines got split up between Bomber and Heddon who still seem to product most of the ones that were once Excalibur. FFShad series, Spit'n Image, Pop'n Image.

Second thoery: They were always owned by that conglomerate, and just decided to drop the name. Then absorbed the products as above.

Maybe someone more in the 'know' can confirm or deny.

You could be right ..I bought the pop'n image the other day and noticed it was heddon....I didn't expect it to be but I didn't know I'd be buying one until that moment either...looked good anyway. We'll see what happens! The Fat Free shads look nice under bomber but I would like to see some better colors..I wonder why they would change it up if what they had was working well. It seems that happens with a lot of great products though doesn't it. I love the Megabait Yabby which catches the heck out of fish and it's now disco'd while River 2 Sea makes one that is very similar and looks great but is a bit small I'm buying some anyway, might pan out.

I didn't own any of the Excalibur's but I think the one's I have are pretty good looking and well made baits. What happened with Excalibur? Here's another question, is there a crankbait that someone would recommend that would cover moderate , even shallow, to say 20 feet or so? One crank I can throw on and work all of those depths..would the Fat Free Shad work or even the DD22? If I'm cranking it pretty shallow wouldn't the deep runner get down in there and tear the bottom up or bang the heck out of the rocks in say 6-8 feet? That's a good thing right?

You can fish deep cranks in shallow water, and sometimes it works.....most of time I think it works better to use depth specific crankbaits.  

I've spent enough time throwing Bagley DB3's and Poe's 300's in shallow water to realize they can work very well, but both these baits are very lively and buoyant (and without large, elongated bills).  

FWIW, there isn't a single bait capable of hitting 20' that I would want to throw shallow, or even mid-depths.  DD22's are not really a 20' plug......I usually don't try to get them much past 15-16'.

Smashing a bait into bottom structure is a technique that isn't always going to work well.  I've had more consistent success using a bait that ticks the bottom more than plows it.   One problem with overpowering the depth too much is that the crankbait loses it's action......it's basically just careening along the bottom.  

Sometimes it works.....my personal experience is that I do better lightly deflecting and varying retrieve speeds (FWIW, so does David Fritts.....one of, if not the best deep crankers in life).            

New ones are def good lures. Same action, heck, probably same molds. Just different colors than SOME of the old ones.

As for what happened to them, i have 2 theories. Neither one is probably right though. LOL!

First theory: They were a previously seperate body, and then got purchased and absorbed by the company that owns bomber, booyah, heddon, cotton cordell, rebel, etc. Then the product lines got split up between Bomber and Heddon who still seem to product most of the ones that were once Excalibur. FFShad series, Spit'n Image, Pop'n Image.

Second thoery: They were always owned by that conglomerate, and just decided to drop the name. Then absorbed the products as above.

Maybe someone more in the 'know' can confirm or deny.

Second theory may be true; they're both owned by Pradco. Address on back of old Excalibur boxes is Jenny Lind Rd., Fort Smith, Arkansas; address on back of new Bombers is.... Jenny Lind Rd., Fort Smith, Arkansas. Maybe just brand consolidation.

I mainly miss the bluegill and baby bass colors.

Speaking of Bomber/ Excalibur Fat Free Shads I miss some of the transluscent colors that they used to have and the ones with reflective inserts in particular. I should have stockpiled these baits back in the day. I also should have stocked up on the suspending cranks as well.  

Speaking of Bomber/ Excalibur Fat Free Shads I miss some of the transluscent colors that they used to have and the ones with reflective inserts in particular. I should have stockpiled these baits back in the day. I also should have stocked up on the suspending cranks as well.

The ones with the reflective inserts were a special model of the Fat Free Shad, I think they were called Advantage, I have a couple and they have Jimmy Houston's signature as well as Bill Dance's. What annoys me is that they were discontinued with no warning (if there was, I missed it) so we couldn't stockpile...

I agree deep structure, I have a  couple left of the small 1/4 oz. Fat Free Fry with the Black Back, White Belly, Reflective sides that is one of my 5 star cranks. I hope I can keep it away from the Northern Pike, needless to say I retie often when using this bait.