Does anyone have any advice on wood type for crankbaits? Which is best? Oak? Cedar? Balsa? Cherry? Does it matter? I have a few cedar cranks and have had them for a couple years - very durable. My buddy thinks his balsa cranks perform better but I can't tell the difference. Seems like the balsa cranks are fragile since he's always buying new ones. Anyway - just wondering if there's an opinion on this issue.

I am not shure if they make oak or cherry ones. I also have cedar and balsa cranks, I don't really know if there is too much of a difference to even worry about.

-gk

I believe balsa is a little more fragile and buoyant than cedar. So if you're cranking through heavy cover a balsa crank may back out of limbs and rocks better.

Builders use different woods for different style cranks. Balsa is great for maximum buoyancy so it's ideal for shallow water cranks. White cedar and basswood are more dense, less buoyant, and are often chosen for deep diving baits where you want neutral buoyancy or a slow float. Yep, balsa is less durable than other woods but there is no substitute for it if you want liveliness and a fast float to negotiate shallow cover. When you get into other hardwoods like cherry, oak, etc, the density is so high that it becomes difficult to build a bait containing hook hangers, treble hooks, and a lip that will not sink.

I've actually found great success with cedar crankbaits I deffinetly find cedar lures to be more durable than balsa, which is great so there's no need to keep buying more and more of them.

Thanks for the advice ill definately look into balsa and cedar and other cranks. I dont use cranks often but a friend from georgia is giving me a few of his stanford lures deep divers. he says that they are one of his favorite crankbaits, especially the deep divers. i cant wait to fish them this weekend if the weather clears up. thanks again

-Steve