I fish a lot of crankbaits from shallow to LC D20's and DD22's, etc.  with great success.  I'm looking for any idea's to make a crankbait dive deeper then it's recommended depth.  For example, a Junior D dives roughly 8-10 feet.  If I want to make it dive to lets say 20 feet, is that doable?  I run 8lb. Flouro most of the time...There has to be a trick or an engineer out here that has some insight...Thanks in advance.

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I have not held one of these baits, but it looks just like a DOA swimbait weight molded around the lip of the bait.

Lip angle and length, line diameter, cast length and retrieval speed are all things you can alter dive depth with.

Save your self the time, and energy you will spend messing up a perfectly good running bait and by one that is designed to run at 20 feet or what ever depth you want it to run. I speak from experience. I have watched shows and read books about coustomizing baits and have been disappointed at the fact that I ruined a perfectly good bait. Just one mans opinion.

The only way to make a bait designed to run 10 feet, hit 20 feet is by adding enough excess weight to make it sink.  

i add a small split shot 10-12 inches in front of a floating rapala to make it run deeper. as far as i know , it doesnt effect its action , but i do bring up alot of muck on the weight.

If you weight a crankbait so much that it sinks, you might as well use a lure better designed for such a presentation (like a heavy lipless crank).  At least a lipless crank is versatile enough that it can be fished vertically, and not just pulled horizontally along the bottom.  

As far as modifying deep cranks to get deeper, I haven't found that it's really worth it.

If I'm in a situation where I need to get some extra depth, I'll stick my rod in the lake and do the old kneel and reel......most effective method I know of to get a deep crank deeper, given you're already using the proper equipment to start with.

I add a bell sinker to the front treble hook split ring on some of my DD22 baits to make them dive at steeper angles. This is not a permanent deal so I can remove it if I want. So far it has not interfered with hooking fish. You can buy them at Walmart for cheap. I think Water Gremlin makes them. I use the 1/8 ounce size.

You can also use the Suspend Dots on the belly of the bait or near where I guess you can call it the throat. Normally lighter line and a longer cast will help get the baits down deeper. Try fluorocarbon line too. Its usually good for an extra foot or two.

KNEEL AND REEL!!!

Agree with the previous statements, modifying baits is more trouble than it's worth.

8' rod, 10 lb fluoro and the old kneel n reel are your best bets.

Thanks for the responses guys.  I appreciate it.

I don't think there is anything you can do to a Junior D to make it run twice its design depth.  On wood baits, you can add ballast in front of the belly hanger and it will run a little deeper, but not twice as deep.  Adding too much ballast will kill all a bait's action.  Some guys fish for suspended bass by adding bullet weights to the line 2' ahead of the crankbait, then count them down to the desired depth before beginning the retrieve.  This preserves the bait's action and gets them deep, so it may be the solution for a smaller crankbait.  I've also heard of guys carolina rigging floating baits like an original Rapala balsa minnow.  

You can Carolina rig some cranks with bullet weights.

You can Carolina rig some cranks with bullet weights.

Wouldn't that seriously mess with the action?

You can Carolina rig some cranks with bullet weights.

Wouldn't that seriously mess with the action?

nope. i do it with DT4's and lipless cranks all the time.

9 foot rod,10/2 spiderwire,long cast, kneel and reel with all but a foot of your pole in the water. ;D  

I use a Carolina rig ahead of the crankbait which works. I thread a bullet weight on the line before I tie to the crankbait that works. I weight the lure enough so it sinks and count it down. If you just talking a little depth increase change to fluorocarbon line, put some lead like a suspend dot or that tungsten putty under the lip or right under the lip to point it in a nose in a down position. Suspending crankbaits also dig deeper than floaters as much as a foot or two. All are small modifications that don't tear up lures.

When trolling for Walleye, I use lead core line to get Reef Runners to dive deeper. I do n't know how effective it would be on a regular rig though.