Many anglers are new to bass fishing over the last 12 months and are building their skill repertoire lure by lure. One such lure that can at first seem difficult to master is one of the best you can have in the tacklebox – crankbaits.
Crankbait fishing for largemouth bass is a time-tested tactic starting way back in 1920 when a patent was filed for something called the Creek Chub Wiggler by Henry Dills, George Schulthess, and Carl Heinzerling.
The primitive but effective lure that started it all was made of wood with a metal lip.
Today’s crankbaits are computer designed and tested before hitting even real test tank. Finishes are so detailed they often can look like artwork in their realism while others still look like a third grader painted them.
One thing that has remained after all these years is that casting a crankbait is a great way to quickly search for bass since they cover a vast amount of water and allow you to target specific depth ranges with ease. Let’s learn how to or refresh our memory on fishing a crankbait for summer bass using some of the following facts and tips.
Crankbaits fall under the category of power fishing lures, because of how much water you can cover with them in a short amount of time. This is a significant advantage to fishermen looking to locate and catch fish quickly, like tournament anglers for example.
Selecting the best crankbait is a more involved process than with most other bass lures. There are many factors to consider on these baits. But the most important factor is how deep do you want it to dive. Crankbaits can run from just barely below the surface to as deep as 35’ feet.
The key to fishing a crankbait is if you know where the fish are; figure out what the fish want. Anytime you move your rod, change the speed of your retrieve or the way you are winding, your crankbait is doing something a little bit different that could trigger a strike.
Choosing the right line size is one remedy for cranking your lure to its maximum depth. Choosing a 10-pound test line like Berkley Trilene XL for most of your crankbait presentations will help you judge all the depths your crankbaits can run.
A long cast also allows your crankbaits to reach the right depth zone. The farther you cast it the more efficient your crankbait becomes. It takes a while for the crankbait to dive to its maximum depth, so a longer cast helps the crankbait reach that depth.
Selecting the right rod length makes it easier to deliver crankbaits long distances. Choose a seven-foot fiberglass model for throwing big deep divers in open water, but downsize to 6 1/2-foot rod if you want to cast various size lures throughout the day.
Bumping a crankbait into cover triggers strikes from summer bass, but the lure is just as effective in another role. A crankbait is a “zone bait” with its path running like a pendulum starting out shallow in the water column, diving to its maximum depth and then ascending as it returns to the boat. So you’ve got some depth zones that each type of crankbait covers.
A common mistake anglers make is selecting the wrong crankbait for certain situations to where they are either fishing underneath or above the fish. So rely on your electronics to find the depth bass are holding and then select a crankbait that runs at the same depth.
Shallow diving crankbaits perform best in around zero to four feet of water. The lips on these models are small, and create very little resistance against the water when retrieved.
This is what keeps them running shallow while still giving them a wobbling action. The line attaches to the nose on shallow divers, which also keeps them running shallow.
Shallow diving crankbaits are ideal for working shorelines that have gradual slopes. They are the best crankbait for targeting boat docks, fallen trees, and other cover that is typically found in shallow water where bass lurk in the early summer.
If you work them really slow you can get them to run on or just below the surface. This is a great technique when bass are active and hitting topwater. But there are crankbaits specifically designed for this technique called wakebaits.
On mid-divers the lip is a little bigger, giving the bait more resistance in the water. The line also attaches directly to the lip on these crankbaits.
This combination of traits make them dive deeper, usually down to between five and nine feet. This depth is ideal for targeting deeper cover like rocks, sunken timber, or the tops of grass beds.
Medium divers are best used at drop offs, between shorelines and the deeper parts of the lake or river you are fishing. They are great on sunny days when bass go a little deeper to escape the sun, or to find cooler water.
One technique that works great with medium diving crankbaits in the summer is fishing them in shallower water than the bait is rated for. You don’t want a big overlap though, one or two feet is good. The bait will scrape along the bottom as it’s retrieved and creating an attractive disturbance.
Deep diving crankbaits can get down as deep at thirty-five feet. These baits are a little more advanced than the shallower running models though.
When fishing in these depths, you’re most likely targeting cover or structure that you can’t see from above water. This is when having a good fish finder is useful to know what you’re fishing in.
Deep divers also require a more powerful rod that has a lot of backbone. The big lips on these baits create a ton of resistance in the water, so they need that extra pulling power.
You also need to be able to make long casts with a deep diving crankbait. These baits require a good amount of running distance to get down to their target depth. If you are not able to cast far beyond the cover you’re targeting, the bait is not going to have enough distance to get down to the targets depth before passing it.
Deep diving crankbaits work really well in the summer, when bass head for deeper water to find cool water. These are not baits that bass see in deep water every day,
Selecting the best diving depth on a crankbait comes down to two questions. How deep is the water you’re fishing? and how deep is the cover you’re targeting? All crankbaits have their range of depths printed right on the packaging.
You hit the two extremes of the diving range by raising or lowering your rod tip during the retrieve. Keeping the rod straight out in front of you, parallel with the water, will run the crankbait in the middle of the two extremes.
Fishing line is also a big factor in how deep a crankbait will dive. The larger the diameter of the line, the more resistance it will have in the water. And the more resistance there is, the harder it is for the crankbait to get down.
The depth is also affected by the speed that you retrieve the bait. The faster you reel a crankbait, the deeper and more rapidly it dives. Slowing the retrieve down will cause the bait to raise up in the water column.
A crankbait’s action is referred to as its wobble. Some have a tight wobble and others have a wide wobble. What determines how tight or wide a crankbait wobbles is the location of the line tie.
The closer the line tie is to the body, the tighter of a wobble the bait will have. This is important to know because there are times when bass will prefer one over the other.
During the summer months a wider, more erratic wobble tends to trigger more strikes. Crankbaits with a wider wobble are also better in murky water. Not only is the increased movement easier for bass to see, but it also creates more vibration in the water for them to feel.
Getting your crankbait in front of bass is half the battle, it also has to have an attractive color pattern. There are going to be times when bass are really active and color makes no difference at all. The importance of color will vary from day to day and lake to lake.
On the days when color is a factor, it can literally be the difference between getting bites and getting skunked. Best practice is to always take color in to consideration.
Noted BASSMaster pro Kevin VanDam once said, “To be successful, you have to fish with the color the conditions call for. You can’t fish with your favorite color all the time.”
Crankbaits come in thousands of colors. As nice as it is to have a wide selection, it can also make it difficult to decide which to use. When you’re selecting crankbait colors you should consider these three factors: water clarity, the season and available forage.
Forage is the local prey that bass are feeding on in a body of water. You should be doing everything in your power to match your crankbait color to the color of the forage that fish are feeding on in the summer.
