Deep Water Crankbaiting

[Skeeter]

DEEP WATER CRANKBAITING

Deep water crankbaiting is a mental discipline and a physical skill that has to be learned like any other technique. It is a mental discipline because that is what it takes to find rock piles, ledges, stumps, and other structure out in the middle of nowhere. Other than using the best detailed topo map that you can find, there are no shortcuts. page_break It is just the plain hard work of search and find. But the discipline does not stop there. After you have found the structure it is just as important to understand what you have found and how to explore that spot effectively. Being able to cut out distractions and concentrate on learning what you have found and knowing what your lure is doing and where it is on that structure takes a ton concentration. The skill comes in knowing how to saturate that structure methodically and mechanically being able to consistently present your lure accurately and repeatedly. When you find a point or a piece of structure that you want to fish, take your time and analyze the spot and come up with a plan on how to fish it effectively before you move into the area. Think before you do. After you do this over a period of time, you will learn how to analyze areas quickly and know the best plan of attack to take. When you decide to leave the area you need to be confident that you have worked the structure properly.

So many people listen to the "PROS" and take everything that they have to say as gospel. I have read so much on this subject that it would make most folks head spin. I have caught so many pros contradicting themselves, that to me it has become a joke. Very few pros REALLY KNOW what they are talking about when it comes to deep cranking. Years ago, I made a list of what pros had to say about crankbaiting from equipment, to lures, and techniques. Over a one year period of time, I tried something on that list during my fishing trips to see if it was really so. I tried different equipment setups, lure presentations, and actual lures. Through my own experiences and experiments I have discovered that allot of what the experts have written just isn?t true. What we all need to do is clear our heads of all of the garbage that we have read and find it out for ourselves. We really need to think about and scrutinize what we read and what we hear. Some of you reading this article may be thinking "Who in the heck made you the expert ?? But what I am about to tell you is the way it is.

First you need to get the right equipment to get the job done. I will start with the rod.

The rod needs to be a medium to medium heavy graphite rod. Your casting distance and accuracy is greatly enhanced with graphite. Your ability to ?feel? the lure is also much better with graphite. Glass rods are not as accurate for the average crankbaiter. If you throw with them enough you can become accurate, but you will never achieve the casting distance and sensitivity that you can with graphite. Composite rods could work, but I have found most of them to be heavy. Super high modulus graphite rods have no place here, they break. Boron is definitely out. They will break if the fish surges under the boat. Boron rods are notorious for breaking when bent beyond 90 degrees. For years the standard length for this technique has been 7ft. But what you really need to use is what is comfortable for you. Someone that is 5?2? may have trouble swinging such a long rod. Slinging a crankbait everywhere except where you want it just doesn?t cut it. Forget what the pros and your buddies say. If a rod is cumbersome to use, you need to find something that fits. If you can be accurate and efficient with your equipment then you will be much more effective. The rod should also be light in weight. Throwing deep crankbaits for hours is a tough job. Doing it with a rod that has the weight of a boat anchor is even tougher. Point your rod tip straight at the bait as you retrieve it. By doing this you increase your feel of the bait tremendously. Your feel of the bait will be at the reel where your hand is and it will not be absorbed by the rod.

Next is the reel. Again, the reel should be light weight and match your rod along with the size of your hands. Putting a heavy reel on a light rod just defeats the purpose. Also using a reel that is just too big for your hands to comfortably palm will make your setup ineffective and consistently inaccurate in making your lure presentations. Round or low profile reels? That is your decision. The thought of many over the years has been that the gears of round reels are bigger and stronger which allows easier cranking of deep running crankbaits. Personally, I have found very little difference between the two to really make this choice a factor. Your equipment has to be capable of very long casts to get a lure to hit the 20ft. mark. Reels require allot of skill to cast a crankbait 60 yards and beyond. This is the kind of distance that you need to really be effective. But once you get the right setup, you will be amazed how effortless long distance casting can be. Use a high speed reel. Todays high speed reels have plenty of power to bring in any bass. Making very long casts puts out allot of line. If you need to take up slack or retrieve a lure back in quickly to make another cast, then low speed reels can wear you out. As far as lure speed goes, you can control that factor. If you get into the rut of just chunk and wind then you are not concentrating. If you find yourself doing this allot, then go use another technique or go home and watch the game on T.V.

Fishing line is the next factor. The best all around line is plain monofilament. 10lb. test is the standard. I throw 12lb. and I know of others that will even throw 6lb. to 8lb. test. Fishermen that use glass rods prefer copolymer line. They can get some of the feel back through their line that they are loosing by using glass rods. The problem with copolymer line is that the two parts of the line will eventually separate weakening the line. Unless you are willing to re-spool your reel after every trip, I would stay away from it. Braid is just too sensitive. You feel so much that you can?t distinguish if a fish hit your lure or bumped into a rock. You will be setting the hook all of the time. Plus you can?t get the casting distance from braid that you can with mono. Mono also has stretch to it. This can help with surging fish at the boat. If you really pay attention to what the fish is doing and adjust to fight him properly, then you will rarely loose a fish. Dropping line test will give you thinner line diameter and will add some depth to your lure. But you will not gain much. In truth you may gain about 6 inches in depth going from 12lb. test to 10lb. test. If you are fishing 12lb. test and need an extra foot of depth from your lure, then go to 8lb. test or even 6lb. Sound ridiculous? If you really need that lure to go deeper, then all I have to say is.... ?Whatever it takes?.

The final consideration of this article is the selection of the crankbait itself. We all know that there are baits from companies on the common market that say they will hit the 20ft. mark. However, I am constantly reading comments from fishermen that these baits will not dive as deep as they claim. My first thought is that the equipment most fishermen are using is not capable of getting the distance that is required to get the bait to that depth. Hopefully the suggestions in the above paragraphs can help you to eliminate that factor. Take the time and really tune the crankbait that you are using. This will help both you and the lure tremendously. Most crankbaits use up a large percentage of the casting distance just reaching their maximum depth potential. Then the lure has to have enough distance to work the bottom once it reaches the desired depth. Remember, most store bought crankbaits travel in an arch. It goes down at an angle, works the bottom, and then comes back up at an angle. On a good cast a store bought crankbait on average is working in the strike area only 30 percent of the distance casted. Plastic crankbaits and commercial balsa crankbaits are just too buoyant. They take longer to reach maximum depth and when stopped they rise too fast. They also have a problem with spiraling as they rise. If you are REALLY SERIOUS about deep water crankbaiting, then a custom crankbait is the way to go. Do your homework and find a GOOD crankbait maker. Good crankbait makers will listen to your needs and concerns and either help you with the selection of one of their current lures, or design a lure that will get the job done for you. The performance of a well handmade crankbait is superior to anything that you can buy off of the shelf.

Skeeter

[Mr B]

Hey Skeeter, thanks for taking the time out to wright this article. It was very informative. I love to deep crank in the winter and summer and many of the points you make are very valid especially the casting distance and line size. All the other factors involved are crutial too, I just think most people use much too heavy line when "trying" to deep crank.

Good Luck

Mr B

[Tally]

Great job Skeeter-

I thought I knew a bunch about cranks, but until you talked me into building them, I found out I didn't know much. If you want to know about cranks, think about what you want the bait to do and try a build it to do so. It may take a little time to reach your goal, but once you do you will know more about cranks than you ever dreamed of. I know I do.

--I tip my hat to you Skeeter--

Tally

[Markell]

Great job Skeeter! You got me excited. I'm leaving my C-rig at home this weekend.

[Tm Customs]

Now if those big cranks did'nt rip your arm off. LOL

Tm

[Skeeter]

Don't be such a girl TM. Get out there and thow them. It's really an excellent way to put larger than average fish in the livewell. My stringer weights have really increased since I started this. It's hard work and it will take time to learn, but it's worth it.

Skeeter