Thursday, July 2, 2009 9:13 PM CDT
COLUMN: Right crankbait means
maxium productivity
By DAVE SHADOW, Hunting and Fishing Columnist
We all know that crankbaits produce fish pretty much all year around and in all weather conditions. So why do we not catch fish all of the time on crankbaits? Mostly because we fish the bait that suits us instead of pleasing the fish, or we’re not fishing in the right location. The old adage that 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the water is still as true today as when it was first uttered. Unfortunately, most of the anglers are fishing in the 10 percent that holds few fish.
Having said the above, I must agree that much of this cannot be helped for the angler that does not spend every day on the water, locating and following the behaviors and lifestyles of the fish. (that’s most of us!) However, we can use a crankbait much more effectively by simply following a few rules instead of tying on the same lure for each outing. It is a very effective “search bait.”
There may be more than these six or seven rules of crankbait selection, but they’re the ones that come to mind right now.
First of all, if possible, look at your locator and see how deep most of the fish are holding or simply decide how deep the water is in the area that you will fish. The depth that you wish to fish is critical to your success. You simply must show the bait to the fish or he can’t eat it! As an example, if a point shows fish holding at six feet, I’d pick two crankbaits. One that runs about five feet deep and one that runs to eight or nine feet.
Start with the shallower bait. First of all, bass are sight feeders, meaning that they may locate the bait by feeling the vibrations through their lateral lines, but they strike by sight. Also, most bass feed “up,” meaning they come from deeper water up to the bait in an attack mode. If this bait works, stick with it, if it doesn’t, or if they quit feeding, switch to the deeper-running lure. The deeper crankbait should be digging into the bottom and bumping off of any available obstructions such as stumps, logs and rocks. Most strikes come after contact with the obstruction. Stop and start the lure periodically, allowing the bait to rise a bit and then dart forward.
Square billed baits work better since they tend to snag up less in this application. Shape is another consideration. Bass seem to prefer shorter, fatter baits, maybe because the tend to emulate their natural forage better. Some other species prefer the elongated models for the same reasons.
The action or type of wobble built into the bait varies with lakes, but mostly a fast tight wobble action seems to produce more bass that the slower wobbling lures. Some of this may be related to the stained water we mostly fish in east-central Illinois. This faster vibration is easier for the bass to sense and to locate.
Color is a concern, and I’m about to get my foot in my mouth if I don’t watch out. I think color is one of the least concerns to the bass.
However, color is essential to the bass being able to see the bait in many stained water conditions. In dirty or stained water a fire-tiger or chartreuse bait will many times outproduce a lure that looks much more natural. The fish simply must be able to see the bait to effectively strike it. In clearer waters, select a bait that closely matches the available forage for the bass. Shad colors and crawdad imitators are favorites in clearer waters. Chrome-blue or chrome-black combinations always produce good in lakes with good shad populations for obvious reasons.
Sound-producing lures — ones with rattles, sound chambers, clackers, or whatever —have abounded in the lure world for some time now. I don’t think many of the rattling lures actually make the sounds in normal fishing conditions that they make when we hold them up and shake them, but there are times that rattlers make a positive difference. I also think that rattles are a negative in some instances. The seem to be an asset in stained or muddy water and a deterrent in very clear water. I think that’s also true or rattles in other types of baits, including soft plastics.
One of the factors that controls crankbait action, depth and productivity is the diameter of your line. Just because the box says “dives to 10 feet,” doesn’t mean it will do that consistently in all conditions.
Lures dive deeper on long casts and with smaller diameter lines. Many lures do not work well if your line is attached directly to the eye of the lure.
Try a split ring or a strong snap and compare the running characteristics of your baits. Many times I change the hooks on my baits, mostly to laser sharp larger ones. Some baits will not work well when this is done since you change the balance of the lure and affect the wobble action.
I hope this limited information provides a few ideas and an incentive to keep trying crankbaits. They may produce more fish than almost any lure other than a plastic worm and for the unaccomplished angler will probably produce more. You can cover a lot of water by simply “chunking and winding” a crankbait. In doing that you simply show the bait to more fish and, especially if the fish are in a bit of an aggressive mode, will catch more fish.
Tournament results
Lake Mattoon, June 24 Wednesday evening event: Bruce and Damon Hoene blew the rest of the field away in this event with a limit of five bass weighing in at 12.70 pounds, including the “big bass” of the event of 3.25 pounds. Second place went to Gruen Von Behrens and Mike Janssen with 8.2 pounds. From there on down it was pretty slim fishing.
Parting thought: It’s been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first – Ronald Reagan
It’s faith, family and fishin’.
Dave Shadow is the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier’s hunting and fishing columnist.
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