Hey,
Was planning to add some crankbaits to my tackle box, hoping to get some suggestions to which ones I should get. I don't have any target fish in mind, but open to all fishes .
Thanks.
Live Target crankbaits are awesome. Get one in Perch and Bluegill. Rapala has some great ones too, I don't use Rapala often so I can't recommend a certain one but they offer a good variety of good cranks.
I use Rapalas, my favorite are the XRAP and the ULC-3 (Ultra Light Crank).
I have taken a liking to the zara spook for walking the dog.
If you fish from a boat and need a deep crankbait, the Wally Diver is great. Used to have all of the sizes in assorted colours. Caught bass, walleye, and even musky with them. The key is to know what colours to use in what conditions. Black/White is a good combo for bright sunny days, chartreuse is good when it's overcast and darker, where as white works well on certain lakes in all weather.
Here's some of my favorite crank baits............ colours, size, and depth are up to you........
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Cheers,
OldTimer
Rapala Shad Raps have been long time favourites of mine! Especially the Shallow Shad Rap in bluegill colour.
I used to love floating crankbaits for shore fishing because if they hit the bottom I could stop reeling and let them float up just a bit away from the snag. I loved them... until I skunked on them over and over. That and I would end up with a pile of weeds at my feet LOL.
Nowadays, I'm not sure where they fit into my arsenal. The only crank I use is the shallow diving rapala F-7 stick bait in the natural colour... and it works wonders for active bass in shallow water.
Trolling... I can definitely see their place for being able to dive down as the boat moves whereas other lures would be pulled to the surface.
Besides trolling in weedy lakes - they're good when speed retrieved along the outside deep-water edges of tall standing weeds.
I find success as well using them to fish below myself (downstream) in a river - where the current aids both the action and the diving characteristics. (This is used a lot out west for "drop-backing" steelhead)
Great for casting on the granite and sand bottom lakes of our near north, where there are NO weeds and little timber. A lot of strikes come after the lure deflects off a boulder or the bottom.
OT
(08-10-2013 03:54 PM)OldTimer Wrote: [ -> ]Besides trolling in weedy lakes - they're good when speed retrieved along the outside deep-water edges of tall standing weeds.
I find success as well using them to fish below myself (downstream) in a river - where the current aids both the action and the diving characteristics. (This is used a lot out west for "drop-backing" steelhead)
Great for casting on the granite and sand bottom lakes of our near north, where there are NO weeds and little timber. A lot of strikes come after the lure deflects off a boulder or the bottom.
OT
Great things I'll definitely keep in mind.
Now it comes down to buliding an "arsenal" of crankbaits. Really... I wish they came with swap-out lips instead of lips glued into place. If I want to fish a specific shad rap... I'll have to buy one shallow one medium and one deep diving
... add to that an array of colours/styles/weights plus the fact that they're usually $9-$13 each and it's a disaster! I wouldn't be surprised if crankbaits were the top money makers for the industry.
Meanwhile I can fish a plastic on a jighead for less than a dollar
or a mepps for $4 and fish any depth I want. I really need to see some clear advantages for crankbaits over other lures. Perhaps it is their true-to-life baitfish profile and coloration that makes them popular targets for fish.... but a plastic swimbait also shares the profile of a bait fish and comes in a variety of colours.
Yes - some of the crank baits are wow priced......... and do catch a lot of anglers' wallets.
But as you say - they do offer a profile (and size range) and realistic finishes not provided by other lure types............... Add to this the tight wiggle, the rattles
(which I do believe help a lot), and the infinite variety of motions/reactions to obstructions/debris while fished.
Several decades ago there were quite a number of baits that offered multiple depth connection points on plugs. Most of these have been discontinued. However it is still possible to find "new old stock" of the Creek Chub Pikie Minnow ( a great pike bait - I love the red & white ones)............
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........... and - Swim Whizz is still offered as a multi depth lure ( I never had much luck with these).
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Cheers,
OldTimer