Keys to Deep Crank Bait Fishing for Largemouth Bass

When the summertime hits most of us that love to fish the deep ledges, enjoy the challenge of deep cranking bass lures; it’s a technique that has challenged the best of fisherman and will continue. There are however keys to making a day of deep cranking successful; but its not easy and you must start with the basics. 

There are several basics that you must start with in order to deep crank and its starts with proper crank baiting equipment, like rods and reels, electronics, properly equipped boat with a trolling motor you can lock on a spot (Spot Lock), understanding angles and more.

Proper rods and reels is a must if you are not set up correctly with the correct reel speed, rod length and line size, you will find deep cranking extremely difficult; reels must be 5:1:1 at a maximum in reel speed or slower, rods must be at least 7 ft. 11 in. in length, so you can make long casts and line must not be heavier than 12 lb. test but 10 or 8 lb. test is better. The lighter the line the deeper the crank bait goes down to the fish. It’s a good idea to set up a couple of reels with different line size before you hit the water, so you can get your crank bait to the fish.

Electronics is a necessity, if you can’t find the fish and understand how they're set up, you will never be able to properly see the fish and have confidence they are there; sure there are folks that have crank bait spots that have been a long time honey holes, those however are becoming less and less as everyone locates your hidden spot and hence the fish get scattered and move. Lowrance electronics is the best of all the them, their Structure Scan is clear, precise and easy to use. The new HD Live units are second to none; it’s scanning the bottom made easy, once your boat is properly set up you just touch the Structure Scan icon and read the bottom. The contrast adjustment is a key adjustment to see the fish but once you are used to adjusting to the depth its simple and clear. The only thing left is understanding what bass look like vs. other fish species; if you scan enough and let your eyes adjust to the simple keys of bass and what they look like you will become proficient at identifying all species of fish.

Another key is a properly equipped boat; if you want to stay on the fish over a 20 or 30 ft. deep spot you must be able to lock your boat on the location; the only way to do that is with the Minn-Kota Spot Lock trolling motor. Wind nor current deters this enhanced trolling motor it locks on too a spot via a GPS location and keeps you there until you hit the button to move it. Lastly, angles are everything when it comes to deep crank bait fishing; how the bass are set- up whether they are facing into the current, next to deep cover, or hiding from the current, you must find the angle that your bait entices them to bite and then stay on that angle to catch the next one. The only way to do that is to work 360 degrees around the fish you located and when one of them bites lock into memory the angle, you’re at and repeat the angle to see if its key to catching the next fish.

Deep crank baiting is lots of fun, firing up a school of big bass can be a life changing experience that you may never forget; I had a 12 year old catch a triple one time on one crank bait deep cranking and I promise you he is still telling people about now 8 years later.

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service

www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com

Call: 256 759 2270

Capt. Mike Gerry 

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