Muskie - Fishing with Bass Crank Baits

Is there such thing as a musky crank bait or a bass crank bait?

In the world of product marketing there certainly is, and you better adhere to the intended usage of a given bait, for fear of upending the industry puppet masters. Joking. All crank baits are just different shapes and sizes of the same thing. Can you really use a bass bait for musky fishing or a musky lure for bass fishing? Yes, and you should.

What is the real difference between musky crank baits and bass crank baits?

Trolling is the answer. Huh, you might be thinking. Yes. Trolling is taboo in bass fishing, but widely accepted within musky fishing circles. Now, we are going to get into dive planes and why you may need a more shallow dive plane for musky fishing and a deeper plane for bass. When trolling, you don't need your lures to get down real quickly. You have plenty of runway to achieve a desired depth. In bass fishing, you are casting and need a lure to dive to a desired depth on a single cast. Thus, bass cranks have to dig hard to get down. This can be very helpful.

Bass crank baits, by their very nature, are meant to descend on a steep curve and stay there over a relatively short distance. This same principle can be very useful in musky fishing, because you cannot troll everywhere. A few obvious reasons you may want to utilize the steeper dive plane of a bass lure versus a musky lure when casting is fishing depth. If a lure can only achieve a marginal depth on a cast, you may be over the top of musky suspended deep. You need something that is going to get down in their face. For example, there are times when you want to fish down a steep weed edge, or into a timber field, in areas you cannot troll. For this, you need a bait that descend on a steeper dive curve. Voila, the bass crank is the answer. Bass crank baits are also heaps less expensive than musky lures.

In this short In The Spread fishing video featuring the legendary Cory Allen, you will learn:

• About several of his top bass crank baits that are well suited for musky fishing.
• There are a load of crank baits out there. These are just a few of Cory's favs.

Keep in mind, before you go hit the tackle store, it is not always easy to tell exactly what a lure will do before you get it in the water. You can pick a handful that all say they dive to a specific depth and they will get to that depth, but in somewhat different ways. Some rise, some suspend and their swimming motion can range to super erratic to a soft wobble. Think about the application you have in mind before spending the coin. Cory gives excellent insight into what each of these lures does and why he likes them for musky fishing. The deep analysis come from how he breaks down his retrieval technique for each bait.

Livingston Lures Howeller Deep

• This lure gets wet and makes a baitfish sound and it has rattles.
• The cool part is it is a deep diver that weighs over 2 ounces, making it a prime candid for casting with heavy musky gear.
• The Howeller Deep rises slowly from the rear, so it is always in the dive position. Just crank and it dives.

Strike King 10XD

• This is the first bass crank Cory fell in love with.
• It is 1.5 ounces with similar tendencies to the Howeller, but it has a quicker rise.
• This is an incredible crank bait that everyone should have in their arsenal.

6th Sense Cloud 9 Series

• The deep diver weighs in around 1.4 ounces.
• This is a great bottom bouncing lure with consistent action.

Berkley Dredger 25.5

• This one and an eighth ounce lure is the largest of the Dredger range of baits.
• Diving to 25 feet with a really tight, subtle action, the Berkley Dredger is ideal for working parallel to deep timber.

These are just four crank baits from the vast world of bass fishing lures that work wonders as musky crossovers. Go to your local tackle shop and start exploring the world of bass crank baits and you will be pleasantly impressed with what you can get out of them when musky fishing.