| Envision your favorite crankbait. It looks | | | | do nothing. Bass will belt them as they rise, |
| just about as obvious as the Goodyear blimp, | | | | and they'll even boil up to swat them off the |
| doesn't it? Now take that blimp and add | | | | surface as they float motionless. Repeat as |
| action - broad sides rolling, bold colors | | | | long as there is cover to come through. |
| flashing, tail strutting briskly back and | | | | |
| forth, head bobbing, bottom-gouging like a | | | | Many zone 2 and zone 3 crankbaits are also |
| mini bulldozer, deflecting up and over every | | | | very buoyant. In general, these buoyant ones |
| obstruction in its path. Let me also ask you, | | | | are the best types for digging along bottom. |
| "What's your favorite crankbait color?" Is it | | | | The rod tip is usually held pointing down at |
| "fire tiger", a pop art concoction of bright | | | | an angle that telegraphs a strong throb. Get |
| blazing orange, glaring fluorescent green, | | | | a good long cast. Hold the rod down. Sweep |
| hot yellow chartreuse with bold black bars | | | | the tip slowly once or twice to help pump the |
| and stripes thrown in all over? We're not | | | | crank down and reel steadily until the |
| soaking a skinny, drab-colored pumpkin or | | | | crankbait starts bumping along bottom or |
| watermelon worm here anymore! | | | | pounding into obstructions down there. Pause |
| | | | the retrieve a bit when you start striking |
| So that's the first thing about a crankbait - | | | | into stuff. If it's a troublesome snaggy spot |
| a crankbait makes an obvious target. It's | | | | your crankbait's gotten into, lift the rod |
| bulbous, billboard-sided, much bulkier and | | | | tip a bit to alleviate line pressure, thereby |
| more conspicuously painted than most any | | | | causing some slack line for the crank to |
| other lure in your tackle box. | | | | float up. The high buoyancy helps keep you |
| | | | from snagging. Slowly resume reeling when you |
| Second, if you can feel a crankbait throbbing | | | | feel you've floated far enough up so that |
| in your rod tip from 50 feet away, just | | | | you've lost all bottom contact and you're not |
| imagine what kind of excitement your | | | | hitting anything at all. Then resume regular |
| crankbait's throb ignites in a fish's lateral | | | | reeling or sweep the rod tip until you start |
| line! Now crankbaits just assault these two | | | | hitting stuff again. |
| senses - eyesight and the lateral line. All | | | | |
| that's built in right out of the box - big | | | | Repeat bumping and backing off until the lure |
| bulk, bold color and throbbing vibration. | | | | gets close enough that the shortened line |
| | | | distance prevents your crankbait from |
| Third, you want a crankbait that casts far. | | | | reaching bottom any longer. Both the end of |
| Over the course of a few seasons as you try | | | | the retrieve (when the crankbait no longer |
| different ones (hundreds of crankbaits are on | | | | reaches bottom) and the beginning of the |
| the market), keep in mind that castability | | | | retrieve (before the crankbait reaches |
| counts. One that casts well for you because | | | | bottom) are typically unproductive. A |
| it matches with the rod and reel you use | | | | surprising amount of your crankbait's overall |
| without overpowering it. If a crankbait | | | | time/distance can be spent in the |
| waffles in the wind, dies and drops short, | | | | unproductive beginning and end of the |
| you don't need it. The farther you can throw | | | | retrieve. That's why a long-casting crankbait |
| a crankbait, the more water you can cover, | | | | is desirable - to extend the middle part of |
| the more fish you can attract, the deeper it | | | | the retrieve when the bait is in the strike |
| will go and the longer it will be in the | | | | zone. |
| strike zone the farther you can cast it. | | | | |
| | | | Other types of zone 2 and zone 3 crankbaits |
| Speaking of depth, you'll need three | | | | are not buoyant at all but are designed to be |
| different kinds of crankbaits that work well | | | | neutrally "suspending" crankbaits. They are |
| for you in three different zones: | | | | precisely weighted so that they will hover |
| | | | and hold their depth when you pause the |
| Zone One: 0 to 6 feet | | | | retrieve. Cast way out, crank them down to |
| | | | get them bouncing bottom, then pause the |
| Zone Two: 6 to 12 feet | | | | retrieve. They'll practically suspend and |
| | | | hover just off the bottom, rising very slowly |
| Zone Three: 12 to 18 feet | | | | if at all. At this point you should suspend |
| | | | reeling too. Rod manipulation comes into play |
| No crankbaits go deeper than that. It's | | | | now. Your mission is to find any manner of |
| fairly easy to find crankbaits that fit each | | | | twitching, longer jerks or abrupt ripping |
| of these zones. Look at the lip. As a rule of | | | | that may trigger a strike - always with lots |
| thumb, if the lip is much shorter than an | | | | of pausing. Do whatever it takes with the rod |
| inch and angled vertically, it's going to | | | | tip to trigger that first response from the |
| stay in zone one. If the lip is approximately | | | | fish. Then repeat that over and over again, |
| an inch and angled less than 45 degrees, | | | | fine-tuning the "trigger key" you've found a |
| that's zone two. If the lip is much longer | | | | bit better upon each repetition. That's |
| than an inch and practically horizontal, | | | | called "catching" and not always an easy |
| that's zone three. A wide lip usually makes a | | | | thing to do...but so very rewarding when you |
| wide wobble and a lot of rod resistance. A | | | | make it happen! |
| thin lip usually creates a tight wiggle with | | | | |
| less resistance. Those are general rules of | | | | Another use for zone 2 or 3 suspending |
| thumb. | | | | crankbaits is where your electronics show |
| | | | bass suspended or feeding in the open water |
| Zone 1 (0 to 6 feet) Zone 2 (6 to 12 feet) | | | | column. Cast far enough beyond the fish so |
| Zone 3 (12 to 18 feet) | | | | you can reel the bait down to their water |
| | | | level. Same story here now. Hover your |
| Zone 1 crankbaits are usually very buoyant. | | | | crankbait in mid-water amidst the suspended |
| In zone 1 you will typically encounter weeds, | | | | fish. Experiment with rod draws, twitches and |
| reeds, wood and other kinds of cover - | | | | generally using the rod to evoke that trigger |
| solitary cover or acres of it. Cast into open | | | | response from bass at mid-depths in open |
| water beyond the cover and reel the crankbait | | | | water - always with plenty of lingering |
| right up to it. If you think you can bounce | | | | in-your-face pauses. |
| off the cover without fouling, hit the | | | | |
| crankbait right into the side of it and stop | | | | I can't think of what else to say. That's |
| reeling. If you fear getting fouled, just | | | | basically it about crankbaits. Find the few |
| stop reeling an instant before contact. In | | | | that work for you and you'll never run dry of |
| either case, let the crankbait float up. Most | | | | fresh water where you can throw them down |
| of these zone 1 types are highly buoyant and | | | | and pull in a big bucket of bass! |
| will bob up to the surface like corks. Then | | | | |