I think that's what this club is based on   Your crankbait rod should be a baitcaster (6 1/2- 7 1/2').  A good soft tip. I will say that pre-spawn with jerk baits and summer through late fall is when I will always have a crankbait rod on the deck. It's funny how Darren hit the nail on the head. If you don't have confidence, you won't do it. You will not get that confidence if you don't do it.  Some of my best days with a crankbait was because I just picked it up and tried. Use it aa a search bait when you go coasting into your new area. If you say to yourself that you will make 5 casts, and do, I bet you will stumble onto something.

So now I'm looking at a dedicated crankbait rod/reel setup. Any recommendations?

Hey folks I really like that idea.  I would like to find folks that are good at a particular technique to help me learn it and then work on learning another technique.

Darren,
That sounds like a great idea to me!

I have to admit my confidence with crank baits is very low. I rarely throw one because of that lack of confidence. I have quite a few in natural perch and craw colors but have never had luck. I have had some luck with a jerk bait though. I wonder if we should schedule a fish-in or maybe just an unofficial gathering to get a bunch of us out there with folks that have confidence in crank baits so we can spread that confidence out a bit.

Used up my gift card at Bass Pro Shops today. Maybe it's just me, but their selection seems to have narrowed down since I was there last Fall. Here's what I ended up with for cranks...

2 KVD 2.5's - Green Tomato and Chartreuse Perch
KVD 6XD - Chart Belly Craw
Strike King Red Eye Chad 1/2oz - Bluegill
Rapala DT-10 - Demon

Looking forward to trying them all out soon!

Thank you for sharing your experiences with them guys. I might take you up on that 5dinks if i get some free time. Thank you very much for your offer.

I have confidence in deep diving crawfish crankbaits in the pre-spawn when water temps are 48 - 50 degrees plus. I target the areas just outside the spawning areas near the drop offs. If the crankbait isn't hitting bottom go with a deeper diver or football head jig with a plastic swimbait on it an be ticking bottom and moving. Some days they like it slow and others a bit more speed triggers the bite.

Had success with square bills this last fall on Kapowsin reelling slow and grinding those stumps.  Was pleased to learn they are really quite snagless when worked slowly over cover.

Dano, here is my 2 cents, whether you want it or not. I never used to own a rod that was specified as a "crankbait rod".  It seemed like the only time I used one was when nothing else was working. Now, I use them whenever I'm catching fish in 20' or less. They are excellent "search" baits when you either haven't been to the lake in a while or if you've never been there. I found that the aggressive fish in an area can be caught quickly with them and you can cover ALOT of water quickly. Once you feel confident you have caught all the quick fish, then change to a slower presentation to get the finicky ones. A good, soft tip 7' (+) rod is best and the fish will usually hook themselves (you don't want to rip hard to set the hook). I'd be glad to meet you out on Lk Washington in the near future and show you how I do it.  They do work

Well, i should be embarrassed but i have learned from teaching my trade to new guys that there is never a dumb question if you just dont know and Brad hasn't had a chanch to to teach me anything about crank baits yet. Hell, i dont event know what one looks like yet. Lol. So my question is when is the best time to use one and where? Docks, banks, ect....?

Thanks guys!

5dinks wrote on 01/22/17 at 21:27:23:


Along these lines. Im not huge on color, I think its more about what action they want. Rather jig, worm, crainkbait

My favorite is Rapala DT 10 and DT 16. Colors are Ikes Demon and bluegill.

Brad's choices accurately reflect what most pros recommend for clear water...match the hatch, as it were, and imitate the baitfish colors.  Most of the popular brands Rapala, Storm, Bomber, Norman, etc have shallow, mid-depth, and deep runners. Pick a brand you like and get one of each.
Rattletraps can be fished at several depths if you take the time to learn their sink rate and your retrieve speed.

Jackall cherry, strike king kvd 8.0, and strike king 6xd.  Perch, chartreuse perch, and brown crawfish.