Hey Guys,
I could really use your guys help! I really want to get comfortable throwing cranks! It about the onlymethod that i  feel I can't catch fish on! I've caught a few fish on crankbaits! I think I forgot how to catch fish on them in the past few years! Used to beable to catch fish on them on a regular basis! Was just wondering what conditions to throw them! I what colors I should use! I've just been noticing a lot of tourneys being won on cranks like Takahiro! He caught those last 3 fish on a big shallow running chartruse crank!

Thanks

Thanks Rob

Nick,
One advantage in conducting  tutorial classes on Lake Washington is, I get to test new lures and techniques against the tried and proven ones that I have my clients use.
After six years of tracking the out come, I can tell you there is a lot you can do to make your crankbait fishing more productive.
Most people are going to talk about when the fish are active, throw Cranks. And they are right, throw them and reteieve them fast.
But what many anglers don't key in on is, when the fish are inactive and in a nuetral mood, this is when I love throwing cranks.
Time and time again I have taken clients to a rock pile hump, or ledge and fished hard with plastics, only to get blanked.
But  experience has taught me before leaving, break out a crankbait, one that will run near the bottom or better yet bounce off the bottom.
It still amazes me how many bass I have been able to pull off structure. do to reaction strikes.
Was it the size if the bait that made that fish strike, probably not.
More likely you are bebefiting from a reaction stike. Simply put, something moves by that bass quickly and it just nails it out of instinct, even though it is not feeding. I have seen this on my Aqua-Vu camera and with clients on many occasions.
One more thing, if you are not using a stop and go retrieve, on our nothwest waters, you will benefit from starting. Hope this gives you some renewed energy for cranking.
Larry G.

Larry is right too about the reaction bite. Cranks will work in cold weather when most people won't even think about them. They may not be feeding, but when you rip that crank by them 12-15 times, they decide they had enough and hit it.