Is the Best Bass Fishing Lure the Crankbait?

The best bass fishing lure could easily be the crankbait. They work anytime of the year and in a variety of water conditions. Whether on a new lake or just the ones close to home where you fish regularly, these baits will help you find fish.

Crankbaits are one of the most commonly used lures for bass fishing. They come in all shapes and sizes and in an unbelievable spectrum of colors. The first thing you notice about crankbaits is the lip or bill on the front of each one. This is designed to plane through the water and “get the lure down”. The diving depth of the lure can be roughly determined by the size of the bill; the bigger and longer, the deeper it will dive.

A lot of anglers believe that this is the best bass fishing lure, but there is more to it than throwing it out and reeling it in! What is best about crankbaits is their versatility. They can be fished within a wide range of depths and in just about every type of bass habitat. Learning how to properly select and present a crankbait comes with experience, lots of time on the water, and just good old trial and error.

Most crankbaits are designed to run within a certain depth. Another factor is line diameter. Heavier/thicker line creates more water resistance thereby decreasing the achieved depth. Line diameter affects smaller baits more dramatically than larger ones.

Many anglers mistakenly believe the faster they retrieve a crankbait the deeper it will run. Every crankbait has an optimum speed at which it performs best. You need to experiment with different retrieves to find the one which achieves the greatest depth without reducing the baits motion and performance.

In the case of crankbait fishing, size is important! We've all heard the term "match the hatch." In the late spring and early summer use smaller crankbaits. At that time of the season a lot of newly hatched fry are abound. Logically, as the season moves towards fall and into winter gradually increase the size of your bait to keep pace with the naturally available forage which has grown and matured.

Water clarity is another factor to consider. In muddy or off color water, try fatter crankbaits. They have built in sound chambers and create more vibration and noise making them easier for a bass to locate. Clear water is just the opposite since bass tend to rely primarily on their sight to acquire food.

Styles

If you believe crankbaits are the best bass fishing lure, you need to dive a little deeper into the options. There are four basic styles of crankbaits available and each serves a purpose.

1. Lipless crankbaits - This bass fishing lure is often the first choice when bass are schooling. Bass often explode with a vengeance on a Rat-L-Trap or Cordell Spot.

2. Shallow runners - Shallow-running crankbaits are mainly used in shallow water, but they can also become effective when bass are suspended over structure in deeper water. Consider using crankbaits made of wood. Wood baits seem to produce a natural swimming action.

3. Medium runners - The best way to use crankbaits that dive to the medium depths is to bounce them off stumps, the bottom, or run them along the edges of shallow grass. Baits with narrow lips and thin sides have a tight, fast wiggle while baits with a broad lip will produce a wider, slower wiggle.

4. Deep divers - This is the size of bass lures many prefer to use to locate fish. These big-lipped baits should be run down to their maximum running depth, and then slowed to a crawl. They do their best when fished over submerged trees or when you're dredging the bottom. Deep divers will also be productive for you around or on top of grass.

Crankbaits can be effective just about anywhere there are bass; steep rocky banks, ledges, broad shallow flats, near grass beds, and over and around brush and stumps. If you're fishing deep structure, get a deep diving lure that will reach the bottom and strike the structure. When you're fishing shallow cover select a medium or shallow running crankbait that will stay up where the bass are and can run through the cover, striking limbs and stumps along the way.

Those are the basics of crankbait fishing. When you start catching bass on the crankbait you'll know how fun and effective these baits can be and you'll probably end up owning quite a few of them. Many bass fisherman feel this is the best bass fishing lure for good reason. Crankbaits can catch fish all year long and in a wide variety of situations. This makes them one of the most versatile lures in your tackle box. Tie one on and give it a try!

Thanks for reading.

Good fishing.

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