When the state’s waters reach their peak summer temperatures and the bass go deep, a good crankbait setup becomes one of the best tools in the box. It’s simply something you have to have in your repertoire. It’s a necessary tool for many a hot day.
The ideal crankbait fishing setup includes a rod, reel and line – each tuned to the task.
To allow the lure to spend the maximum amount of time per cast in the deep zone with the fish, the first key for a crankbait setup is to allow its user to cast as far as humanly possible.
Throwing for distance comes into play because the further the lure can be cast, the more time it will be able to spend in the deep zone with the fish. The transit from the water’s surface to the lure’s maximum depth takes up a certain amount of distance, and at some point in the retrieve the proximity to the rod and reel begins pulling the lure back up. What remains in between needs to occur where the fish are.
Anglers should be certain they are throwing well past the cover they’re intending to fish. Otherwise, the dive of the lure will miss the area where the fish are. Best equipment for this task is a long, medium-heavy cranking rod, one made just for crankbaits. An ideal such tool is something in the 7-foot, 11-inch range by Hammer Rods. Rods work best when applied to the task for which they’re made. Hammer Rods have the ideal backbone paired with an action soft enough to let a crankbait work its best.
Line it out
The ideal line should be strong enough to fight bass in deep cover, light enough to provide good feel and thin enough to offer minimal resistance to water, allowing the bait to dive. A 12-pound-test fluorocarbon line is excellent here. It has the diameter of 10-pound-test monofilament. The extra strength is handy, and the narrower diameter lets the bait dive further faster.
Gear it down
Next, a lower gear-ratio reel helps the user crank the bait down. Many baitcast reels have gear ratios in the 7.3:1 to 8:1 range for fast retrieves, but dredging big crank- baits along with these is unnecessarily tiring.
The number before the colon indicates how many rotations the reel’s spool will make for each complete turn of the handle, and pulling a big crankbait at depth with these is like taking a steep hill in high gear in a car. A lower gear ratio reel, something in the 5.1:1 or 5.4:1 zone is ideal for crankbaits.
Next, lure color should be tuned to the water’s clarity, leaning toward natural, shad colors on clear days and chartreuse hues in cloudy water or on cloudy, overcast days.
Finally, a lure retriever with chains is a solid investment.
Saving the money
If your bait’s not crashing into something, you’re not catching fish, which is certainly a scenario that will result in deep hang-ups. If the lure retriever gets one crankbait back, you’ve paid for it. They work, and can be worth their weight in gold.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
