Johnnie C. /cranks

[carl]

The other day we were out and not having any luck. When we passed two other boats we asked how they were doing, and they said great, so we asked on what, and they said crankbaits. So we dig out our's and still no luck. Do you have any rule of thumbs on color choice, size, how much wobble? The water was very clear, so we used white and off white. I went to gold and red, and then blue/green still with no success. The water was 67 degrees, and we were bouncing them off stumps. Any idea about what we were doing wrong.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Carl, in clear water I ALWAYS use wood crankbaits, I use Poe's 300-400 series in spook- which is off white with small blotches of gray. Gray is another good color. There are other good wood crankbaits out there, it's just that I prefer Poe's.
When crankin in clear water you need to keep the bait moving fairly fast, so the fish don't get too good a look at the bait. Also-very important-no rattles-that's another reason to use wood.
If the water has any color at all I use a gray Wiggle Wart by Storm. This wide wiggling little bait just triggers strikes, it does, however; rattle. Again, I use gray. Carl you aren't going to find any gray lures, I paint my own- a 50/50 mixture of black and white exterior house paint. This makes the gray color and more importantly, makes the bait slightly heavier and fishes deeper than off the shelf baits. I crank the Wart fairly fast also, just don't over-fish it or it will start to rise. Don't worry too much about cover, chunk rock banks are the best, ends of points are great and rock bluffs produce well also.
Carl, I catch fish on the deep diver crankbaits until the water reaches 38 degrees, then they really slow down, up until that temperature, I'm comfortable using cranks. Below 55 degrees, I use the deep diver wood baits and add SusPend Strips to the baits sides and belly, allows the bait to run even deeper and slows the action of the bait. I make long-parallel casts along banks and points and try to keep whichever crank I'm using in contact with the bottom or bouncing off of some type of cover. I use only 12# line, mono. Doesn't matter which brand as long as it's a name brand. I use Stren- Easy Cast-brown.
Hope this helps, never give up, those cranks have been very-very good to me and they will you too. I only use crankbaits that I can feel trobbing on the retrieve, if I can't feel it, I don't want it. So many times my only indication of a strike is the bait quits throbbing. Good luck, keep at it and keep us posted. Johnnie

[carl]

Once again thanks for the help, Carl.