Retrieves

[jeremy_221]

I would like to know what kind of retrieve to use for a crankbait. I have used them before and can not catch fish on these baits. Excalibur and Bomber are alot of the crankbaits that I own. What can I do different to catch fish? Do I use a stop and go retrieve, strait retrieve, or do I go slow or fast? I use to catch fish on these alot when I was younger but now I just cant catch fish on these baits. Can anyone help me out?

[robk]

I'm no expert on this topic, but my greatest success has been on a stop and go retrieve...and, my stop is at least 15 seconds. Also, when I lose faith in crankbaits, I pick up my confidence crankbait...a Yo-Zuri Goby. It's a tiny little thing...about an inch and a half long, but it catches fish. I prefer the sinking model over the floating model. I saw Brendan at a demo a couple years back and they had a casting tank. In the tank was a certified 17 lb largemouth. Now, this wasn't a typical casting tank situation where the fish are not fed for the a period before the demo. These guys were fed regularly and were fed just before Brendan went on. In all the previous demos, hardly anuone could get a fish to bite because of the stringent diet and feeding schedule that these fish were accustomed to. But, each time that Goby was thrown, that 17 lb behemoth swallowed it. Sorry... don't mean for this to be a plug. Just giving my experience sharing a story about my favorite crankbait.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Jeremy,
Crankbaits are contact baits, they are at their best when making contact with rocks, wood or the bottom. The best retrieve regardless of the crankbait is to keep contact with the bottom. This may require a fast or slow retrieve depending on the water depth. I have found that most times, simply cranking the bait fast until it reaches it's maximum depth then slowing down just enough to maintain that depth works very well. I fish crankbaits a lot, thus the nickname Dan Galusha gave me "Crankin' Crain". I also almost exclusively use deep diving crankbaits. The over-sized lip allows the baits to run deeper plus deflects the bait away from objects which helps avoid snags. The stop and go retrieve works great in cold water or when the fishing is slow. Don't be afraid to fish cranks through heavy cover, that's where the fish are. Keep them bouncing off something, free swimming crankbaits aren't all that effective. Good luck, Johnnie. P.S. I have caught a lot of big bass on cranks in 8 to 11 feet of water, seems to be the "magic" depth.

[jeremy_221]

Thanks for the info. I will use this advice next time I go fishing. I am always skunked on these baits b/c they are so difficult to fish if you don't have a wide variety of them. I will definitely try this the next time I am using a crankbait. Thanks for the help!!!