J.CraineJt Bagwell

carl · Post by **carl** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 3:57 am

Johnie, do you use cranks when the bite is off, like during a cold front when ther're holding tight to cover during one of those blue bird days? JT. Bag. I've been using those Kreature baits like crazy. Pitch, cast, flip, swim, you name it, and I've got fish. My only problem is the fish inhale these baits and get gut hooked. Since I'm strickly c@r, I don't want to gut fish my bass. Any tips so I can C@R without damaging them? Carl

johnnie crain outdoors · Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:34 am

Carl,
Since some bass go deep when faced with cold fronts etc., there are always catchable bass on crankbaits. I make long-parallel casts along steep banks and quite often, far from the shoreline. I'm generally fishing 15 to 20 feet depths. Deep water bass are not as affected by cold fronts as shallow bass so they tend to stay a little more active. These are the times I like to use non-rattling-wooden baits that reach down to about 18 feet deep. This requires a long cast, 12# line or smaller and very often, I'll add Storm SusPend dots to the bait to help drive it deeper and slow the baits reaction time. You most likely won't feel a strike, in most cases, the only clue I have is that my bait has stopped wiggling or the bait starts to rise toward the surface. In either case, I set the hook. Don't set too hard though. Some fish will be barely hooked in the soft tissue on the side of their mouth and you could rip the hooks out. Give this technique a fair try, not just a couple of casts, and you'll soon be catching fish you never even knew existed. Good luck. Johnnie

JT_BAGWELL · Post by **JT_BAGWELL** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 2:47 pm

I have yet to gut hook a fish using the Kreatures. If I had to guess, I would say that you are waiting just a little too long to set the hook. This is the same problem that people have with using the Yamamoto Senkos.

Try to set the hook a little bit quicker. One thing that helps me is the use of PowerPro line. It is extremely sensitive and allows me to detect the strikes as soon as they occur.

Good luck and I am glad you are having success with the Kreatures.

JT Bagwell

Ps: Sorry it took so long for me to reply. I just got married so I have not been around for a week or so.

johnnie crain outdoors · Fri Oct 01, 2004 6:06 am

JT, good advice and congratulations on your marriage, wish you many happy years. Johnnie

JT_BAGWELL · Post by **JT_BAGWELL** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:35 pm

Thanks Johnnie,

I am glad the wedding and all of that stuff is over. It still amazes me when I think about how much goes into that stuff.

Carl,

I thought of another thing for you to think of when fishing the Kreature. Try to make sure you have almost no slack in your line. This will also aid in strike detection and reduce the number of "gut hooked" fish.

JT Bagwell

carl · Post by **carl** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 5:00 pm

Thanks guys for taking the time to respond, Carl.

JT_BAGWELL · Post by **JT_BAGWELL** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 1:24 am

You are very welcome Carl.

Have a great week.

JT Bagwell