Consider Changing Stock Trebles on Crankbaits

It's important to note that not all crankbaits require immediate hook upgrades but many less expensive models do. Even though higher-end lures often come equipped with quality hooks; the decision to change those as well depends on individual needs and preferences of the angler.

However, understanding the potential benefits of upgrading hooks can help bass anglers optimize their crankbait performance and potentially increase their catch rates.

Take a few minutes and watch as bass pro Bradley Roy reveals the reasons why he often changes out the stock trebles on his crankbaits as well as other hardbaits...

I recently purchased several "low-end" crankbaits to use around heavy cover and was quickly reminded why treble hook upgrades are important.

Though the baits did a great job of getting bass to strike, I had a hard time keeping them pinned on the stock trebles. After changing out the stock hooks to higher quality options, my landing percentage rose above 75%. The change was definitely worth the cost for the upgrade!

Micro Crankbaits: When Less is More for Bass

Micro crankbaits are compact fishing lures that range from 1 to 1 3/4 inches in length and weigh around 1/16 to 3/16 ounce. 

They're designed to mimic the size and action of small baitfish, making them ideal for tempting bass, especially when they're pressured or feeding on forage fish. Even bass pros like Rick Clunn and Matt Stefan have noted many instances where micro cranks helped fill the livewells and cash checks in tournaments over the years.

Setting Up to Fish Micro Crankbaits

Ultralight or light spinning tackle: Choose a rod with a moderate fast action and light line (4- to 8-pound test) to cast the lightweight baits and feel subtle bites. Newer light power BFS casting combos can also work great when fishing these lightweight baits.

Preferred line types: Though each major line type may be used, each one has certain properties that may make it more suitable depending on conditions. Fluorocarbon line offers lower stretch and  almost complete invisibility in the water; monofilament and copolymer lines tend to be easier to work with and offer more stretch if needed while braid provides better sensitivity for feeling the most subtle strike.

Here are several tips on how to fish micro crankbaits for bass:

Cast to shallow water. Micro crankbaits are most effective in shallow water, up to 5+ feet deep. Bass often ambush prey in shallow areas, so casting your crankbait near cover, like weeds, rocks, or logs, is a good strategy.

Retrieve slowly. Since many micro crankbaits have a tight wobble action, so you don't need to retrieve them quickly. A slow, steady retrieve is usually the most effective way to fish them.

Vary your retrieve. Try pausing the retrieve occasionally, or twitching the rod tip to make the crankbait erratically. This can trigger strikes from bass that are following the lure.

Experiment with different colors. Bass can be picky about the color of lures, so experiment with different colors to see what works best in the water you're fishing.

Here are some popular micro crankbaits for bass:

Strike King Bitsy Minnow: This is a classic micro crankbait that has been around for years. It's available in a variety of colors and has a tight wobble action that bass love.

Rapala Ultra Light Crank: This is another good option for bass. It's a little bit bigger than the Bitsy Minnow, but it still has a tight wobble action and dives up to 8 feet deep.

Bill Lewis Gnat (New in 2023/24): This compact powerhouse (1.5”, 1/8 oz) delivers precision throws and dives into the strike zone at 3 feet. With stunning finishes, mesmerizing action, and a rainbow of 8 fish-tempting colors, the GNAT makes catching a breeze.

Micro crankbaits can be a great way to catch bass, especially from the post spawn through early fall when bass are often feeding on fry and small baitfish. In addition to being great options for bass, micro crankbaits will also catch just about anything that swims including perch, crappie, sunfish and even trout!

With the right tackle and technique, you can have a lot of fun fishing with these tiny baits.

Why Use Balsa Crankbaits When Fishing Shallow Laydowns

Laydown trees are a great shallow water fishing target, especially during the cooler water periods. Most laydowns provide bass with optimal cover, food, and ambush points. 

Balsa crankbaits are an excellent choice for fishing laydown trees, offering several advantages over other types of lures.

Buoyancy

One of the biggest advantages of balsa crankbaits is their buoyancy. Balsa is a very light wood, which makes balsa crankbaits more buoyant than plastic crankbaits. This buoyancy allows balsa crankbaits to float over cover more easily, reducing the chances of snagging.

Action

Balsa crankbaits also have a unique action that is different from plastic crankbaits. Balsa crankbaits have a softer, more subtle action that is often more appealing to bass. This is especially true in shallow water, where bass can be more wary of lures.

Sound

Balsa crankbaits also tend to be quieter than plastic crankbaits. This can be an advantage in shallow water, where bass can be more easily spooked by loud noises.

Here are a few tips for fishing balsa crankbaits for shallow laydown trees:

• Focus on casting to the edges of the laydown trees. This is where bass are most likely to be positioned.
• Don't be afraid to cast your balsa crankbait right into the laydown trees. Balsa crankbaits are very durable and can withstand a lot of abuse.
• If your balsa crankbait does snag, release the tension on the line and allow the buoyancy of the bait to float it free. 

Bass pro Seth Feider loves fishing balsa crankbaits when probing shallow cover like laydowns and submerged trees. Take a few minutes and watch as he provides an on the water demonstration and discussion listing several tips when fishing shallow wood with balsa crankbaits…

Details of Crankbait Tuning

Crankbaits are a popular type of fishing lure that can be used to catch a variety of fish, including bass, walleye, and pike.

One problem with crankbaits however is that they can be finicky and may not track straight out of the box. If your crankbait is not tracking straight, it can be difficult to fish effectively and you may not be getting as many bites as you could.

Fortunately, it is relatively easy to tune a crankbait to track straight.

All you need is a pair of needle-nose pliers and a few minutes of your time as Lurenet's Frank Scalish explains in the following video...

Wow, line tie position matters! I never realized that I might not have been tuning my crankbaits to maximize their performance for all these years.

How about you?

Gear Adjustments to Enhance Crankbait Presentations

Crankbait fishing can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it's important to use the right equipment to maximize your chances of success. Two key factors to consider when using crankbaits are the length of your fishing rod and the size of your fishing line. 

Here are some tips to help you enhance your crankbait performance:

Longer rods are better for deeper water: If you're fishing in deep water, a longer rod will allow you to make longer casts and achieve deeper depths than shorter rods. Look for a rod that's at least 7.25 feet long.

Shorter rods are better for shallower water: If you're fishing in shallower water, a shorter rod will give you more control and allow you to make more accurate casts. Look for a rod that's between 6.5 and 7 feet long.

Use light line for better crankbait action: The lighter your line, the more action and depth you'll get when retrieving your crankbait. This is because lighter line has less resistance in the water and allows your bait to move more freely thereby triggering more strikes. Try using a 10-12 lb. test line when greater depths and enhanced action are desired.

Use heavier line for more control: If you're fishing in heavy cover or around structure, you may want to use a heavier line to give you more control over the fish. Look for a line that's between 14 and 20 lb. test.

Fishing Crankbaits for Prespawn Bass

Crankbaits can be an effective lure for catching prespawn bass looking for food before spawning season begins. 

Here are some tips for fishing crankbaits for prespawn bass:

Use shallow to medium diving crankbaits: As the water is still cool but warming during the prespawn period, bass are moving from their deeper wintering areas. So, using a crankbait that allows you to reach the depth where the bass are feeding is key.

Vary your retrieve speed: Experiment with different retrieval speeds until you find what the bass are responding to. Start with a slow and steady retrieve and then gradually increase the speed until you find the sweet spot.

Target structure and cover: Prespawn bass will be looking for areas to feed and hide, so focus your efforts on areas with structure and cover such as weed lines, drop-offs, wood, and rocky points.

Spring Crankbait Selection

As bass begin to make their springtime moves into the shallows from winter havens, finding the location of these fish is a major key to success.  Many bass anglers select lures allowing them to cover water fairly quickly (search baits) as we work to uncover bass migration routes and staging areas.

Crankbaits become a popular choice for spring bass fishing since many different types and sizes are offered by lure manufacturers. This great selection makes it easy to find a version to match the mood of early spring bass.

Of course anytime there are many different types of a bait available from which bass fisherman can chose, there is also significant room for making a less than optimal selection.

This is definitely the case when selecting the proper crankbait for spring bass fishing.

Spring Crankbait Fishing Success Clues …

Here are a five specific pointers to assist in selecting the right crankbait style for early spring bass fishing:

Downsizing Crankbaits for More Bites

Crankbaits are fantastic baits for drawing strikes and catching active bass when feeding on a variety of forage such as shad, herring, perch, shiners and even crawfish. They are also very popular baits among structure fishermen thereby exposing the fish to the most common crankbait sizes for those staging along structural features like ledges, humps, points and deep flat edges.

Though bass sometimes get "conditioned" to certain crankbaits along these popular cranking environs, sometimes simply downsizing your crankbaits will help trigger more bass into striking in these pressured areas.

Take a moment and watch as Bassmaster Elite Pro Chris Zaldain explains his approach to effectively fishing crankbaits in pressured waters...

Cranking Super Shallow Cover

If you love fishing shallow cover like me and many other bass anglers, you might be interested in a new crankbait developed by the folks at Strike King.

Though most of us probe shallow cover with baits like jigs, Texas-rigged soft plastics, spinnerbaits and hollow-bellied frogs, we often shy away from throwing baits adorning treble hooks due to the "snag factor".

According to SK pro Kevin VanDam, the company's Hybrid Hunter Shallow JR is designed to run erratically in a depth range of 0' to <2' and is still amazingly snag resistant. A perfect combination of features making it an ideal treble-adorned bait for working shallow cover.

Take a moment and watch as KVD demonstrates how effective the Hybrid Hunter Shallow JR is when fishing super shallow cover in muddy water conditions...

Making Crankbaits Suspend

When most anglers hear the term suspending baits they likely think of the most common suspending lure type, the jerkbait. 

But many savvy bass anglers realize there are limitations to what can be accomplished with a standard minnow-style jerkbait and have modified different types on billed crankbaits to suspend as well.

The most common floating to suspending crankbait modification is usually performed on one of the best cool/cold water crankbaits on the market, the Rapala Shad Rap (<== post link).

Some of those same methods can be applied to other diving crankbaits as bass pro Matt Stefan illustrates in this insightful video:

In additon to the methods Matt discusses in the video, the addition of Storm's Suspend Strips or Dots also helps with crankbait modifications as well.

It definitely provides some food for thought when out trying to entice cold water bass into biting!

Need additional components to modify baits or make your own fishing lures? 

Check out the wide variety of bait making and modifying items available at Lure Parts Online by clicking on the following image!

Selecting Line Sizes When Fishing Crankbaits

When fishing a moving bait like crankbaits, new crankbait anglers often miss the subtlities of gear selection to maximize the performance of the bait. 

Beyond the fact that different types of crankbaits (squarebills, medium diving crankbaits, deep diving baits) present the first mystery to decipher when trying to master crankbaits, line selection also plays a key roll on how each crankbait performs during the retrieve.

Take a moment and listen as bass pro Chris Zaldain explains his approach to optimize crankbait performance by selecting the right type and size line to match the conditions being fished...

The two main points Chris makes in his video:

• Fluorocarbon line is preferred when fishing crankbaits
• Use heavier lines when fishing shallow running baits and decrease line size when fishing deeper running crankbaits especially in clear water

Crankbait Fishing 101 Via Kevin VanDam

After a quick video interview of KVD on the new Strike King crankbait by APbassin’, Kevin VanDam takes his position at a sportsman show demo tank discussing, what else, crankbaits…

KVD provides a fantastic primer on crankbait fishing covering everything from proper rod, line selection,and types of crankbaits to select for different situations (depth range, rattle vs. silent, square bills, etc.) in this 14 minute presentation…

Talk about giving a live, at-the-tank class in Crankbait Fishing 101… Way cool!

Definitely worth taking the time to watch, listen and take a few notes…

Fishing Deep Crankbaits for Bass

Crankbaits are versatile bass lures available in a wide range of sizes, styles and color patterns allowing the bass angler to use them throughout the seasons.

Deep diving crankbaits are particularly effective for fishing offshore structures, where bass reside during the winter and summer months.

Selecting the right crankbait style and depth range, such as the Rapala DT20, in a color pattern matching dominant forage results in great bass “catching” opportunities as demonstrated in the following video …

One other thing to keep in mind is the approach the Lindner brothers use in the video before even starting to fish. Note how they take the time to carefully map out the rock pile structure with sonar and GPS before actually fishing for the largemouth bass present on the spine of the pile.

It’s all part of turning the bass fishing trip into a bass catching adventure!

Tight lines & full livewells …

Intro to Fishing Deep Crankbaits

As the bass spawn winds down in your area, many bass begin their transitions back to their deep-water homes such as ledges, deep ends of points, deep weed beds, rock piles, etc. 

When these structure-oriented bass are active and feeding on either schools of baitfish or bottom-scurrying crawfish, power fishing deep water crankbaits is often a great presentation for triggering these green denizens of the deep into striking.

Take a moment and listen to Spro bass pro John Crews' tutorial on the basics of deep water cranking regarding this potentially deadly bass-catching technique:

And remember what John mentions during the video, the information he presents can be applied when deep cranking a variety of different depth ranges or to different companies deep crankbait models!

Spring Crankbait Tips

When bass fishing pro KVD takes the time to talk about spring crankin', it's a good idea to listen!

In this on the water video, KVD discusses and demos a number of tips about effectively fishing crankbaits for spring bass...

Change Casting Angles and Catch More Bass?

Identifying transition and staging areas can be the key to connecting with prespawn bass. One of the best man made features on many bass lakes are bridges and associated rip-rap/abutments.

These features not only offer substantial cover, they're also often part of the "map" bass use as they migrate to spawning areas. 

Quickly working each side of the rip-rap or abutments insalmost guaranteed to produce a few fish, but maybe there's a way to get even more bass from bridge systems?

Take a moment and check out this video where bass pro Seth Feider demonstrates a better approach to produce even more bass from these bass magnets:

Change your angle; catch more bass. 

Definitely worth the effort!

Selecting Crankbaits for Specific Depths

Have you ever walked through the crankbait section of your local tackle show and felt just a tad bit intimidated by all the possible choices?

I know I have! 

Never mind all the possible color patterns, the shape, size and angle of the diving bill can leave many of us mesmerized by the options and "dive to" depth for each.

Looking for a little insight and clarity, then take some time and watch as crankbait guru and bass pro Ott Defoe explain his system for unraveling the nuances in crankbait bill design and application...

Crankbait Selection Criteria

Given the plethora of crankbait styles and color patterns, knowing the reasons for selecting the correct bait to use in varying conditions helps bass anglers catch more bass.

In this video, bass pro Jeff Gustafson describes his system for selecting the best crankbait for any situation.

Take a few minutes and hear what "Gussy" has to say about crankbait selection criteria...

Cranking Creek Arms for Prespawn Bass

As warming trends build through the prespawn, the water in the backs of creek arms heats up quicker than other areas of a lake. Warming water brings all types of microbes and water bugs to life which draws bait and ultimately game fish like bass to those areas to feed.

Though a number of different baits can work, shallow running and lipless crankbaits are highly effective tools for finding and catching these hungry bass.

Take a moment and hear how bass pro Ott Defoe approaches finding the productive cover and catching gorging bass from the creek flats...

Tips for Fishing Flat-sided Crankbaits

What's the best crankbait when fishing the cool water periods of late fall and early spring? Many bass anglers opt for one of the many flat-sided crankbaits available in today's market.

Like all moving baits, there are a number of considerations that come into play to optimize the productivity of your flat-sided bait as bass pro Ott Defoe discusses below...

One thing to keep in mind, even though a specific brand/model of bait is discussed, these same tips usually apply to any similar bait!