Crankbait Article

[jcb]

Have not fished since late November! It's killing me!!! I hope to go New Years Day...

Heading to C-land tomorrow, Scott muhahahahahahahahahahahaha

[smljaw]

Thanks for turning the knife, John!!! Good luck to you & I expect a full report. At least that way I'll be able to close my eyes and think real hard about what it feel like to catch a good fish!!!

[CTFSHWHISKER]

smaller hooks will work,i change most of mine to the ones like are on bandits.
on the 22's and 14's going down one size will let it come over cover better and if it does hang a good straight pull will get it back loose.the old wee r's were good at tangling their feet,that happens on mostly short bodied cranks.if you have good hooks in them just put the next smaller size on the front and they won't tangle.i just wonder if any of you had any trouble with the sureset hooks on the dt series,i lost tons of fish on them things and changed them all to regular hooks.that one big hook is all that would hook and you could watch them come by the boat make a run and jump and gone.

[DJD]

I haven't had a problem with the those hooks yet. I have caught a few good fish on the DT series.....where those fish of any size?

[CTFSHWHISKER]

seem like the bigger ones were what wouldn't stay buttoned,of course.
anyway i changed them out blaming them but....it may be more my mechanics than the hooks,that's usually the case when you lose one.
heck i lost 6 keepers in 20 minutes at green flipping a tube,didn't seem like i was doin anything different than any other time they just rolled up and come off..

[Chubminnow]

I just read this same article and saw where Fritts mentioned using fiberglass rods when throwing cranks, one reason is because he can get a lot more casting distance out of a fiberglass rod and the other reason is because it allows the fish more "freedom" to take the bait and run with it without feeling the almost immediate resistance of a graphite rod.

Just curious if any of you all keep any glass rods in the boat?

[biggw]

I just read this same article and saw where Fritts mentioned using fiberglass rods when throwing cranks, one reason is because he can get a lot more casting distance out of a fiberglass rod and the other reason is because it allows the fish more "freedom" to take the bait and run with it without feeling the almost immediate resistance of a graphite rod.

Just curious if any of you all keep any glass rods in the boat?

Yes i keep one in the boat--i use it for crankin and for jerk baits

[Dave Stewart]

All my crankbait rods are glass.

A comment on the losing fish on crankbaits vs mechanics:

The biggest mistake I see folks doing when they hook up with a nice fish on a crankbait is to fight the fish with the rod tip pointed toward the sky...man that is just asking to loose a big fish. Most fish get off your crankbait (and other lures but especially crankbaits) by getting slack in the line and then shaking their heads to throw the lure. If you have your rod pointed up and the fish comes out of the water, the first thing that is going to happen is slack in the line...head shake...then off or she will get rid of most of the hooks and then get free on the next hard run or jump. I always try to teach my clients to fight the fish with the rod down and at an angle to the fish...when you do this you have control of the fish and when she comes up you can put pressure on the fish and keep the slack out of the line and reduce the head shaking.

[mhall]

All my crankbait rods are glass.

A comment on the losing fish on crankbaits vs mechanics:

The biggest mistake I see folks doing when they hook up with a nice fish on a crankbait is to fight the fish with the rod tip pointed toward the sky...man that is just asking to loose a big fish. Most fish get off your crankbait (and other lures but especially crankbaits) by getting slack in the line and then shaking their heads to throw the lure. If you have your rod pointed up and the fish comes out of the water, the first thing that is going to happen is slack in the line...head shake...then off or she will get rid of most of the hooks and then get free on the next hard run or jump. I always try to teach my clients to fight the fish with the rod down and at an angle to the fish...when you do this you have control of the fish and when she comes up you can put pressure on the fish and keep the slack out of the line and reduce the head shaking.

There you go fellas in a nutshell. I'm still guilty of this at times but I'm getting better about remembering to keep the rod tip low. This works on other lures too not just cranks.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

i use the st croix glass rods,and usually try to keep my rod tip touching the surface when a fish is on,i figure more on the mechanichs,you don't pay as much attention to yourself when bringing them in but like Dave said,it only takes a little bit to let em off,changing rod direction,or pionting at the fish.one other thing you hear is they got off at the net.i have lost a lot on cranks because the netter wants you to bring him into the net instead of dipping,and oops he pulled off,,,no not really i guess i pulled him off.