you can fish a crankbait year round, except during the spawn. there is a time around the spawn when plastics will out fish a crankbait. as Banditman said, dont just throw and reel. try to bounce it off everything you can hit every cast. also change your retrieve speeds until you catch one. colors: muddy water/red, stained/chart&black and for clear water i like shad patterns(threadfin/gizzard). luckycraft,excalibur and bandits are good shallow baits. DD22's, DT series and strike king have some good deep water baits..