Marking Baits

[Jabbo]

I can tell you that I've bought lures new and now many are beat to heck.
they are scratched, gouged, marked etc. and they still catch fish.
A few marks aren't going to make a big difference. Besides, the Green Mamas your looking for (or Brown depending) are gonna grab it and taste it if they're in a eating mood. It's a rare occasion when they critique a few stray colors or marks imho.

[RICHYD4U]

I would say do whatever works for you...like others have said, little marks won't make a bit of difference on your CBs.

-Rich

[FishFry]

An idea I would suggest as I use it myself is buying a big bag of the yellow hook guards from BPS. Theyre like 3 or 4 bucks for a bunch of them. I put them on all of my crankbaits and write the depth on the hookguard in sharpie. When I tie on one of the baits, I put the hookguard in my pocket. When I change baits I just put the guard back on. It takes 3 seconds and my baits stay organized. Also I keep the Rapalas I have accumulated in their boxes so I know the specs for each bait. Im no expert on cranking so this helps me know what baits swim at each depth.

[apb]

If a fish can ignore 2-3 sets of treble hooks hanging of a crankbait, they'll ignore a little mark on it too If placing a mark on the bait somehow helps you do determine the depth the plug runs, go for it.

Andrew

[sweetwater]

If a fish can ignore 2-3 sets of treble hooks hanging of a crankbait, they'll ignore a little mark on it too If placing a mark on the bait somehow helps you do determine the depth the plug runs, go for it.

Andrew

I would recommend changing the "factory" trebles on those cranks to higher quality hooks. It won't help fishing much but it sure will improve the catching.

[softcraw]

I seen a tv show one day and a lot of the Pros mark their crank baits like you were talking about. They mark them from depth and how effective each bait was. Every pro has their favorite crank bait and they are the most wore out bait in their box, I mean they hardly have any paint left on them.

[MetalFish513]

Sometimes I think people give fish a little too much credit. A few little marks on a crankbait is not going to affect anything. I have some Bomber cranks that actually say Bomber on the side of them. Write the depth on them, put mean eyebrows on them, draw a little smiley face on the side of them.... If they're at the right depth and location the bass will strike at them.

[Jackster]

I started doing this very thing a few years ago. I mark the bills with the depth and depth ranges. I haven't seen any differences in the # of fish caught between the ones I have with and without depths on the bills. If you use several different brands of cranks it will be helpful.

[roadrunner]

An idea I would suggest as I use it myself is buying a big bag of the yellow hook guards from BPS. Theyre like 3 or 4 bucks for a bunch of them. I put them on all of my crankbaits and write the depth on the hookguard in sharpie. When I tie on one of the baits, I put the hookguard in my pocket. When I change baits I just put the guard back on. It takes 3 seconds and my baits stay organized. Also I keep the Rapalas I have accumulated in their boxes so I know the specs for each bait. Im no expert on cranking so this helps me know what baits swim at each depth.

That may be my problem with crankbaits you take the yellow plasticey thing off when you fish them.

beep beep

[Fishin is life]

That may be my problem with crankbaits you take the yellow plasticey thing off when you fish them.

beep beep

Don't make too much fun of that kinda stuff....when i was younger i bought one of the buzzbaits from wal mart and had a ton of blowups on my first trip in a farm pond but didn't stick a single one of them....right before dark i decided to inspect my buzzbait a little closer and the hard plastic wrapping was still on the hook so kids wont stick theirself if they manage to pick one up.....i felt like a complete idiot