Ways to improve your crankbait fishing
Fish a crank bait that is rated deeper than what you are fishing
The idea here is that you want your crank bait to hit the bottom or deep cover. This makes it look like fish feeding or has been wounded. This will often get a fish to strike because of how unusual the lure moves as it hit the bottom. This is very effective if you are fishing rocks and hard bottoms. It also helps when fishing uneven ground as the lure will dive into unseen deep spots where fish are often hiding
Fluorocarbon line is a sinking line that has little stretch to it compared to most normal monofilament lines. This gives you 2 advantages when using it with crank baits. Firstly your lure will dive deeper and its action will not be impaired due to the line sinking. The other advantage of fluorocarbon is that due to its low stretch it is easier to feel bites with crank baits that are diving deep and making it easier to set the hook.
Most crank baits are light lures for their size. This can make them difficult to cast and many anglers struggle to get the distance they need to allow the lure to reach it maximum depth. You can overcome this by using a rod that is very bendy (a slow action rod) this allows the lure to load under the weight of lure making for longer casts. The other advantage is that the bend in the rod will help you in setting the hook when using treble hooks. As a stiffer rods might tear the hooks straight out the fish’s mouth.
Fish love when there is a change to the retrieval of the lure so be willing to change it up. You will often catch fish when you slow down your retrieve or by speeding it up. Sometimes you should pop the tip of your rod as you bring in your crank bait. Many people will often fish crank baits in one way, by mixing it up you can produce more fish. It is important to also think about what fish are doing when thinking about your retrieve. If the weather is very cold a fast retrieve will catch you less fish, they just do not have the energy to chase bait down, so rather fish slowly. In fact, it is better to start with a slower retrieve when fishing crank baits. Be willing to mix things to improve your chances to get a hookup
Due to the lip on crankbaits, they are designed to dive deeper the more upward pressure you exerted on the lure. This can make strikes awkward as the common overhead strike will cause the crankbait to dive. Sometimes even straight out the fish’s mouth, leaving you wondering what happened. The solution to this is rather than an overhead strike is to perform a sideways strike. You perform this by striking sideways, parallel to the water. This stops the lure from diving and will greatly increase your hookup rate. You will find its easier to achieve this if you keep your rod tip low and at a 45-degree angle. Make a smooth aggressive sideways action when it is time to strike. Never snatch the lure from the fish as you don’t want to take the lure out the fish’s mouth.
At deep depths light struggles to reach and most colors have faded away. This can make your lure harder to spot. To make it easier I tend to fish a larger lure that makes more noise and displaces more water. Due to the lack of light, color is less relevant at this depth. Rather we should rely on casting a silhouette instead. This can be achieved using a dark color like black or blue. This makes you bait stand out in the darker depths increasing your chance to catch fish
