{"id":2734,"date":"2021-05-25T19:55:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T19:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-711416-2356891.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=2734"},"modified":"2021-12-05T20:02:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T20:02:05","slug":"the-top-5-places-you-should-be-fishing-crankbaits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gofishingoutdoors.com\/the-top-5-places-you-should-be-fishing-crankbaits\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 5 Places You Should Be Fishing Crankbaits"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Most any fisherman that knows a thing or two about bass lures has at least heard of a crankbait before. They\u2019re one of the lures that has been around for a long time but still works as good today as ever.<\/span><\/p> So I was surprised when people started asking me where they should be throwing crankbaits because they weren\u2019t having any luck. If you\u2019re in that boat and haven\u2019t been able to get into crankbaits, then this article is exactly for you!<\/span><\/p> Below are 5 places that I look to throw crankbaits in any body of water. Plus, if you read on to the end, I\u2019ll give you the secret to fishing any crankbait<\/strong> anywhere that is sure to get you more bites.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Crankbaits shine in many locations, but there maybe isn\u2019t a better one on this list than offshore rock piles.<\/span><\/p> In the heat of summer, bass love to go into 12 to 20 feet of water and sit on rock piles during the day when the sun beats down on the water. You can find big schools of bass sitting on just one rock pile. And usually, there are some big ones mixed in. .<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Getting down to almost 20 feet of water can be really challenging with most baits. And other bottom fishing techniques like jigs or carolina rigs which get there more easily are problematic because they get stuck in rocks easily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> But get a big, deep diving crankbait like the Rapala DT20<\/strong><\/a> and you\u2019ll be in luck. It dives to 20 feet every cast and doesn\u2019t easily get hung up in rocks as the lip will make it bounce off the rocks before getting stuck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The best part is this erratic movement of bouncing off rocks is exactly what makes the bass bite so well. They will reactively strike it as soon as it bounces and you can catch fish after fish front the right rock piles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The real reason I love fishing offshore rock piles is almost no other fisherman will even try to hit them<\/strong>. All of the non-professional anglers will be hitting the banks. That leaves rock piles with tons of fish on them all to you and your deep diving cranks.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t This is maybe the most popular place you\u2019ll see most fisherman fishing crankbaits and for good reason. Crankbaits running down rip rap, rock banks is a great way to catch fish all year long.<\/span><\/p> Add some wind blowing onto the bank, which creates the \u201crip-rap\u201d moniker, and you could be in a gold mine.<\/span><\/p> The wind pushes tons of small bait fish into the rocky banks where they will seek refuge against the water current. Bass will sit just below these baitfish on the rocks below waiting for the stray fish to come out for an easy meal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The rocks provide a great dead end to chase the bait fish into. And they create an excellent opportunity to throw a crankbait and \u201cbounce\u2019 off the rocks to create reaction strikes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t So if you notice a good wind blowing on your lake and it has been for a day or two – try and find a rocky bank where the wind is blowing right against it<\/strong>. Chances are, there will be baitfish that have blown in there.<\/span><\/p> Line yourself up so that you\u2019re casting parallel to the bank and just work a crankbait like a Berkley Squarebull<\/strong><\/a> a few feet from the bank. You should be just deep enough to bounce off the top or the rocks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Or if you don\u2019t get bites there, parallel the bank and go 10 to 20 feet from the bank and switch up to a medium diving crankbait like the Bandit 200<\/strong><\/a>. Sometimes bass are sitting just a little off the bank and a lot of fishermen miss them.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t One of the reasons people don\u2019t like using crankbaits is because they have two treble hooks – which means they get hung up pretty easily. So when I tell fisherman to fish shallow brush and stumps with crankbaits they\u2019re usually a little concerned.<\/span><\/p> But you’re leaving a lot of fish in the lake if you aren\u2019t doing this<\/strong>. A lot of fisherman are throwing plastic worms and other more weedless lures in these locations. Switch it up with a crankbait and you\u2019ll be catching fish other anglers just aren\u2019t.<\/span><\/p> The key to not getting stuck is to allow the crankbait to deflect off big brush and avoid the limbs they more easily hook into. If you\u2019re fishing stumps or big limbs, you won\u2019t get hung up as much.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t When reeling and you feel a bump, simply stop winding and let your crankbait lift over it.<\/strong> Most fisherman pull immediately, thinking they\u2019ll quickly pull it out of danger. But they end up just putting it right into the brush instead!<\/span><\/p> The best crankbaits here are going to be shallow running crankbaits like the KVD 1.5 Squarebill<\/strong><\/a>. But since you can lose some crankbaits, going with a BPS Lazer Eye<\/strong><\/a> is a good choice too since they are half the price.<\/span><\/p> If you\u2019re really concerned about losing crankbaits, you can also purchase this lure retriever<\/strong><\/a> which I would say gets a bait back about 50 percent of the time in my experience. Well worth the $13 if you lose a good lure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The easiest way to catch fish on a crankbait is simply to find schools of feeding bass and throw right into the middle of them.<\/span><\/p> If you have never seen bass feed – it\u2019s quite a sight. All of a sudden in the middle of the water, for no apparent reason, you\u2019ll see bait fish just start jumping out of the water. And occasionally the roll of a bigger bass chasing them upwards.<\/span><\/p> Basically what\u2019s happening is a big school of bait fish is sitting near the surface. Something has caused a school of bass to get into the area and start feeding aggressively. Usually, this is triggered by something – and seems random if you’re just watching from the boat.<\/span><\/p> But what\u2019s important is there are maybe hundreds of bass swarming on the bait schools and feeding on whatever they can find.<\/strong> And the bait fish are swimming hard to get away.<\/span><\/p> Doesn\u2019t it sound like a great place to just throw a crankbait in and lure a bass into biting? Your crankbait will mimic the baitfish but swim much more regularly – making it an easy meal.<\/span><\/p>1. Offshore Rock Piles<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
2. Rip Rap or Rocky Banks<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
3. Shallow Brush and Stumps<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
4. Schools of Feeding Bass<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t