"Charles Summers" wrote in message ...
T'is the season! For crankbaits that is...

I remember discovering the Zoom Fluke, and I guess I just stumbled on it at
the right time, like you with the crankbaits. When I started fishing the
Flukes, I wondered why this wasn't the only bait in my tacklebox! I was
catching alot of fish with them, and once though that they should be
outlawed!!! Then, just as quick as it started (actually about a month
later), when the weather warmed up and sent the bass into hiding... I was at
a loss. I couldn't buy a bite with a Fluke, so I resorted back to the other
items in the box.

I like super flukes also. I should have included them in my test.
Maybe this weekend.

Yes, crankbaits are good, and the crankbait season is upon us, and while you
can catch fish most of the year with them, don't trick yourself into
thinking they are always the best bait in your boat. But, don't think that
after you stop catching them on a crankbait, that the bite is over. Continue
using them as one of the great search tools, and be ready to follow up with
a slower bait when you aren't hooking up.

I read somewhere that crankbaits work better in shallow creeks than in
lakes. I know in my case crankbaits were absolutely 100% unusable in
florida, because of the weeds. Maybe since in a creek the fish are
hiding behind rocks, it takes some commotion to draw them out. I saw 3
or 4 fish dart out from rocks the other day and take the crankbait.

One piece of advice. I've been crushing the barbs off the treble hooks
with needle nose pliers. It makes it WAY easier to remove the hook.