I absolutely hated having to stop my fishing to go in and knock hung-up a
crankbait off a snag. Even when I had the discipline to lay the snagged rod
down to delay ruining that promising cover and to continue fishing with
another rod, I still found it a major distraction. A few times I lost track
of the snagged rod, only to drift away and have the damn thing slide over
the side into the water. These things overwhelmed my anally ordered
(flawed?) mind and led to my totally abandoning crankbaits and changing over
to spinnerbaits only, except for those shallow shad raps, etc., that I coud
fish as topwaters.

I found that for me the spinnerbaits, as soon as I started experimenting
with modifications such as undersized blades, oversized blades, and
unfamiliar (to the fish) blade types, produced as well for me as crankbaits
ever did, if not better. Plus I could throw them into almost any kind of
crap and seldom ever hang up, as long as I kept them moving. I found that
having that kind of peace of mind during a pleasurable experience such as
fishing quickly restored to me a big part of what fishing is all about for
me; peace, quiet relaxation and catching lots of fish.

I see the the current heavy crankbait advertising going hand-in-hand with
the same phenomen being bestowed to expensive mono lines as being really
great news for the manufacturers, who are involved in a 100% push of these
items because they are extremely profitable. These two criteria product
classes are the highest replacement items on the market, and for these
manufacturers the profits are major. Expensive crankbaits are still lost
more than any other kind of lure, and we are taught to replace that "used"
mono as often as after each use. I don't use crankbaits at all so I seldom
ever lose a lure. I also don't use mono (I now use only fluorocarbon, and
then only for leaders), so except for frequently replacing leaders I re-use
my Fireline and Power-Pro to an extreme, with both still going strong and
doing great. I actually find both to be far superior to mono for any use.

At Secret Weapon, we get an awful lot of re-orders from regular customers.
Almost never are these orders for the replacement of lost lures. Usually
they are from customers who find that other colors and sizes now will
produce far better than the standard 3/8 oz. whites and chartreuses that
everybody else throws all the time... ho hum. We are currently looking at a
really cool and unique crankbait line that we may bring into the Secret
Weapon family. If we do, I will probably stop talking about their high loss
ratio like everybody else. I know what you are thinking: "Damn capitalist! "
Maybe we all move on financially when the opportunity arises, huh? In the
meantime, can anybody spare a few bucks for a Starbucks...

--
Bob Rickard
(AKA Dr. Spinnerbait)
www.secretweaponlures.com
--------------------------=x O')))


"RGarri7470" wrote in message
...
I have a pole type retrieve that usually works in fairly shallow water -
down
to about 15 feet.

I also made a chain type by hooking six inch pieces of light chain to a
big
ring and attached a 3 ounce weight. The ring is tied to heavy cord. I put
the
ring around the line and let it slide down to the plug. The chains hang
the
hooks and you can pull it loose. That works when you hang up in old line
on the
bottom - a pole often will not do that.
Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com