Crank Biats - Losing fish

I'm still having problems with crank baits. I can get bit, but I seem to
lose a lot of fish on crank baits. I have lost two or three really good
fish this year. Two of them were easily my best bass this year. I switched
to a lighter rod with more give and it seemed to help some, but I have since
still lost two good fish recenntly on cranks. I have heard that a lot of
people lose fish on cranks, but somehow I don't think that is the case for
me. I think I am somehow playing them wrong. In each case I have had them
on for a while and moved them a substantial distance. One or two I lost
becasue I over horsed them to try and get them up and away from a submerged
tree or something like that, but I really tend to lose them near the boat
whent hey change direction.

I am considering going through my cranks and upsizing all my hooks to
Excalibur rotating hooks. I do get better hook ups on my baits that have
those hooks, but I still have lost a few fish on those too.



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"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I'm still having problems with crank baits. I can get bit, but I seem to
lose a lot of fish on crank baits. I have lost two or three really good
fish this year. Two of them were easily my best bass this year. I
switched
to a lighter rod with more give and it seemed to help some, but I have
since
still lost two good fish recenntly on cranks. I have heard that a lot of
people lose fish on cranks, but somehow I don't think that is the case for
me. I think I am somehow playing them wrong. In each case I have had
them
on for a while and moved them a substantial distance. One or two I lost
becasue I over horsed them to try and get them up and away from a
submerged
tree or something like that, but I really tend to lose them near the boat
whent hey change direction.

I am considering going through my cranks and upsizing all my hooks to
Excalibur rotating hooks. I do get better hook ups on my baits that have
those hooks, but I still have lost a few fish on those too.

Changing hooks might help Bob, but you have to remember that it's simply
part of crankbait fishing. With the free swinging hooks and added weight,
it's just the nature of the beast that you're going to lose some fish.

For me, I've found that good hooks will help, as will gently playing the
fish to avoid overpressuring it. OR, simply change the lure that you're
using to something with a more positive hookup. Many times a spinnerbait or
soft jerkbait will trigger a "crankbait" fish just as well with better
results.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

I have had excalibur hooks break, they are pretty bridle, Mustad triple
grip hooks seem to do good job and don't break...

I like Gamagatsu & VMC. But I have had fish spit baits out even with
the sharpest hooks. It's like they grab it so firmly and exhale it
without a hook ever touching them.

When you do get hooked up, use the drag to your advantage, or better
yet, learn to pop the thumbar with your thumb and use your thumb on the
spool when a big fish makes a run. Learning to do that has helped me
put a lot of big fish in the boat.

Quality tackle was the best thing to help me learn to fish crankbaits.
A top line graphite rod designed for fishing crankbaits has got
fiberglass beat for me. And I tried a bunch of them. My line is 10lb
Big Game. I also like the Norman Speed clips and get rid of the snap rings.

Trying to horse a fish out of timber is a mistake. That's where I am
getting bit. Simply keep pressure on and feed some line when you think
it's right and that fish might just swim right out of the mess for you.

Don't expect to keep a really big fish on if it grabs the bait at the
side of the boat and dives. No thumb in the world is quick enough to
pop the thumbar before the pressure is too great to do so. That's where
hooks rip out or tackle breaks.

Carlos

Don't expect to keep a really big fish on if it grabs the bait at the
side of the boat and dives. No thumb in the world is quick enough to
pop the thumbar before the pressure is too great to do so. That's where
hooks rip out or tackle breaks.

Carlos

I guess you're right, at least part of the time, but I've had some really nice
pike hit crank baits right at the boat and I don't think there's a black bass
in the world that can hit with the intensity of a northern pike. I lost a few
fish until I learned a trick or two. I don't try to hit the thumb bar, even
though I'm one of the few anglers here old enough to have first learned how to
catch fish on reels that had NO DRAG AT ALL other than your thumb.

Here's what I do with fish that hit right at boatside. (1) I keep the drag set
fairly loose (I can always add thumb pressure when more drag is called for.)
(2) When a fish hits right at the boat, I sort of set the hook sideways and
keep moving the rod tip to the left or right as seems appropriate. This
sideways movement of the rod keeps the line tight while (3) I poke the rod tip
down under the water as fast as I possibly can. The idea is to get the tip of
the rod well below the bottom of the boat so the fish can't break the line by
sawing it on the keel.

Sure you'll lose a fish or two -- which you do anyway, no matter where the fish
hits your lure -- but if you get in the habit of making a "rod dive" you'll
soon be winning a few of those "close encounters."

The "rod dive" combined with a loose drag (and an educated thumb) has served me
well on hard hitting stripers as well as for pike and bass.



Family, Friends, Fishing,
Rob Storm
http://stormsrestaurants.com

Reading this thread and some of the latest responses it causes me to say why i
like crank baits. If you have a minnow plug and you use a slow steady retrieve
with non streach braided line you can feel the hit form the slack in the line.
The fish hits the lure on the side and almost towards you. Previous to the hit
with braided line you can feel the action of the lure. All of a sudden there is
slack in the line and no feeling. Damn it stay alert and set the hook. The line
will no longer be slack and there will be nice fish there.

Reading this thread and some of the latest responses it causes me to say why i
like crank baits. If you have a minnow plug and you use a slow steady retrieve
with non streach braided line you can feel the hit form the slack in the line.
The fish hits the lure on the side and almost towards you. Previous to the hit
with braided line you can feel the action of the lure. All of a sudden there is
slack in the line and no feeling. Damn it stay alert and set the hook. The line
will no longer be slack and there will be nice fish there.

"carlos" wrote in message SNIP

Don't expect to keep a really big fish on if it grabs the bait at the side
of the boat and dives. No thumb in the world is quick enough to pop the
thumbar before the pressure is too great to do so. That's where hooks rip
out or tackle breaks.

I agree with Rob Storm on this one. There's plenty of thumbs fast enough in
the world, just ask any muskie fisherman. I don't know your definition of
a really big fish, but I typically catch 8 - 10 muskies a year that strike
at the side of the boat.

It's quite simple to stick the fish with a little sideways hookset and
follow the fish down with the rod, releasing the spool with either the thumb
bar or the side mounted button. This then allows the fish to get away from
the boat and you can fight it on a longer line. It doesn't take much to
release enough pressure to allow the reel to be put into freespool.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers wrote:

I agree with Rob Storm on this one. There's plenty of thumbs fast enough in
the world, just ask any muskie fisherman. I don't know your definition of
a really big fish, but I typically catch 8 - 10 muskies a year that strike
at the side of the boat.

It's quite simple to stick the fish with a little sideways hookset and
follow the fish down with the rod, releasing the spool with either the thumb
bar or the side mounted button. This then allows the fish to get away from
the boat and you can fight it on a longer line. It doesn't take much to
release enough pressure to allow the reel to be put into freespool.

I know some serious musky guys who hit freespool and jam their thumb
down on the spool as the lure reaches the boat on EVERY cast, just
before they dig the rod tip and figure eight the lure, which they do on
about half the casts, even when they don't see a follower.

I like Gamagatsu & VMC. But I have had fish spit baits out even with
the sharpest hooks. It's like they grab it so firmly and exhale it
without a hook ever touching them.

When you do get hooked up, use the drag to your advantage, or better
yet, learn to pop the thumbar with your thumb and use your thumb on the
spool when a big fish makes a run. Learning to do that has helped me
put a lot of big fish in the boat.

Quality tackle was the best thing to help me learn to fish crankbaits.
A top line graphite rod designed for fishing crankbaits has got
fiberglass beat for me. And I tried a bunch of them. My line is 10lb
Big Game. I also like the Norman Speed clips and get rid of the snap rings.

Trying to horse a fish out of timber is a mistake. That's where I am
getting bit. Simply keep pressure on and feed some line when you think
it's right and that fish might just swim right out of the mess for you.

Don't expect to keep a really big fish on if it grabs the bait at the
side of the boat and dives. No thumb in the world is quick enough to
pop the thumbar before the pressure is too great to do so. That's where
hooks rip out or tackle breaks.

Carlos