Crank Baits Suggestion

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
I carry all my cranks with me at all times. One of my favorite tricks is
to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended to
be
used in. Really stirs things up down there if the grass isn't too thick,
deadly where sand & rocks mix.


I agree Warren. It's worth a few snag ups here and there to bang a crankbait
off something in the water (the bottom, rocks, branches). I dunno if it
because most casual anglers just swim their baits or what, but usually I get
bit more when the bait is "swimming" into stuff.

My personal best big bass was caught in less than 2ft of water this way. I
overthrew a rat-l-trap onto a bank (cold air, cold water, fish "should've"
been deep) but some warm water runoff had the water in this particular cove
stained up. Yanked it enough to get it cleanly airborne off the bank, it
skipped off a branch sticking up out of the water about 3 feet into the
waterline, and landed right beside it, on my, the boat side of the branch. I
let it sink and sit for about 5 seconds, and within two pulls (I was
yo-yo'ing lipless cranks that day) the fish and the fight were both on.
Everyone else on the water that day were fishing jigs on deeper drop offs,
and ledges, presumably where the thermocline was. We boated that 10 lb'er
that day, and a couple that were in the 3 lb range as well and the most
other fish we saw caught were some little bitty buck bass, "maybe" keepers,
but well under that lake's slot limit (16"-20"). So even on a cold day, at
the end of February, stirring things up a little can help apparently. As
well as thinking outside the box and not thinking the rules for certain
weather conditions are set into stone. These critters are smart, and know
all the rules by now too I reckon, so I break the rules a lot just to see if
I can trick another big'un into the bought on occasion.

I carry all my cranks with me at all times.

You got more room in that boat of yours!

I will toss in a few baits from my other boxes "just in case", but I seldom
stray from what I normally do.

One of my favorite tricks is to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended to be
used in.

You know, I've read about this and have wanted to try it, but I have yet to do
it. Kinda like a lot of other fishing stuff. Lots of plans, but yet to try.

Brad Coovert
Tournament Director, Greenfield Bassmasters
http://www.greenfieldbassmasters.com
Esox Rods - Hand Made In The USA
"For The Toughest Fishing Around"

I carry all my cranks with me at all times.

You got more room in that boat of yours!

I will toss in a few baits from my other boxes "just in case", but I seldom
stray from what I normally do.

One of my favorite tricks is to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended to be
used in.

You know, I've read about this and have wanted to try it, but I have yet to do
it. Kinda like a lot of other fishing stuff. Lots of plans, but yet to try.

Brad Coovert
Tournament Director, Greenfield Bassmasters
http://www.greenfieldbassmasters.com
Esox Rods - Hand Made In The USA
"For The Toughest Fishing Around"

Good strategies Sim, nice job! I yoyo the lipless cranks in cold water
myself, if that doesn't work I burn em as fast as I can reel. Good stuff...

WW

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
I carry all my cranks with me at all times. One of my favorite tricks
is
to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended
to
be
used in. Really stirs things up down there if the grass isn't too
thick,
deadly where sand & rocks mix.


I agree Warren. It's worth a few snag ups here and there to bang a
crankbait
off something in the water (the bottom, rocks, branches). I dunno if it
because most casual anglers just swim their baits or what, but usually I
get
bit more when the bait is "swimming" into stuff.

My personal best big bass was caught in less than 2ft of water this way. I
overthrew a rat-l-trap onto a bank (cold air, cold water, fish "should've"
been deep) but some warm water runoff had the water in this particular
cove
stained up. Yanked it enough to get it cleanly airborne off the bank, it
skipped off a branch sticking up out of the water about 3 feet into the
waterline, and landed right beside it, on my, the boat side of the branch.
I
let it sink and sit for about 5 seconds, and within two pulls (I was
yo-yo'ing lipless cranks that day) the fish and the fight were both on.
Everyone else on the water that day were fishing jigs on deeper drop offs,
and ledges, presumably where the thermocline was. We boated that 10 lb'er
that day, and a couple that were in the 3 lb range as well and the most
other fish we saw caught were some little bitty buck bass, "maybe"
keepers,
but well under that lake's slot limit (16"-20"). So even on a cold day, at
the end of February, stirring things up a little can help apparently. As
well as thinking outside the box and not thinking the rules for certain
weather conditions are set into stone. These critters are smart, and know
all the rules by now too I reckon, so I break the rules a lot just to see
if
I can trick another big'un into the bought on occasion.

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..
I have been asked to
actually fish in some team-tourneys around here next year myself.

I know you're not a tournament gey (yet) Sim, but this simply will not due.
You can't fish a team tourney yourself, you simply have to find a partner!

Warren ;-)

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..
I have been asked to
actually fish in some team-tourneys around here next year myself.

I know you're not a tournament gey (yet) Sim, but this simply will not due.
You can't fish a team tourney yourself, you simply have to find a partner!

Warren ;-)

"go-bassn" wrote in message
news
"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..
I have been asked to
actually fish in some team-tourneys around here next year myself.

I know you're not a tournament gey (yet) Sim, but this simply will not
due.
You can't fish a team tourney yourself, you simply have to find a partner!

Warren ;-)



LOL! Yes, I know. I should've said I was invited by a current tourney man,
that needs a new partner. We met at the local cheese and cracker/soda/bait
shop and have talked at a couple of local boat ramps before too. Nice fella,
has a glitter rocket (newish Triton Tr 21x), and has invited me to fish with
him starting next month, to see how it goes. He was the one that ultimately
ended up getting the mount done on my big fish from last year so I guess you
could say he is "my taxidermist" now too. He thinks we'll mesh well because
he descirbes me as a "quality/trophy fish hunter" and calls himself the
crank and catch tournament guy, looking for the 5-7* heaviest fish he can
boat any particular day (*some one-day, 2-man tourneys around here weigh in
7 fish since 2 people can retain up 5 fish each in our state, per day). I
can't usually put a full livewell together, but I always seem to find 1 or 2
fish each trip that are over 4-5 lbs (on average, of course I zero at times
too). So he figures it's worth a try, and we've become decent friends over
the past year and I think he trusts me to behave and act right on his boat
in a tourney situation. I have committed to their first tourney, which is on
one of my "home" lakes, so we shall see I guess.

It is by far the best situation I've found to get to try tourney fishing. I
wanted to hook up with someone I at least knew, and also want to be a
non-boater as I don't really have a rig suitable for tournaments. It could
work, it meets the local standards (16+ feet, large livewell, et all) but it
's not really designed for anything more than a casual angler such a myself,
for weekend fun and the occasional mid-week "sick" days when the water hits
the right temp and I am so sick that I "need" to be on the water for the
cure... ;-)

I'd love to hook up with the ROFB group sometime too, but my schedule
doesn't really allow me to block off the travel time to the various distant
places you all go/have been of late. You all ever get within an area bounded
by Kerr Res/Buggs Isl. VA to the North, Santee Cooper to the South and East
of the TN mountains, I could prolly make it. Otherwise, I can't. I own my
own business and days off mean no pay...no pay means no gas money, you get
the gist. LOL! That area includes a lot of nice bassin lakes: Harris, Jordan
and Falls near Raleigh. Wiley, Norman, and High Rock near Charlotte, Kerr
Res/Buggs Island and Gaston lakes on the NC/VA line, and so on. Just FYI
though, none of them hawglike Florida-strain critters live up here that I am
aware of, so fisher beware. They don't get "that" big down/over/up here in
NC.

"go-bassn" wrote in message
news
"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..
I have been asked to
actually fish in some team-tourneys around here next year myself.

I know you're not a tournament gey (yet) Sim, but this simply will not
due.
You can't fish a team tourney yourself, you simply have to find a partner!

Warren ;-)



LOL! Yes, I know. I should've said I was invited by a current tourney man,
that needs a new partner. We met at the local cheese and cracker/soda/bait
shop and have talked at a couple of local boat ramps before too. Nice fella,
has a glitter rocket (newish Triton Tr 21x), and has invited me to fish with
him starting next month, to see how it goes. He was the one that ultimately
ended up getting the mount done on my big fish from last year so I guess you
could say he is "my taxidermist" now too. He thinks we'll mesh well because
he descirbes me as a "quality/trophy fish hunter" and calls himself the
crank and catch tournament guy, looking for the 5-7* heaviest fish he can
boat any particular day (*some one-day, 2-man tourneys around here weigh in
7 fish since 2 people can retain up 5 fish each in our state, per day). I
can't usually put a full livewell together, but I always seem to find 1 or 2
fish each trip that are over 4-5 lbs (on average, of course I zero at times
too). So he figures it's worth a try, and we've become decent friends over
the past year and I think he trusts me to behave and act right on his boat
in a tourney situation. I have committed to their first tourney, which is on
one of my "home" lakes, so we shall see I guess.

It is by far the best situation I've found to get to try tourney fishing. I
wanted to hook up with someone I at least knew, and also want to be a
non-boater as I don't really have a rig suitable for tournaments. It could
work, it meets the local standards (16+ feet, large livewell, et all) but it
's not really designed for anything more than a casual angler such a myself,
for weekend fun and the occasional mid-week "sick" days when the water hits
the right temp and I am so sick that I "need" to be on the water for the
cure... ;-)

I'd love to hook up with the ROFB group sometime too, but my schedule
doesn't really allow me to block off the travel time to the various distant
places you all go/have been of late. You all ever get within an area bounded
by Kerr Res/Buggs Isl. VA to the North, Santee Cooper to the South and East
of the TN mountains, I could prolly make it. Otherwise, I can't. I own my
own business and days off mean no pay...no pay means no gas money, you get
the gist. LOL! That area includes a lot of nice bassin lakes: Harris, Jordan
and Falls near Raleigh. Wiley, Norman, and High Rock near Charlotte, Kerr
Res/Buggs Island and Gaston lakes on the NC/VA line, and so on. Just FYI
though, none of them hawglike Florida-strain critters live up here that I am
aware of, so fisher beware. They don't get "that" big down/over/up here in
NC.

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good strategies Sim, nice job! I yoyo the lipless cranks in cold water
myself, if that doesn't work I burn em as fast as I can reel. Good
stuff...

That's my modus operandi Warren. And if those two fail, I get out a
spinnerbait. How crazy is that? Crazy, I know, but it works. I start out
slow rolling it and speed it up if nothing happens. Last thing I try then,
if all else fails, is using a spinnerbait like a jig. I've caught some
unsuspecting bucket mouths that way too. Especially in stained water where
the falling blades give it a little more "visual" if I have a darker skirt
on it, I guess. I still struggle with enticing fish with regular jigs, so I
am backing into it by using something I know *ok* enough to emulate one.
Last month, after the water started to cool a little, I even caught a fish
using a spinnerbait with the skirt removed, with small gold colorado type
blades, and a 4" red/flake senko on the hook as a trailor. Just bouncing it
down a riprap-ledge like a regular jig. My fishing buddy thought I was nuts
for even trying it until I hooked and boated a solid 3# fish with it. (We
only caught 3 fish all day...) I figured those poor fish see SO many c-rigs
in their lifes on that riprap, that something different might get me an
extra bite or two, and it did. Granted, our other 2 fish were caught on
c-rigged lizards that day, so it ain't all bad advice I guess.

WW

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
I carry all my cranks with me at all times. One of my favorite tricks
is
to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended
to
be
used in. Really stirs things up down there if the grass isn't too
thick,
deadly where sand & rocks mix.


I agree Warren. It's worth a few snag ups here and there to bang a
crankbait
off something in the water (the bottom, rocks, branches). I dunno if it
because most casual anglers just swim their baits or what, but usually I
get
bit more when the bait is "swimming" into stuff.

My personal best big bass was caught in less than 2ft of water this way.
I
overthrew a rat-l-trap onto a bank (cold air, cold water, fish
"should've"
been deep) but some warm water runoff had the water in this particular
cove
stained up. Yanked it enough to get it cleanly airborne off the bank, it
skipped off a branch sticking up out of the water about 3 feet into the
waterline, and landed right beside it, on my, the boat side of the
branch.
I
let it sink and sit for about 5 seconds, and within two pulls (I was
yo-yo'ing lipless cranks that day) the fish and the fight were both on.
Everyone else on the water that day were fishing jigs on deeper drop
offs,
and ledges, presumably where the thermocline was. We boated that 10
lb'er
that day, and a couple that were in the 3 lb range as well and the most
other fish we saw caught were some little bitty buck bass, "maybe"
keepers,
but well under that lake's slot limit (16"-20"). So even on a cold day,
at
the end of February, stirring things up a little can help apparently. As
well as thinking outside the box and not thinking the rules for certain
weather conditions are set into stone. These critters are smart, and
know
all the rules by now too I reckon, so I break the rules a lot just to
see
if
I can trick another big'un into the bought on occasion.

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
Good strategies Sim, nice job! I yoyo the lipless cranks in cold water
myself, if that doesn't work I burn em as fast as I can reel. Good
stuff...

That's my modus operandi Warren. And if those two fail, I get out a
spinnerbait. How crazy is that? Crazy, I know, but it works. I start out
slow rolling it and speed it up if nothing happens. Last thing I try then,
if all else fails, is using a spinnerbait like a jig. I've caught some
unsuspecting bucket mouths that way too. Especially in stained water where
the falling blades give it a little more "visual" if I have a darker skirt
on it, I guess. I still struggle with enticing fish with regular jigs, so I
am backing into it by using something I know *ok* enough to emulate one.
Last month, after the water started to cool a little, I even caught a fish
using a spinnerbait with the skirt removed, with small gold colorado type
blades, and a 4" red/flake senko on the hook as a trailor. Just bouncing it
down a riprap-ledge like a regular jig. My fishing buddy thought I was nuts
for even trying it until I hooked and boated a solid 3# fish with it. (We
only caught 3 fish all day...) I figured those poor fish see SO many c-rigs
in their lifes on that riprap, that something different might get me an
extra bite or two, and it did. Granted, our other 2 fish were caught on
c-rigged lizards that day, so it ain't all bad advice I guess.

WW

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
I carry all my cranks with me at all times. One of my favorite tricks
is
to
throw a long-billed crank in much shallower water than it was intended
to
be
used in. Really stirs things up down there if the grass isn't too
thick,
deadly where sand & rocks mix.


I agree Warren. It's worth a few snag ups here and there to bang a
crankbait
off something in the water (the bottom, rocks, branches). I dunno if it
because most casual anglers just swim their baits or what, but usually I
get
bit more when the bait is "swimming" into stuff.

My personal best big bass was caught in less than 2ft of water this way.
I
overthrew a rat-l-trap onto a bank (cold air, cold water, fish
"should've"
been deep) but some warm water runoff had the water in this particular
cove
stained up. Yanked it enough to get it cleanly airborne off the bank, it
skipped off a branch sticking up out of the water about 3 feet into the
waterline, and landed right beside it, on my, the boat side of the
branch.
I
let it sink and sit for about 5 seconds, and within two pulls (I was
yo-yo'ing lipless cranks that day) the fish and the fight were both on.
Everyone else on the water that day were fishing jigs on deeper drop
offs,
and ledges, presumably where the thermocline was. We boated that 10
lb'er
that day, and a couple that were in the 3 lb range as well and the most
other fish we saw caught were some little bitty buck bass, "maybe"
keepers,
but well under that lake's slot limit (16"-20"). So even on a cold day,
at
the end of February, stirring things up a little can help apparently. As
well as thinking outside the box and not thinking the rules for certain
weather conditions are set into stone. These critters are smart, and
know
all the rules by now too I reckon, so I break the rules a lot just to
see
if
I can trick another big'un into the bought on occasion.