Shallow Water Crankbaits

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Russ Baker on January 24, 2011 at 7:12pm

PJ,

 

I have had great success with shallow crank baits in Potholes. Baits that run between 3-6 feet square billed prefered have caught fish up to 7 lbs in that lake. Mostly pre-spawn fish but found they are great search baits as well. I find the square billed baits deflect off of wood so much better than the round style. Mostly throwing a Bandit in spring craw. Couple of years ago I caught a 6-14 Smallie on one of these in the back of the dunes.

 

Russ

Permalink Reply by Joe Boyd on January 24, 2011 at 7:27pm

Timber Tiger makes a good shallow runner in several nice patterns.  And they're made right here in Washington. I like the bluegill and firetiger.  If you're talking real shallow, Mann's one minus is a good one as well.

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on January 24, 2011 at 7:37pm

I do love the Hotlips... I better pick up a couple of them before the spring!

Craig Taylor said:

Luhr Jensen Speed Trap

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Luhr_Jensen_Speed_Trap_Crankbaits/de...

 

 

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on January 24, 2011 at 8:22pm

The BDS are not a square bill crankbait, they have a rounded bill, the bandit 100 has a squared off bill but also not a true square bill, the front of the lip is rounded off. Sorry for being a little picky, to make a good shallow crank the bill does not have to be a square bill.  You have to decide on a couple things when you decide on these cranks, there are tons out there. First decide on body style, Bandit 100, LC CB-100, and jackall Cherry and a few others have small bodies, On the other end of the spectrum would be your balsa baits like Bagleys Balsa B, Big O's RC 3.5 and BDS 3 among others, the mid range would be the RC 1.5, 2.5 and the BDS 1 and 2. The Speed Trap is probably the #1 mid to shallow runner on the market and I would highly suggest picking some of those up in craw patterns and bluegill. The 1/4 oz. gets down to 6 to 8 feet with 10# line use 20# line for shallower apps. The 1/8 oz is alot smaller and can be a killer, its just harder to cast.

If I had to pick I would get some speed traps, some R.C.s, and a couple balsa b's and some CB 100's.  The speed trap should be at the top of the list!

 

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on January 24, 2011 at 9:16pm

Ron what are your thoughts on the aspect of rattles that are present in the CB100s?  I know the RCs have both some with and some without, and the S.K.T is a silent bait.  Does the Speed Trap have rattles?

Ronald Hobbs, Jr. said:

The BDS are not a square bill crankbait, they have a rounded bill, the bandit 100 has a squared off bill but also not a true square bill, the front of the lip is rounded off. Sorry for being a little picky, to make a good shallow crank the bill does not have to be a square bill.  You have to decide on a couple things when you decide on these cranks, there are tons out there. First decide on body style, Bandit 100, LC CB-100, and jackall Cherry and a few others have small bodies, On the other end of the spectrum would be your balsa baits like Bagleys Balsa B, Big O's RC 3.5 and BDS 3 among others, the mid range would be the RC 1.5, 2.5 and the BDS 1 and 2. The Speed Trap is probably the #1 mid to shallow runner on the market and I would highly suggest picking some of those up in craw patterns and bluegill. The 1/4 oz. gets down to 6 to 8 feet with 10# line use 20# line for shallower apps. The 1/8 oz is alot smaller and can be a killer, its just harder to cast.

If I had to pick I would get some speed traps, some R.C.s, and a couple balsa b's and some CB 100's.  The speed trap should be at the top of the list!

 

Permalink Reply by Jay Johnson on February 3, 2011 at 12:27pm

Great insight Ron ... the information will help both in my technique and purchases. I was also curious about rattles versus no rattles.

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on February 3, 2011 at 1:14pm

I did a lot of research and made a few purchases.  Got a few Speed Traps a couple colors being crystal craw, and bluegill perch.  Also bought a few baits made by a company called H2O.  They are only sold in a chain of stores called Academy sports.  I got them off BBC after finding out they make some nice good quality baits similar to the RC line of Lucky craft.  I didn't care that much for the LC colors of the RC line and the H2Os were pretty sick plus they are $5.  CRS and CRM are the models of H2O that translate into the RC 1.5/2.5.  Another bait I bought to throw in more pressured clear water situations is the LC S.K.T. Mini MR in Japan Craw it is a silent bait.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 3, 2011 at 6:50pm

The original R.C.'s and the B.D.S. cranks are silent as well but alot larger then the skeet.

P.J. Koshi said:

I did a lot of research and made a few purchases.  Got a few Speed Traps a couple colors being crystal craw, and bluegill perch.  Also bought a few baits made by a company called H2O.  They are only sold in a chain of stores called Academy sports.  I got them off BBC after finding out they make some nice good quality baits similar to the RC line of Lucky craft.  I didn't care that much for the LC colors of the RC line and the H2Os were pretty sick plus they are $5.  CRS and CRM are the models of H2O that translate into the RC 1.5/2.5.  Another bait I bought to throw in more pressured clear water situations is the LC S.K.T. Mini MR in Japan Craw it is a silent bait.

Permalink Reply by Tim Bartle on February 3, 2011 at 10:11pm

 

I like the Yakima Bait (Worden) Timber Tigers.  I'll throw the DC-4 & DC-8 in wood and the DC-5 & DC-8 across flats.  The Timber Tiger is a plastic bait and there are a couple of finishes that don't have rattles if that is what you want.  In my opinion, the big problem with Timber Tigers is that Yakima Bait has done a poor job of marketing them to retailers.  This means that you won't find many of the models and colors unless you go directly to Yakima Bait.

 

If you have been fishing crankbaits for awhile you may already have baits that work in shallow wood.  For example, the old Rapala #7 balsa Fat Rap and the old Rick Clunn Poe's flat sided cedar RC 1 & RC 3 work well in wood.

 

Hopefully the following Timber Tiger tech tips will assist you in fishing shallow cranks around cover.

http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=2216

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on February 3, 2011 at 10:50pm

Thanks Ron I didn't know the BDS were silent. I am going to keep my eye open for a deal on a couple of those.

Ronald Hobbs, Jr. said:

The original R.C.'s and the B.D.S. cranks are silent as well but alot larger then the skeet.

P.J. Koshi said:

I did a lot of research and made a few purchases.  Got a few Speed Traps a couple colors being crystal craw, and bluegill perch.  Also bought a few baits made by a company called H2O.  They are only sold in a chain of stores called Academy sports.  I got them off BBC after finding out they make some nice good quality baits similar to the RC line of Lucky craft.  I didn't care that much for the LC colors of the RC line and the H2Os were pretty sick plus they are $5.  CRS and CRM are the models of H2O that translate into the RC 1.5/2.5.  Another bait I bought to throw in more pressured clear water situations is the LC S.K.T. Mini MR in Japan Craw it is a silent bait.

Permalink Reply by Ryan Lamb on February 3, 2011 at 11:48pm

I know I sound like an idiot, but I guess asking questions is good!

 

Ill use Silver Lake Cowlitz Co. for an example...

How would you guys fish cranks there?

 

This whole tech. of throwing shallow cranks is somewhat new to me, I've thrown enough, hooked enough, but landing a fish is hard for me and so is fishing them at Silver in general.

 

I have thrown shallow divers 6ft & under there and always snag, I have had a few decent fish I believe on but I always lose them on something... (Fighting a fish then instantly goes heavy but its just snagged)

 

Are there certain cranks that deflect better off of all sorts of structure in general? Am I going wrong w/ certain hooks?

 

Permalink Reply by Tim Bartle on February 4, 2011 at 7:06am

Ryan –

 

Take the following with a grain of salt as it is made up by a non-tournament fishing non-expert that hasn’t fished Silver Lake.  Plus it is way more crap than you wanted to read.

 

What cranks have you been throwing?

 

What type of wood are you getting snagged on?  For example, is it logs, laydowns (fallen trees) or brush?  When it comes to laydowns you need to fish with the "grain".  If you fish a fallen tree from the top towards the base your crank will get caught in the "Ys" of the branches & trunk.  On the other hand, if you fish the fallen tree from the base towards the top your crank will deflect off the obtuse side of these intersections.  Fishing laydowns that still have needles/leaves will also increase your chances of snagging.  Another thing to note on conifer laydowns is whether the bark is "scaly" and will snag your line.  I know this can be a problem with pine laydowns back east.  When it comes to multi branched brush (think of a shrub in your backyard), you are going to get snagged more often as there is no "grain" to fish with.  Your best plan will be to go slowly as noted below.

 

I think cranks with shorter bills are easier to work through shallow wood.  To start I would recommend retrieving crank at a steady rate until you contact the wood and then momentarily pause to let the crank float (back up) from the cover and then pull the crank forward using the rod only.  Some people refer to this as "worming" a crank through wood.  If you don't contact cover again when you pull with the rod then resume cranking and repeat the process as needed.  One way to think of it is slow rolling a crank.  Some crank designs will be more forgiving and allow you to continue cranking when you contact wood or at least only have to pause briefly before resuming.

 

Bill and body shape come into play when cranking wood.  I prefer square, coffin or wide shallow v shaped bills which I believe deflect the crank off cover.  A fat body isn't necessary but in general I think it will help prevent snagging as the body shields the hooks from wood when the bait deflects off cover.  A round bill is ideal as I think it is more likely to cause a crank to roll on its side when it contacts wood and this would increase the chances of snagging.

  

You can work longer billed cranks through deep wood but you have to realize that you will likely be fishing with a round bill.  In addition, if you continue to retrieve a long billed crank when it contacts wood, the crank will often flip over the wood due to the length of the bill and this will definitely increase your chances of snagging.  Once again, fishing slow will allow you to work a longer billed crank through deep wood.

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