Best and worst Smallmouth Billed Crankbaits

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Lunde on January 8, 2013 at 11:44am

Bandit.. Who needs April. March works real well for the brown bass.  :) 

Permalink Reply by Don Hogue on January 8, 2013 at 1:38pm

Best for me has been Luhr Jensen Speed Traps and Hot Lips. Would also recommend Storm Wiggle Warts, Rapala Fat Raps, Shad Raps and DT Fats, Normal Little N's, and various Bombers.

Worst...guess nothing really comes to mind that I would say hasn't had a time/place, but there's a few I haven't tried, especially the more expensive ones.

Permalink Reply by Josh Potter on January 8, 2013 at 2:22pm

I haven't seen or fished too many crankbaits I didn't like. I do have a few favorites however. I really like some of the Yozuri cranks. I have a few Lucky Craft's that I like and of course the speed trap and hotlips get quite a bit of work in my boat. I can't wait for March to roll around!

Permalink Reply by D.J. LaRoche on January 8, 2013 at 4:20pm

I love the Aragon cranks.  They produce really well at times.  My favorite cranks are the wiggle warts.  I have a ton of confidence in them.  

Permalink Reply by BigBass Dez on January 8, 2013 at 5:13pm

My Top 3 favorite crankbaits:

Bomber Flat A : Smallmouth Love the action in these baits early spring .

 

River 2 Sea Hi Dep 65 : Run true out the box and there color selection are spot on IMO.

 

Rapala Shad Rap : These cranks are just straight up fish catchers and have been for ages IMO .

 

Permalink Reply by Ryan Perrey on January 8, 2013 at 8:09pm

I'm a big believer in Koppers Live Target crankbaits for both smallies and largies. The realism is there.

Also love Norman DD22 for smallies specifically. There not the most realistic cranks out but they get deep quickly and are much more snag proof than other deep divers I've toyed with. 

Permalink Reply by rzone on January 8, 2013 at 8:47pm

Ive caught a lot of smallies on the Live Target Perch. My choice too.

Ryan Perrey said:

I'm a big believer in Koppers Live Target crankbaits for both smallies and largies. The realism is there.

Also love Norman DD22 for smallies specifically. There not the most realistic cranks out but they get deep quickly and are much more snag proof than other deep divers I've toyed with. 

Permalink Reply by David Parnicky on January 8, 2013 at 9:08pm

I'm a fan of Timber Tiger DC 13's, Norman Deep Lil' N's, River2Sea HiDep 65's, Luhr Jensen Speed Traps, and Luhr Jensen Hot Lips.  They are all well priced and have produced for me. 

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on January 8, 2013 at 9:11pm

I don't fish cranks too much, but I have caught fish on Luhr Jensen Speed Traps, Hot Lips in all sizes and Rapala Shadraps.

Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on January 9, 2013 at 10:41am

I have confidence in so many different crankbaits it would be useless to list them; but very rarely do I ever fish one without making changes to it.  Many require tuning, many require hook brand, model, and size changes, most benefit from changing the line tie to a clip, some require different split rings, and some perform better after changing the weighting.  Custom paint is sometimes warranted as well.

 

Crankbaits are the most fun way to fish for me, with jerkbaits a close second.  Most brands work, you just need to understand that subtle changes can make a huge difference in results.  All Speed Traps are not created equal, nor are Wiggle Warts, Bombers, Bagleys, Rapala Fat Raps, etc.

 

ciao,

Marc

 

 

Permalink Reply by Jordan Doucet on January 9, 2013 at 5:03pm

I really like the norman Middle N and DLN series as well as the Bomber FFS. Not all are created equal and some require tuning but you can typically get them tuned right without much effort. 

Ironically, I've had the worst luck with the smaller Lucky Craft CB DR and CB MR cranks. Although for deep cranking i've had no problems with the CBD12 and CBD20

Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on January 9, 2013 at 6:56pm

Mike Matkowski with a nice smallmouth caught on a Lucky Craft CB MR in Aurora Gold.  Yes, the lure had the line tie oval ring replaced with a stainless snap, and the hooks replaced with Gammie EWG Trebles.  No tuning necessary.  Bet you can guess where this was caught.

ciao,
Marc

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