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Most anglers know crankbaits are good lures
for summer bass fishing, but few consider the little things they
can do to make them more effective.
Contrary to popular belief, there's
more to fishing diving plugs than making lots of casts. These
baits are sophisticated tools that can really fill a livewell
when they're fished properly.
Perhaps the most important factor is to fish
them where they're most effective. Bass don't swim
around the lake looking for crankbaits, but they'll bite
them when they're living on specific types of structure.
I concentrate on the ledges of main-lake
river channels or major creek channels. That's where you
find current, and current gets the entire food chain going. With
current, the shad are moving, and the crankbait resembles a shad
darting in and around structure.
It helps to know when the dam operators are
pulling water because that tells me how the fish may be positioned.
When there is current, the bass move to the outer edges of the
ledges or to the tips of points where they feed more effectively.
If there isn't current, they are more scattered, moving
up on the points, flats or corners of the points.
Boat positioning is critical, too. I see
a lot of anglers pull onto a point or ledge, make 50 casts, then
leave because they didn't catch anything. That's a
serious mistake, especially on lakes that get fished hard. Fishing
pressure causes bass to reposition on structure. Therefore, a
simple change in the angle in which the lure is presented may
be all that's needed to get them to bite.
If there is current, I want to pull my bait
with it and across the structure, but I also will experiment with
casts that run shallow to deep or deep to shallow.
Getting that first bite is the key, as that
often triggers the entire school into feeding. Once you hook a
fish, cast back into that spot and capitalize on the moment. If
fishing slows, try other lures in the same spot. I have caught
some of my biggest bass in a school on a big spinnerbait or jig
cast into the place where I just caught them on crankbaits.
Erratic action also is important. I fish
my summer crankbaits pretty fast, trying to make the bait crash
into cover, whether it's stumps, rocks or gravel. The crashing
action will cause the bait to dart erratically and trigger strikes
from fish that otherwise may have been uninterested.
However, I also experiment with speeds and
presentations until I get one to bite. For example, if the strike
occurred after I paused the bait once it hit a stump, I know to
repeat that action on the next cast. It's critical to make
mental notes of what you were doing the moment a bass hit.
Obviously, you need to choose a lure that
runs the appropriate depth, but that can be tricky. I see a lot
of anglers use baits that run too deep or overpower the bottom
because they think they get there quicker and are easier to keep
on bottom. That can work against you because a bait plowing the
bottom loses its effective action.
You can compensate by choosing a bait that
runs the maximum depth and rigging it on several outfits with
different line sizes. The heavier the line, the shallower the
bait runs. Therefore, you can switch rods to accommodate varying
changes in depth.
Color is important, but not as important
as some people think. My general rule is to use more natural shad
patterns in clear water and add green or chartreuse to the baits
when the water is stained. I usually prefer the duller colors
over the shiny ones.
Choose a bait that matches the local forage
and be more concerned about where you put it and how you fish
it. Remember, action and presentation are the most important criteria
for summer cranking. |
