When Retrieving the crankbait....

[Gangly]

do you all implement a steady retrieve, or do you pause intermitantly then continue the retrieve? I've never been to successful with diving, sink-to, or any othe rcrankbait that I couldnt see well in the water, and I'm thinking it might be because i fish them with a steady retrieve like a buzz bait or a spinner bait. IS this the appropriate way to fish these lures?

what type of retrieve do you use with regards to speed and pauses?

I know this is similar to another post, but it is different and I didnt want to hijack the other thread. Thank you for any and all information.

[Chuck7]

First of all i have very little confidence in crankbaits..but like that frog..Something in my spirit is telling me to give iy a good try..After research...

most pros will tell ya to cast long...quickly get to the bottom..hit the structure and pause..hit and pause..the bouncng off the structure is supposed to trigger reaction strikes...

I plan to crankbait fish this Sat..for 4 hours maybe longer..I'll give a report...WhereI fish at has little pressure..BIG bass and plenty of drop offs up to 30 foot deep..I'll keep a notrbook this Sat.. However..all grass flats geta fulldose of the Toad..[8D]

[m.t.hands]

only thing i could add would be buy as low a gear ratio reel as you can find, i have several 3:8.1, i know lews used to make a "cranking" reel especially for crankbaits, mine are older abu garcia 4500 and 4600's, i like to stay in contact with the structure, rocks, stumps, and even standing timber and lay-downs, yes i'll throw a CB into almost anything, there was a good article in bassmasters magazine recently about cranking lay-down and brush, yea your gonna loose a bait ever now and then but 99 out of 100 you'll get the stuck bait free, the bill on the CB will deflect off of branches and roots and rocks and genrally pull the hooks around the structure instead of hanging it...and yes an erratic retrive will help trigger a strike....

[North Texan]

I fish with crankbaits more than anything else. I know some people like low gear ratios in crankbait reels. I don't. I use a pretty fast retrieve, and a high-speed reel makes it a lot easier to keep tension on a hooked fish.

I vary my retrieve. Sometimes steady, sometimes just twitching the rod tip every now and then, sometimes a heavily pronounced jerk followed by a pause.

I take the front set of trebles off my crankbaits. They snag a lot less that way.

The knot you use can make a difference. If the bait has a lot of motion, I use a palomar because it is a little stronger. If I'm in open water and the fish are being very finicky, I'll probably change to the Rapala knot.

All of my crankbaits are floating. I get a lot of bites during the pauses when the bait starts to rise. Also handy when you hang on something and can simply let off the slack and let the crankbait float free of the obstacle.

[Gangly]

Thanx for the great information guys. I hate snags and hangups, and my crankbaits arent floaters, so I might try removing the front treble's to make sure that i dont snag. Will try out the different retrieves and see if I dont get better results. Thanx again guys

[Phil from Maine]

I have lost a lot of hooks reeling in over the structure of logs, stumps and the like. But if you want to catch them you have to take the chance in order to get down to where they are. After all why fish in all the open waters if the fish are hanging in around cover? Cover provides good food for the bass or most any fish. that is part of the reason they hang around there as well as some shade from a bright sun..