that determine whether or not it will be worth the time and effort. Starks first determines what fish he is targeting, because largemouth and smallmouth often relate to different depths and parts of the water column. “The first thing i do is try to find active fish, chasing bait in deep water. if you find the baitfish you will find the fish,” acknowledged Starks. He believes that fish only get into water that is 40-ft or deeper because of baitfish. once he finds a good group of fish chasing bait, he will try to ply them from the depths with other baits and then will attempt a crankbait.
and know for a fact that it gets deeper than other fluorocarbon lines,” added Starks. reading between the lines while talking to him, i realized he is using very light line that allows him to have more line on the spool and as a result, the bait will reach deeper depths.
CRANKBAIT SELECTION
There are a variety of crankbaits that will dive to depths of 30 plus feet with this technique. Starks claims he has almost all of them and there are two that are better than the rest; the Strike King 6Xd and the luhr Jensen Hot lips. “Both will work, but the 6Xd is by far the best. The average guy can go out right now and hit 30-feet deep with a 6Xd without much effort if he is using long-lining,” mentioned Starks. “The Hot lips is a good one too, but it is much harder to reel as it has more resistance with that much line out.” another interesting tidbit is that the Strike King 6Xd in the silent model will run deeper than the rattling version. Starks was not sure why, but claimed that it will run a few feet deeper.
EQUIPMENT
The gear used for this technique is crucial and requires more than a regular cranking rod, standard reel and normal line to make it a success. Starks has a custom made airrus rod that is bigger and has more backbone than even his normal deep cranking rod. The reel he uses is a bigger size and he recommends using the biggest reel you have because the amount of line you have on the reel is a very big piece of the puzzle. He has continued to decline to mention what pound test he is using; because he feels this is one of the biggest secrets for the technique, but did mention that fluorocarbon is the only choice. “i use Seaguar abrazX
ELECTRONICS
tGa ry t ram ont ina/ B.A .S.S .
Pho to b y
Having good electronics is the most
Jeremy Starks
Issue 4
August 2012
31