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Spring 2018
Crews fishes this crankbait on a 7”, Cashion John Crews signature square bill rod, teamed with a Daiwa 6:4-1 Tatula SV reel that is spooled with Sunline Crank FC line 10-pound in test.
AS THEY MOVE UP
As the bass move shallower with the warning water temps and food sources, the target depth will change and so will Crews’ crankbait selection.
Bass will start to move up the points and drop offs many times finding structure to hold on along the way. Once again Crews’ electronics will come into play to locate bass holding areas that he will target.
Bass will look for natural and “fishermen placed” brush piles as they pass from deep to shallow. Deeper weed edges will also start to attract the bass’ attention.
“Look for fish holding structure that the bass will stop on, as they will use these locations not only on the way towards the shallows, but (they) may use them, if they get pushed out of the shallower depths from a coming cold front,” he said. “Females may also use these holding places, coming out of the shallows on the way back towards deeper water to recoup from their spawning activities. When you look at these areas these are key as they will be used both coming towards the shallows and leaving the shallows as well”.
SHALLOW TARGET ADJUSTMENT
To target these shallower areas, Crews will make a bait change to a Little Crews MD. The Little Crews MD will cover water depths in 6- to 8-feet, it also has a different swimming action than the DD 60 by design.
“When yI find bass that are holding in brush piles, or close to weed edges, I will get the Little Crews over their head, stop the bait and fish it like I would a stickbait to get strikes,” he said. “I will stop the bait and give it a few twitches, to see if I can trigger a strike reaction from shy females holding in the cover. I also have had great success in just cranking this bait down, slowing it way down and stopping the bait on the way back to the boat”.
Crews fishes the Little Crews MD on the same rod, reel and line setup, spooled.
“If you need to get another foot in depth, do not be afraid to spool up with Sunline Sniper 8-pound, and go to work,” he added. “There are days when you will need to reach just a little deeper to get to some of the brush piles that many of the other guys are not reaching to trigger bites.”
shorelines. He likes the action of the Little Crews, as it does not have as wide of a wobble as a square =bill bait like the Fat Crews 50 and 60.
“Because of the tighter swimming action, this subdued action will trigger bites when the bass are seeing a steady diet of fishermen throwing square bills over their heads,” he explained.
As the bass move shallower into the spawning bays, Crews will give the bass a crack at his Fat 60 and 50.
“It is all about covering water at this point as the bass will be activity looking for food and looking for a mat,” he said. “So, just putting your head down and covering water is key at this time of the season before the spawn and the Fat Crews 60 and 50 allow me to do just that”.
Crews fishes his Fat Crews 50 and 60 on the same rod and reel combo, this time spooled with Sunline Crank FC 14- to 16-pound-test. The reason for the line size change has to do with depth control. Crews wants his baits to touch the weeds, but not get buried in them, so he will control the depth that the Fat Crews can reach with the size of the line he is fishing that day.
So, if you are looking to cover water this spring to find the active bites waiting on the spawn, turn towards John Crews’ springtime cranking system. By paying attention to your electronics and mapping, you will be able to see what key holding areas to target. Adjust as the bass move shallower
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READY TO SPAWN
As the bass start to hit the spawning bays, Crews will fish a few different cranks to see what the bass are looking for that day. The three baits that he has laying on his Bass Cat deck are his Little Crews, Fat Crews 60 and Baby Fat Crews 50.
Each of these SPRO Little Crews options will work when bass get closer to the spawn. Crews picks up the Little Crews first when he starts to hit the weed flats and rocky
with the warming waters and hold on for some of the best early season crankbait fishing you have had in a long time. •