What's your Favorite Crankbait...

sTony · Post by **sTony** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:49 am

I absolutely love throwing cranks. Always have and likely always will. There's just something about the feel of a glass rod with a crank on the other end, and then a fish! My first journey into bass fishing was with a crankbait and is likely why I love 'em so much. Over the years I've amassed quite a few of them but almost all with one criteria in mind; I simply can't afford to spend a lot on them. And thankfully there's always been manufacturers that have kept the price of many of their cranks affordable to me. So, needless to say, I don't have a lot of Luckycrafts and other assorted high-end cranks. I tend to use Bombers, Normans, Wordens, Strike King, Berkley and what not. I tend to throw them into and around heavy cover a lot, over and into rock on the delta and, shallower runners over grass and such. But I really love cranking deep walls and ledges and such. Because I try to figure out how to bang them into just about everything I throw it on, I do occasionally lose or, more often, break them. It's a big part of why I buy the cranks I do; where I can afford two or three baits to one high-end bait.

So, what's your favorite crankbait(s), why, and when do find yourself throwing it the most?

sTony

Burke · Post by **Burke** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 9:24 am

My favorite are Rat L Traps. I have a few high priced lures, but like sTony, I buy lures that I can afford to lose and not cry about it. I love to crank 1/2 oz Rat L Traps along the outside edge of a weedline. I crank heavier Rat L Traps for stripers and salmon. All my PB fish have been caught on Rat L Traps.

I've lost as many as 6 Rat L Traps in a single day cranking in rocky or areas loaded with "junk". I've bought a lot of my lures on eBay for some great price. As a matter of fact, I just received a "like new" 1.5 oz Rat L Trap today that I bought for $0.99 on eBay that retails for around $16.00.

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:03 am

Too many to list..My current favorite is the Jackall DD Cherry..Although recently I have caught a lot more fish on baits other than crankbaits, they are still my favorite way of fishing..

sky88s · Post by **sky88s** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:09 am

In the past few years i have been really following SPRO.. when i want a lipless crank..same great product with out the cost of a LC..if i want to throw and not care then i will settle for the Cotton Cordell..not the best out of the box but put some better hooks on them and you are good to go..just sorta mad that its hard to find colors with them out west.

deep cranks i prefer the Normans..cheap and it gets the job done..because they're so affordable i find myself painting them on my own when there's no color that i want..

need to find a shallow crank that i really enjoy though..i love the LCs but that price just gets me every time..

Riplip · Post by **Riplip** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 11:23 am

I love throwin' right in tight cover and bangin' the junk, which makes it hard to buy $20 lures that may last an hour or less. Having said that, it still all comes back to confidence in what you are doing, and the right tools to get it done. So, here's my list:
Shallow: Timber Tiger DC4
Speed Trap
Balsa B (kinda pricey, but comes thru everything)
Medium: Timber Tiger DC8
Rapala fat rap
Norman
Balsa B
Deep: Norman DD22
Hellbender
Lipless: Rat-l-trap
SPRO
LV500

I probably use lighter line than most, mostly 8lb test except with lipless baits. You may lose more baits with light line, but better depth and action equal more bites. I keep a knocker handy and always change out hooks and rings on the cheaper baits.

DAN360V · Post by **DAN360V** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 8:17 pm

I love shallow and med depth crankbaits. I still struggle with the true deep divers, there realy is somthing to be said about the guys that are very proficent cranking that 16' to 20'+ zone. I do own alot of LC and other high end crankbaits and the Noman Deep little N still catchs more fish for me. On the river nothing beets the speed trap for me! I through my crankbaits on glass rods, since I have adapted glass rods into my fishing with baits that have treble hooks my hook to land percentage has gone way up. My favoriye thing about a crankbait is its versatility! They can weighted, painted, ripped, waked, pitched, carolina rigged etc!

Favorite Crankbaits

Norman Deep litle N (black splatt)
Speed Trap (crystal craw)
LC Flat DR (Ghost Sunfish)
Fat Free Shad (Citrus Shad)

Turkeyman · Post by **Turkeyman** » Sun Nov 21, 2010 6:52 am

My alltime favorite was the Poe Super Cedar 400 series in baby bass, this year however fishing the Motherload lakes I have caught a lot of fish on the #7 jointed shad rap by Rapala, in a shad color. My son caught a 3 1/2 lb spot on it yesterday.

Robchik · Post by **Robchik** » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:14 am

Rapala Fat Rap... The old school ones from the mid-late 90's. I liked the chrome colored ones. The chrome blue back crank is responsible for my largest crank bait fish in the delta. Lot's of good memories with that one!