Attn: New Hampshire/New England Crankbait Users

[NHbassfisherman]

I am looking for someone that lives in the New England area that uses Crankbaits pretty much exclusively and has great luck doing so in the area. I want to learn to use them as I have been told they are good just about the entire season (April thru October). I have shallow divers Rapala DT1 up to I believe a DT6 and a couple that are deep divers. All different colors as well as the S Cranks, 1.5 and some 2.5's. Like to find out a general idea of where and when to use them as I assume they are like most baits, only way to gain confidence in them is to use them continuously. Heres a list of different Lakes I fish quite regularly.

1. Winni (But don't go out deep like in the broads and etc)
2. Lovell Lake
3. Crystal Lake in Gilmanton
4. Pawtuckaway Lake
5. Squam Lake
6. Winnisquam Lake
7. Great East Lake

[DrewFlu33]

I'm obviously not from New Hampshire and am not even a good crankbait fisherman, but maybe you could describe some of the conditions you're fishing here so that others can chime in? Water color, vegetation, etc. Just thinking that the pool of New Hampshire bass anglers frequenting this board is probably pretty slim, especially limiting to those who whack them on a crankbait. Also have to believe New Hampshire fishes similar to other northern states, particularly northeastern ones. EDIT: I realize you mentioned New England more generally, I suppose I had in mind that NH fishes a lot like New York and that's where you'd get a good pool from which to get advice.

For example, if you're fishing a lot of vegetation, even though a lot of people have success in other parts of the country on a bunch of different squarebills, it's been my experience that the SK 1.5 and versions of the RC 1.5 (tons of knockoffs, Academy, etc) are far and away the best for getting through vegetation and generating (bass) bites here in MN...even though something like an S-Crank runs awesome in more open water and works great in say, a Tennessee river impoundment over rocky areas, it just gets buried or otherwise becomes a pike magnet here. That's something pretty specific for a much more broad question, but I hope you see where I'm going with that.

[jprovencher80]

I'm in NH and have had success with cranks on most of the lakes on your list. My favorites are the Strikeking KVD 1.5 squarebill and the 8xd. I like Gizzard Shad, Sexy Ghost Minnow and Bluegill for colors.

One of the things I really like about the KVD cranks is how SLOW they back up and rise compared to other cranks. They almost suspend when you pause them.

I like to run them over submerged grass and in and over rock piles. I like to find isolated structure and hit it from multiple angles. If I can get the crank grinding on the bottom I'll pause it, snap it or change the retrieve speed. The 8xds are great for deeper structure in the 20ft range.

My go to line is 10-12lb Seaguar AbrazX. I use a 6.3:1 reel.