crank bait fishing

[ctmatz]

Do not do alot of crank bait fishing. Want to start. Any help with rod suggestions would be creatly appreciated. tks

[havacman]

Medium 6.6 - 7 foot rod (whether regular or designated Crankbait I use both with no real difference to me) rod that feels the best to you you don’t have to buy an expensive one, a reel with 6.2 or less, 10-12 pound line of your choice. Simple selection of Crankbaits, square bills, few medium range (7-10 foot), maybe something in a 9-12’ range colors in Shad, chartreuse and craw patterns along with a red one in three sizes will start you off fine. Don’t get caught up in hype of brands just ask a few people what works best in your area. You don’t have to have a lot of baits to start.

[Mark Perry]

Depends on shallow, mid range or deep cranks. Shallow I like a 7' ish MH with fast tip and use 15lb fluoro, mid range I like a 7'-7' 2" medium with fast tip and use 12lb fluoro. I use 8' blend of graphite/glass for deep cranks with 12lb fluoro or mono. Personally I am not a fan of all glass rods and I dislike whippy crankbait rods especially on shallow cranks. You can get by with a 6.3 or 6.4 reel on any of them. I use same setup for lipless cranks as I do shallow cranks.

Adjust one or all the above based on cover, size of fish etc.

[PolarKraft195]

You can get some great crankbaits rods for around $100 or less. I crankbaits Fish ALOT! I always have at least 2 tied on at all times. I own a couple Dobyns Fury 705CB’s that I love, and the BPS Crankin Stick is a great choice for under $100. I suggest the MH power in their crankin stick model. The medium power is waaay too whimpy. Those 2 rods will do fine for cranks from 1 ft- 10 ft divers. I use a pair of Dobyns 764CB’s for deeper cranks.

[ctmatz]

tks for all the help and quick response

[Meadows]

Glass rods with a fast tip are the perfect setup from what I’ve found.

[rb]

Ok first if you haven’t cranked a lot, don’t even think about deep off shore now. Stay with the 0-10 foot range for now. 7 foot medium hvy rod with a good parobolic bend to it. 12 to 15 pound line with a reel speed you like. Baits: Bomber 6A RapalaDT6 Academy H2O square bill. Get you a few colors of these tie them on and throw them everywhere. Don’t be afraid to get them hung. With a good plug knocker you won’t lose many. Also keep a spinning rod with a #6 Shad Rap on. Do this and you will catch fish then we’ll all help with in depth stuff

[WalkerB]

Fenwick lunkerstik is a great starter crankbait rod line. I have one and I love it. Plus it was only 70 bucks

[shortstick]

I think crank bait fishing is what ever you get used to, here are my setups.
Square bill setups
Light cover and rip rap banks 7 ft. composite rod Medium action with Moderate tip 12lbs. fluoro.
Heavy cover 7 ft. composite rod Medium heavy action Moderate tip 17lbs. fluoro
Medium diver DT6-DT10 7'-2" composite rod Medium action Moderate tip 10lbs. Fluoro.
Deep crankin 5XD-6XD 7'-10" composite rod Medium heavy action Moderate tip 12lbs. Fluoro.
" " 8XD-10XD 7'-10" composite rod Medium heavy action moderate tip 15lbs. Fluoro.
all rods have 5:1:1 or 6:4:1 reels
One thing that you will need to learn is how to play the fish after you get hooked up.

[okiebass]

+1 on the fenwick lunkerstick --- get the 6'8" or the 7'3" ---will handle anything you need to do. Great crankbait rod, just used mine all day long 3 days ago. I have the 7'3" mh . Caught both largies and smallmouths with it.

[hulapopr]

The Hank Parker lews at wal mart
for $40 is a pretty nice crankbait
rod.Handles 300 poes to 5xds
very well.It probably could handle
a 6xd but I use the 7 10 bps for
the bigger stuff.Also that lews
makes a good jerkbait or top water
rod.

[RazorCat]

7’ MM Crankbait rod for squarebills, or cranks down to 6’ - 6.4:1 reel
7’ MHM Crankbait rod 6’ down to 12’ - 5.4:1 reel
7’+ rods for deeper cranks with a 5.4:1 reel

[ChuckTR21]

St Croix Premier crank bait rods are really good for around the $100 or so mark. The BPS cranking sticks are okay for a lower price point, as mentioned above.

[JDeeDotGee]

7' MH Bass Pro Crankin' stick is what I use. Great for the shallow lakes around here.

[cubswin]

Kind of depends on how deep you are planning to fish. I fish most of mine with two bps cranking sticks, one is medium the other medium heavy. Square bills are fished on a graphite medium rod most of the time, as do most of my balsa baits.

Baits that dive about 8ft get the medium as do bandit 300's. Heavier deep divers I use the medium heavy. Both of the bps rods have plenty of give to them.

If I was buying new I'd probably get st croix premier crankbait rods.

[itsahog]

Whatever you do, I would use some small diameter strong braided line. It’ll allow you to get the crank bait deeper and also allow you to remove it when you are hung up. I have straightened out hooks on crank baits before the braided line breaks. Crank baits get expensive...JMHO.

[basscat tyler]

If you’re just getting started I’d get a 7’ medium or medium/heavy moderate action rod and a 6:1 reel with #12 fluorocarbon. This setup can handle anything from wake baits down to the 12’ range

[Casslaw]

I only crank down to the 10’ range and 95% are Little Johns (7’ med/mod 6.3 reel, 40lb braid) or squarebills (7’ med/fast, 6.8 reel, 12lb mono).

The BPS Pro Qualifier 2 combo is (7’ med/fast, 6.8) is a great combo that goes on sale this time of year and it’s my squarebill rod and one for my topwater rod (7.5 reel). I’ll never change my topwater combo!

[tsuprum]

Can't go wrong with a couple of Ugly Stik's. Only 40 bucks each.
Maybe a 6'6 or 7' medium and a 6'6 to 7' medium heavy

[ctmatz]

tks again for all the help