Best Crank for Deep Cranking

[BemisBasser]

Is the 6xd still the king of deep cranking or has another lure overtaken it? I have always preferred the DD22 & Fat Free Shad myself, but cannot get bit on them lately. What do you guys think?

[DrewFlu33]

6XD is the old standby, for sure. The Berkley Dredger is a great newer one, completely different than most as it's way smaller in profile yet will get down deep with no issues. DT16s and 20s are good in certain situations, I think especially to show them something different when the fish have seen a ton of 6XDs, and the Berkley Digger is basically a plastic DT.

The DD22 is one I've caught fish on but they seem a little more specialized, I think because they swim differently than most deep cranks. It seems like they get to depth slowly while the others dig down right away. I think they have their place when fish are suspended off of breaks as they don't come off the break then follow the contour straight down, but instead swim much more horizontally. I could be completely off on that as I haven't thrown them a ton, just the way it felt when I've fished them.

[BemisBasser]

I was beginning to think deep cranks were top secret..lol. Thanks Drew.

[Wackyjig]

I'm much more into swimbaits for fishing deep so I'm far from an expert, but in my deep box I've got 6&8xd's, dt 14-20's, and some 6th sense cloud 9's in 10,15, and 20. In my mind if they don't bite those, they're not going to bite a crank. With those I've got 3 levels of knock. Dt being the quietest, xd's in the middle, and the 6th sense being loudest.

I tend to lean more on the dt's and 6th sense more as I feel those are less used than the xd's. Another thing, you'll notice I listed a c10 as a deep diving crank even though it's listed as an 8-10' crank. I don't know if it's the particular one I always throw or if it's the same with all of them but on 12# fluoro I get get it down to 14-15'. That smaller profile crank isn't usually seen at those depths and has done really well for me.

[krindgen]

6th Sense has some nice deep plugs. Good quality.

[Alumicraft145]

Wow! No mention of fat free shad and 20+??? That is crazy!! I'd have those 2 plus some dd22s. Between the 3 you got a great selection of colors.

[bassfisher444]

In 10 years I have caught maybe one bass on a deep crank.

[somerdink]

The 6XD is always the old stand by for sure. I love the Z boss 22 and 24 and the 6th Sense cloud 9 series of cranks. the Z boss does not pull hard at all and i find the 6th sense don't either and both seem to come true out of the package compared to SK. But a;; of them have there time when one works better then the other.

[sll]

6XD is the old standby, for sure. The Berkley Dredger is a great newer one, completely different than most as it's way smaller in profile yet will get down deep with no issues.

Agree, just started trying the Dredgers this summer myself and they do seem to get to the depths they advertise pretty easily on even mono. I would like to see them come in a silent version too though. The 3/4oz Hot Lips is another one I would add as a favorite.

[DaveBrabec]

10xd

[BemisBasser]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I plan to try the Dredgers and the 6th sense.

[okiebass]

I like the dredgers