It was only recently, probably last season, that I discovered just how possible it is to fish a crankbait through relatively heavy submerged grass - and I'm talking about ripping it through the grass, not ticking over top of the grass. Since I feel a little embarassed to say this, I have to point out that I'm not a native Minnesotan so you'll have to forgive my ignorance on the technique!
I was having a conversation with a buddy yesterday about cranks in the grass, and the topic came up about which ones come through the best. Not talking about lipless cranks here, but instead actual billed crankbaits.
We generally agreed on what we've found to work and what doesn't work for it. Based on what we talked about, squarebills in general seem to be the best bet for getting through cleanly, though not all squarebills are created equal! My buddy thinks SK KVDs are the best, while I tend to favor the Lucky Craft 1.5s. Others I really thought would work well - Megabass S-cranks, for example - I cannot get to come through even the sparsest vegetation cleanly. It's likely the erratic action that causes it to get fouled up as soon as it encounters vegetation.
For deeper diving cranks when the grass is either first coming up or when working outside weed edges, we both figure that Rapala DTs are the undisputed grass-ripping champs. I have been eyeing the new Berkley Diggers as they're also designed by Fritts, have an extremely similar shape, are cheaper, are likely more durable (plastic instead of balsa - you only fish a DT through grass once before you learn you can't smack them on the water before a cast to remove any clumps they may have picked up), and seem to have better colors. Haven't had a chance to try them yet, though.
In my prior life, when it came time to throw a mid-depth crankbait, I was throwing a Wiggle Wart. Didn't take me long to learn that you're not going to throw one for very long if you're around grass!
What crankbaits has everyone else had the best luck fishing through grass? I'm always on the lookout for different options as there's always room to improve on how cleanly they'll come through!