How do you "tune" a crankbait?

[Mickstix]

Hey guys, I bought a bunch of those Bagley's crankbaits that were on sale at Gander Mountain.. Unfortunately, just about every one of them likes to do a barrel roll when I retrieve it? (The ones with square bill and "dual" tie locations) The deeper diving ones with round bill seem to just ride over on their side, and swim to one side.. How do you go about solving these problems?? Or are they just useless? Thanks for any tips!

Note: The gear I'm using to throw em is a 7' medium casting outfit w/ either 18 or 20lb stren superbraid..

[Bass Hawk 87]

Tuning a crankbait is easy, and they all need to be tuned from time to time, just as spinnerbaits (except titanium SB's)

Using a pair of needlenose pliers, (just the tip) grab the wire that the split ring is attached to, and bend it slightly in the same direction the bait seems to be rolling or swimming. Note that this is a very slight adjustment, and normally you won't see how much it moves or it would be too much. It might take a couple of tries, but once you do it a couple of times, it becomes a no brainer.

I keep my needle nose pliers in a holder on my pro pole so they are always handy, since I fish crankbaits so much, and in a normal day of fishing I would say I make an adjustment 3-5 times or more, depending on how much cover I run the baits through, and how many fish I catch.

Hope that helps

[Santeerangerman]

Mick,
Those things are useless!!! You should send them all to me for proper disposal.
Do EXACTLY what Don said! Bagley's are really good crankbaits, but it's not unusual to have to tune them.

[Mickstix]

I'll get em in the mail Santee! Thanks for the info! I think the times Ive tried bending the eye, I was bending it to the opposite side the bait was rolling too.. I'll bring em out to the pool and have a day of c.b. tuning!! Thanks again!