Test Driving a Rod!

[R.D.]

OK...............I have been trying to get into Cranks a Little more this year...............I have always been one for Shallow Cranking......caught plenty of Feesh by doing so..........I am going to Test Drive a 7' MH mod fast Shimano Crucial Crankin Stick.........this was the one they came out with last year for this technique.........I am hoping to have a very good Experience with it in using it with some fo my New RC series Deep Cranks.....as well as a few others like Deep N's and a couple DD14's and some OSP Power-Dunk cranks as well as Some DT10 & DT16 cranks.

if it works out for me I will get a HELLAVA deal on it.


I know there are a lot of guyus Using DD22's out there but.............are there any other Cranks to consider? I have looked into getting a few BDS and come CB's.................................Maybe some Bandit 300's??

[caseysmith14]

I would think any rod you successful pull a DD22 with may be somewhat overkill for Bandit 300's. Kind of depends on the tip, if its got a pretty whippy tip you'll be good but I've had some MH's that don't and casting anything under 1/2 oz was out of the question (Bandit 300~3/8oz)

[R.D.]

Just looking/feeling this rod it seems to have a very good "Reaction" to it.....unlike some other Rods that claim to be a "Crankbait" Rod.

One thing I can tell you is that I have a St.Coix Avid in the new IPC crankbait series and have used my RC and OSP cranks with it and is GREAT so far!!

[Tagg007]

Ryan, the rod should work pretty well for you.

I personally use two Falcon cranking sticks for my crankbait addictions.

[Hydrilla Gorilla]

Bandits in 200 & 300
Wiggle Wart
Old LC CB 250 (hard to find these days now they are making the 200)

Wood Baits
Old Poes (you can find em on e-bay sometimes)

I like the Kistler crankbait rod

[R.D.]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hydrilla Gorilla &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I like the Kistler crankbait rod</TD></TR></TABLE>

I do too but I cant pass this up.......Especially if it Fits my needs without having to spend More money than I already dont have

[Jiggernaut]

I think the rod selection is very good. I am in love with the Crucial crankin' stiks, although I do favor a faster taper. Unfortunately, in most of the waters I fish in KS, I've never established a real good deep cranking pattern and one deep pattern I have had success with at Cedar, I was more successful C-rigging and noodling a big Texas rig, as opposed to trying to crank through all the brush.

This is definitely no specialty area of mine and I try to keep it fairly simple, but when I crank down into the deeper water, say 12 to 20 feet, I'll still use a DT-6 or at the biggest DT-10 sized crankbait and pull the old Paul Elias trick of sticking your rod underwater to achieve the extra depth desired and use relatively light line, 10 lb big game, etc... I really like the smaller profile crankbaits for the waters I fish in terms of getting bites over the larger ones. It actually becomes second nature to vary the rod tip heighth in accordance with what you wanna do with the crankbait in relation to the terrain its cranked over.

Some of the structure at Wilson is so radical, I'm going from 2 o'clock down to 6 o'clock underwater to follow the topopgraphy, not to mention varying the retrieve to dig a cloud of dust off the bottom, bounce of rocks and limbs, stop and go, etc.. to see what will trigger a strike. Crankbaiting to me is not just chunk and wind. There is really an art to working a crankbait and it can be a ton of fun to start really sticking 'em that way.

I couldn't imagine how much of a blast that would be to fish a reservoir that you could establish a deep pattern with the big cranks on big largemouth.

[R.D.]

Thanks Jason..............That is Kinda what I'm hoping for.........I find myself being Whacked when the Deep Crank Bite is on so I just need to get-r-done so to speak.


I agree that I see myslef trying to use Smaller Profile Baits compared to Larger ones.....but I used to have a few Yo-Zuri Hardcore Cranks that I have lost over time.......wasnt Overly impressed with them though......I still have one left though

[Luke]

DD22 here is a mainstay on LOZ in the summer if you can stand to do it....the LC BDS20 baits are really good too along with a Manns 30+ if you can find them but the DD22 and the LC are probably the most popular here in this area

[War Eagle1]

hope you like it

[PII Magnum]

ryan check out the bandit 700 series they are teh shit and very good size also

[Bass Team Tackle]

head to Lake Fork and you can definitely find a great DD22 bite....caught numerous 6 to 8 lbs fish on DD22's...I usually go every year and DD22, c-rig, & 10 in worm and fish nothing shallower than 15' feet...this is in June so the deep bit is fully on!!!