All well-stocked fresh or saltwater tackle boxes are likely to include a variety of fishing lures that are loosely referred to as crankbaits.
To know these lures is to love them because they are so adaptable in rapidly exploring a wide range of structure, depth, and cover.
Crankbaits come in a diversity of shapes and colors, are usually equipped with two (sometimes three) treble hooks, have a long or short lip enabling them to dive below the water's surface, and most generally resemble a small fish of some type.
Constructed of wood, balsa, or plastic, a crankbait can be long and slender like one of Bagley's popular Bangolures or Normark's Rapalas, or it can be short, squat and fat similar to Strike King's efficient Dance-N-Shad or the Normark Fat Rap.
Although crankbaits get more "press" in bass fishing circles, they are quite effective in drawing resounding strikes from a wide range of saltwater species including The Big Four--trout, redfish, snook, and tarpon.
What's more, they are easy to cast, simple to retrieve, and will cover a vast expanse of water and topographical modes. Well-nigh every crankbait floats until the caster begins cranking his reel handle at which time the lure does its submarine number below the water's surface.
Those crankbaits with short, plastic, or metal lips are designed to run at relatively shallow depths while those with longer lips can probe drops ranging from 6 to 15 feet or more, depending upon the speed of the retrieve.
As a crankbait's lip loads up with water, the lure itself creates an erratic and wobbling type of fish-attracting visual or audio disturbance in the water below.
Most experts advocate the use of a slow, stop-and-go type of retrieve, especially when maneuvering the lure over or around submersed obstructions. Others, before starting a retrieve, will first twitch this versatile offering a few times which, in effect, transforms the crankbait into an effective surface plug for shallow-water.
Each model has a characteristic swimming action which can be intensified or varied by the way an angler cranks it in and holds or moves his rod.
A crankbait can perform in fast, slow, smooth, or jerky motions, and veteran fishermen are likely to try each technique until discovering the right formula for success.
Saltwater aficionados attempting to find concentrations of fish frequently troll a selection of crankbaits that run at different depths behind their moving boat until connecting with a targeted quarry, thus learning the correct depth in which to concentrate their efforts.
There are dozens of tricks the angler may employ when using crankbaits in different situations and conditions. By working up from the basics, most fishermen will quickly grasp how to use these lures in order to increase their catch and overall enjoyment.
Copyright (c) 1996 Herb Allen. All rights reserved.
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