Crankbait: Everything you need to know about crankbait fishing

Posted On 27 December 2022

I don't know about you, but I love ultra-fast fishing! And crankbait fishing is king in this respect! The Americans and Canadians have set the example for this incredibly effective method of fishing for active fish. What are the characteristics of a crankbait? How do you fish with a crankbait? What equipment should I use? Here's everything you need to know about crankbait fishing.

How do you recognise crankbaits?

Crankbaits are generally chubby lures. They all have a lip of varying length and width. This differentiating feature will affect the lure's swimming depth and wobbling action.
99% crankbaits are fitted with two triples on attachments located under the lure.

How do you animate a crankbait?

There are several ways to make crankbaits swim well. Here are a few possibilities that we use a lot on a regular basis.

• Cranking. To crank means to turn the crank. The aim is to fish quickly and steadily over large areas such as points, mid-bays, baitfish balls and open water. The aim is to target suspended and active fish.

• Bottom Tapping. Also known as "Deflection", the aim is for your crankbait to hit the bottom and obstacles with its lip. This will have the effect of lifting the sediment. Very suitable for sandy and rocky bottoms, fish are very receptive to this.

• Stop and Go: This animation is ideal for crowded areas. It requires you to pause as you approach obstacles and play with the buoyancy of your crankbait so that it rises above each structure. Attacks usually come at the start of the break or on the 1st crank after the break.

What equipment is right for crankbait fishing?

Many anglers don't fish at all, or fish very little with crankbaits, because they don't know how to choose the right equipment. We're here to explain how to choose the right crankbait rod, line and reel. You should also know that crankbait fishing is much easier to manage if you're exclusively casting.

Crankbait rods

Fibreglass rods should always be preferred because of their bending capacity. This technical point is perfect for absorbing the strong vibrations of the crankbait due to the length of the lip.

The small problem with fibreglass is the price! There's very little demand for these rods in Europe, so the only ones available are expensive, high-tech rods. They are only available to order, as there are no stocks in the shops.

Here are some of the models we use now and in the past:

• EVERGREEN Heracles "The Leopard
• LIFO Sidewinder "The M-Blow
• EVERGREEN Tactics "The Super Nova Husky
• ILLEX Delivrance B-220 Cranking Special
• EVERGREEN Tactics "The Super Nova
• MEGABASS Destroyer "Tomahawk GTA
• SAINT CROIX Legend Glass

The line body

Don't procrastinate here either! You absolutely must choose NYLON!!!! Most anglers abandon nylon, but if there's one category of lure that can't do without it, it's the crankbait family.

The first advantage of nylon is that it's very stretchy, so it will also absorb the vibrations of the lure's rolling. So you won't get as tired after dozens of hours of casting and reeling.

The second positive point is that by using nylon, you'll unhook far fewer fish. The problem with the combination of "braid x treble hook x quick retrieve", the perfect combo for unhooking your fish, is that there is too much rigidity in this combination.

The third advantage is that when you use fibreglass + nylon, the fish will bite themselves, and all you have to do is rotate your pool in relation to the axis of your line in the water.

Reels crankbait

There are two categories: round profiles and low profiles. See our article on this subject by clicking ICI.
Crankbait purists generally prefer round profiles because of the aluminium frame and the mechanics, which can be put to the test by lures that can damage the equipment.

The undisputed king of casting reels is the Shimano Calcutta Conquest. It is "THE" reference in terms of solidity and consistency!
Here is a list of the reels we have selected for proper crankbait fishing:

• SHIMANO Calcutta Conquest (round profile)
• DAIWA Zillion (low profile)
• SHIMANO Calcultta Conquest DC (round profile)
• DAIWA Millionnaire (round profile)
• SHIMANO Antares (low profile)
• ABU GARCIA Ambassador Mörrum
• SHIMANO Antares DC (low profile)

What are the best crankbaits?

There are so many crankbait models on the market that when you're a beginner, it's very difficult to make a choice. We're going to try and help you by making a selection of crankbaits that work very well, specifying for each model the ideal swimming depth and the type of water clarity (clear, tinted, dirty, milky).

Here's a short video on crankbait fishing, showing one of the lures on our lists in action.
Enjoy!

Useful links to complete this article on crankbait fishing:

Pike crankbait: 5 essential pike crankbaits

The 10 best types of black bass lures

Learn to fish with a fishing guide

Start lure fishing

Find a fishing guide