Friday, September 30, 2011

Using Crankbaits By Season

By Timothy Powers


If you've been fishing for any length of time, you've probably seen your share of crankbaits. While it can be a lot of fun, fishing with crankbaits can also be very frustrating. Finding the right lure to catch fish can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But have you ever checked out the crankbait aisle in your local tackle shop? It has hundreds, if not thousands of different choices. All different sizes, shapes, dive depths, and colors. You could literally spend all day in there and not do anything productive!

So what is the key? What separates a crankbait that will help you put big bass in the boat, from a lure that looks pretty, but is nothing more than a waste of money? It may not be the bait itself at all. In fact, you may have to look at a calendar to answer the question.

The key is in the seasons of the year. Bass behavior is largely determined by the seasons. They behave certain ways in response to the changes in weather, and other seasonal factors. Matching the crankbait you choose with the right season of the year will make you look like a bass fishing genius.

Generally, early spring before the spawn and early fall will be good times to choose shallow running crankbaits, and to retrieve them pretty quickly. When fish are shallow and actively feeding, these little baits can really do the trick.

Early summer and mid-fall will generally be good times to employ medium diving lures. This is sort of an in between season for the fish. They aren't right up close to shore, but they haven't quite made the move to really deep water just yet either.

When the dog days of summer hit, or the cold days of winter, it's time to get you bait deep! Find the deepest diving crank you can. You may even need to employ a few suspend dots to keep them in the strike zone for longer periods of time.

This general outline of seasons and the crankbaits that go along with them should be enough to get you started. You will still need to experiment, and get to know your local water to find which will be best for you.




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