Crankin

[Big dreams]

I am hoping someone here has some expertise in crank baits.  I realise things can be made with better quality which drives up the price like trucks and boats.  These toys that are built with more "stuff" can cost much more than the plain jane models. 

My question is this.  Why do the price on Cranks range so much?  I always thought Rapala was a great brand until I saw Lucky Craft Rick Clunn baits.  They get up to $17.  Are they really that much better? 

BD

[Manxfishing]

THe Jap stuff does seem to be a little high priced

But there the top of the line
Prem hooks, split rings and paint jobs

But do they catch more fish?
Well it's yes and no
If your after a certain color or action they probable sell it
Were as with a Rapala there limited with there colors

KVD just won the classic throwing a SK
Which is a 5 or 6 dollar bait.

And with Jek baits. I have my share of LC Pointers
But I do better with a 4 dollar Smithwick rouge

Try a few and let us know what you think

[Cheetam]

From my experience, with the Japanese baits, they run true out of the box, have good hooks and split rings, and have great finishes.  You won't see a LC with a giant booger in the clear coat, or with uneven or inconsistent paint job (at least I haven't).  Some of the other manufacturers, including Rapala, may have little "imperfections" in the finish (which I have been seeing A LOT of recently for some reason), rough spots on the body where they weren't sanded completely when they were glued, or may need to be tuned.  It doesn't mean they don't catch fish.  I catch a ton of fish on baits that cost under $4, and I have caught a lot of fish on baits costing 4 times that.

[thedude]

KVD wins with 4$ cranks - always has. Difference is he gets to go through 50 of them for free to find the 1 that runs straight and has good action - the kind that don't have bubbles of air in the bill on one side and good paint.

[djkimmel]

My biggest money winning crankbaits in the old days when I actually won some money were the simple Bomber 6A in dark green crayfish. I have some of the fancy crankbaits and sometimes they seem to catch bass better, but I've caught plenty of bass on Fat Free Shads too. The BASS Northern Open on Lake St. Clair last year was won on Fat Free Shads.

I probably have about a 1,000 crankbaits. I do like them a little. Have not tried the new Strike King 1.5 or 2.5 though I may have to now (!#$@%@). I do have one new IMA Square Bill someone gave me to try - thanks guys. I have some new shallow diving PRADCO baits I can't wait to try. Already have some remade Big O's, and a few Big N's and other fat shallow divers. They can be fun for sure.

They're tools like any other lure. Kind of depends on how much you can afford to spend on your tools and what seems to work best for you. I've kicked butt on 'cheap' cranks and had my butt kicked on those expensive ones. Can't say I don't get more than a little satisfaction when I do the butt-kicking with my $3 to $5 baits and I do not enjoy when the fancy ones kick my butt. Like I said, I only have a few of the fancy ones. Don't like to throw them around the toothy critters very much.

Probably will never forget losing the very first Lucky Craft Pointer 100 I ever owned on the very first cast on Hardy Dam Pond to a scrawny pike!! Urrggghh...

[Cheetam]

I do have one new IMA Square Bill someone gave me to try - thanks guys.

I have some of those coming.  They look really good.  Hopefully they don't have any boogers in the clearcoat  .

[2k JIGS]

Bomber Fat Free Shad, best crank on the market!!!!

[1javelin]

My favorite bait is always what no one else is using. Don't want to spend the money, I will. Buy the expensive baits, I'll throw cheapo's then. Fish see some baits over and over.

1jav

[fishstick]

Like everyone said the high priced cranks have better components, finishes, etc...

Sometimes it gives you a little extra boost of confidence to be throwing a bait that cost an arm and a leg...and we all know how important it is to have confidence in what your throwing.

The 4 to 6 dollar baits can be great though and imperfections aren't always a bad thing....sometimes that's what counts. Like thedude said you may have to go through a few of them to find one that gets the job done.

With the cheaper crankbaits I'll use them for awhile when I think the crankbait bite should be on or I'll mix some experimental ones in when it is on, and find out which ones seem to be a little better. If they don't get chewed on there's no need to have them taking up space in the boat and I'll pass them a long to a kid who can get some use out of them.

[rkillick]

No expertise here but have cought some good fish on cranks. Bomber, Strike King and Manns work well for me but paint chips and messing with the ones that dont work right out of the box can be a pain. Cant afford those other ones. Anybody put clear coat on there cranks before the season? If so any suggestions on what products to use?

[djkimmel]

My IMA Square Bill looks to have no imperfections I can see. Now, if I can just avoid donating it to a pike or musky right away... we were talking about that here at the Outdoorama show today.

[Skulley]

Crankin'.  One of my favorite topics.  I love crank baits.  I probably have more crank baits than I have anything else.  I have had to fish thousands of crank baits to distinguish the characteristics as to which are better.  Basically they are all good.  They all have their place depending on water clarity, temp, current, etc.  Profiles are many.  Components can help or hinder their action.  Line determines how deep they will run.  This one is a shallow runner and that one is a deep runner.  This one runs 3 feet to 8 feet depending on the line size and that one runs 12 to 15 feet deep depending on the line size.  The reasoning goes on and on.  Everyone you will talk to will have their own little story as to why this one works better than that one.  I've heard this statement a thousand time.............."All colors are good as long as they are firetiger, or shad, or whatever."  This one rattles, that one doesn't.  What about the lipless crank bait, the rattle trap??       It's funny how everyone refers to a lipless crank bait as a "rattle trap".  But legally not all lipless cranks are "rattle traps" or "traps".  The Cotton Cordell Spot is not a Rattle Trap.  It's a "Spot".  Bill Lewis Lures makes "Rattle Traps".  That one is made of wood and that one is plastic.  How about the Bomber??  The 6A, the Fat Free Shad, the 7A or the long A.  And who said the Long A was considered a crank bait.  Someone one told me it was a minnow bait.    Boy this crank bait stuff sure does get confusing.           So is the Long A a minnow bait or a crank bait or both??       You can crank it, jerk it, twitch it,  sweep it, and do a whole bunch of stuff to it.  I guess you categorize them as hard baits because you will find all these types of baits in that section on the Bass Pro Website under "Hard Baits".  Under "Hard Baits" I found crank baits, minnow baits, traps, spots, and the list goes on.  Boy this crank bait stuff sure is confusing.                

At this point I am so confused   that  all I can tell you is go to a store, spend a couple of hundred bucks on many different brands...............fish them.....................and then write about it.  Tell us what you discovered.  Try not to confuse me any more than I already am.  Above all, have fun fishing them.  They will probably become your favorite, too.

Oh by the way, Big dreams.  You can't sign your posts BD.  You can sign it Bd.  I have been BD for going on 1400 posts.  It's a seniority thing.  Just kidding.   


BD                                                    


 

[Manxfishing]

UAWBD,

I think you missed the point of the question

He was asking if the higher end (Prem.) baits are that much better then
the run of the mill baits.

[jim 2row]

I'm going to lean towards the costly items. Ive caught a ton of fish on the old storm thundersticks but compared to the megabass jerks its probably 2 to 1 maybe even 3 to1 in favor of the megabass. The rapala cranks were really good to me last year other than them splitting through the body from the bill. I have a few that the paint looks like I took sand paper to it. But it is hard to beat the strike king and fat free shads for deep cranks and they are cheap. But I have had days where the c-flash is what they wanted too. So I guess they might have exspensive tastes like I do. One thing I wont buy is anything that has Rick Clunn on it. Took my son to meet him  at bps years ago and he was an ego maniac and arrogant pri--. Maybe he was having a bad day but first impressions last a lifetime.

[Big dreams]

I too have come across may famous people who have an extremely large ego.  I do not like supporting their habits at all. 

UAWBD - you confused the heck out of me.  I thought I was drunk for a minute.  I had to read it twice to realize what you were trying to say.  Basically I need a new signature   How about BgD? 

I just purchased the Browning Top Loader tackle bag as it fits 10 370's plus a few other pouches on the outside.  Any ideas on boxes that work best for storing the hooky nightmares?

for now,
BgD - pending approval

[Manxfishing]

I myself like the Plano 3700 boxes

I checked. The BP 370 boxes have the same width and hieght as the 3700 plano's
But the BP box is listed as 13 3/4 long were as the Plano is 14" long
So they might or might not work
I'm not famliar with the BP boxes. But the difference between the Cabela brand and the plano is night and day
THe cabelas are hard, crack, hinges don't work and the latches come off
So you might check the qty. differences in them
the cheapest place to pick up 3700 plano boxes that I've found is
[REMOVED - see No Links Policy List] (there 4.99)

To keep the hooks from tangling
use the dividers but only keep 1 to 3 baits in every slot
Any more seems to make a mess for me

And the bag sounds very nice
Lot's or room, you can swap boxes in and out and there's side pockets for every thing else.
I'm a huge fan of soft bags

[Big dreams]

I once had a tackle box made by Plano break.  The plastic latch for the front window had cracked.  I called up Plano and they sent me the front window for free.  After customer service like that, I am hooked on Plano. 

[Redbone]

I purchased a plano 777 a few years ago at the outdoor show.  It was all busted up and broken in several places. I bought it for next to nothing. Sent it in to plano and recieved a brand new box with no questions asked.  That has made me a plano guy ever since.

I heard that rapalas out of places like Gander and the likes never run true.  And I cant remember why... Bulk purchases, different assembly location, or something similiar anyway.  Anybody ever heard of this?

[Skulley]

UAWBD,

I think you missed the point of the question

He was asking if the higher end (Prem.) baits are that much better then
the run of the mill baits.

I don't think I missed the point at all.  I was saying that it depends what you are looking for in your crank bait.  I have fished both the high end and the run of the mill crank bait and depending on what the triggering mechanism on that particular day is, it doesn't make a difference.  I have gone out there and have caught just as many on the run of the mill as I have on the high end and vise versa.  I can always change the action on them depending on whether I change split rings to or hook size as well as filing down the bill of a crank bait.  The high end bait may only be better hooks or a sweeter paint job.  It comes down to what looks natural to the fish on any particular day.  Or maybe color, or maybe it has rattles, or it doesn't.  Characteristics of the bait changes depending how much you spend.  A Bill Norman DLN, one of my favorite crank baits, put more fish in the boat than a lot of others for me.  It runs about $6.50.  I consider that run of the mill.  O.K. maybe the higher end of the run of the mill.  But they put fish in the boat for me.  But then there's that Copper Brim Fat Free Shad or Fingerling.  It rattles but it also has a unique hue to it.  I too puts a lot of fish in the boat for me.  That's why I say, go out, spend a couple hundred bucks buying different profiles, different brands, wide wobblers, narrow wobblers, rattlers, non-rattlers, maybe a spot or trap and figure out what works for you.  It can be confusing.  I have been fishing them for years.  Still my favorites to throw and cover water with.  Reaction baits is what they are because the fish aren't always going to be hungry.  

I'll make it simple, even though I don't think it is as simple as I am going to try put this.  Not every bait out of the box is the same.  Even the same brand of the same color.  It comes down to fine tuning and knowing how to fine tune a crank bait.  Doesn't matter to me how much it costs.  I've been throwing crank baits since I have been fishing and that's about 40 years or more.

I too have come across may famous people who have an extremely large ego.  I do not like supporting their habits at all.  

UAWBD - you confused the heck out of me.  I thought I was drunk for a minute.  I had to read it twice to realize what you were trying to say.  Basically I need a new signature  How about BgD?  

I just purchased the Browning Top Loader tackle bag as it fits 10 370's plus a few other pouches on the outside.  Any ideas on boxes that work best for storing the hooky nightmares?

for now,
BgD - pending approval

Approved.  Welcome to the board brother.  Glad you're here.  It's a great place to share, learn, and grow as a bass guy.  Looking forward to more chats and maybe getting out and going fishing with you.


BD                                

[MadWags]

Calling all lipless cranks Rattle Traps, is like calling all Facial Tissue Kleenex.