Best reel ratio for fishing deep diving crankbaits

[Reservoir Runner]

 I have a question for my fellow bassers- What would be the best gear ratio baitcaster for fishing deep diving crankbaits, talking from 10 to 20 foot depths. Quantum used to have a good one in their 3.8 to 1 Crankin' reel.

[Smallie_Stalker]

I'm a firm believer that when you start getting down to those depths of 12 15 20 ft. the lower the gear ratio the better.

Personally I don't like going above a 5.3:1 but wish I still had my old Curado 3.8:1 or Quantum EX that was 4.1:1.



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[caddyjoe77]

I have a question for my fellow bassers- What would be the best gear ratio baitcaster for fishing deep diving crankbaits, talking from 10 to 20 foot depths. Quantum used to have a good one in their 3.8 to 1 Crankin' reel.

you may be able to find an old curado b 5:1 or 3.8

also i have a diawa zillion 4.8 thats pretty good

[loomisguy]

Anything 5 o 6ish : 1. Of course IPT will vary some but it's a good starting point. I have a Curado E5 I really like for DD22's, 6XD's up to the 10XD.
'I still one of those old 3.8 Quantums around the man cave somewhere but in MHO ,given modern baits, rods and line they are really too slow. A current 5 or 6 :1 requires no more effort and is more efficient.

[Oldfart9999]

Any where from about 4.5 to 6.4 is good, the other thing you'll need is a big enough spool to hold all the line you'll need.
Rodney

[Wizard]

The 3.8:1 reels are supposed to be slow. They were designed for the Bagley Dredge crank bait. A slow reel helps the bait reach maximum depth.  Great reel for the Dredge, heavy cedar long bills such as a Poe's 400, Mann's 30+ Hog and other heavy cranks. The drawback to a 3.8:1 reel happens when a bass swims directly towards you. At 15 inches of line retrieval per spool revolution, you can't catch up to the bass. The reel is a winch which makes it easy to pull in a giant bass.

Wizard

[fishballer06]

Those old Curado 3.8:1's were painfully slow to fish...

I like a 5:1 ratio for mine. My main cranking reels are a Chronarch 201E5 and a Zillion Crazy Cranker (4.9:1).

[coldfront]

Any where from about 4.5 to 6.4 is good, the other thing you'll need is a big enough spool to hold all the line you'll need.
Rodney

great point on the spool size/depth.  often over-looked.


I'm okay ... have a couple 5.1 curado/chronarch e-series.  a bunch of 6.2's...  use either.  the other side of this is that some of the newer cranks really don't 'pull as hard'  (Ozuma, SK, megabass, etc).  so the lower gearing may not be as key.. as long as you can also just get yourself to slow the heck down....  when it's needed.