Crank Baits from the Bank ?

[chrisD46]

Anyone use crank baits from the bank for bass ? I suppose shallow diving square bill crankbaits , wake baits Bomber Long A's, Rapala shallow stick baits and such which do not dive too deep could be useful from the bank ?

[Donald Garner]

Yes the selection you mentioned would be a good start.  I'd add a Rattle Bait (Rattle Trap style) to the list also. 

You can fish any type of crankbait you select from the bank.  The issue is fishing it in structure that it won't get hung up and you wind up losing it.   

[Smallie_Stalker]

Don is right on the money.

I'm a crankbait guy who is bank bound and when I get the rare chance to fish I almost always throw one.

If you don't know the place you are fishing very well then those shallow runners and wake baits are a great choice. And as Don pointed out add a lipless crank in there too. They can be fished in so many different ways, and if they do get snagged can be easier to rip out of the green stuff. They also make for an excellent search bait.

If you start with a lipless you can use it to find areas where the vegetation is closer to the surface and what kind of other stuff like wood or rock might be down there. Then you can select a crankbait that will maximize your potential.

(As a side note, If you know the body of water well,  then you can tailor your selection of baits to match. I have one place where there is a sharp drop into almost 20 ft. about 10 or 12 yards out from the bank. I will throw deep cranks there and work them back up the drop. Most of my bites in that situation come as the bait is coming up the edge of the drop).


Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[chrisD46]

Good reply on adding the lipless crank as you can adjust the running depth needed for the conditions.

[FlatsNBay]

I fish crankbaits all the time from the bank. If it's got a good clean hard bottom, I'll break out the crankbait. I let water depth be my key as to which type of crankbait will excel. Squarebills can be excellent in the 3' to 6' range and a deep diving crankbait for anything deeper.

On one of my local ponds, the bass will school up in a narrow portion of the lake out in open water at certain times of year, I've destroyed them on a Rapala DT6 and on a Bandit Flat Max.

When the bass are schooling and breaking the surface on shad or minnows, I love a lipless crankbait either on a fast retrieve or a yo-yo. I've had some amazing days doing that.

After you gain the confidence in a crankbait, you can just look at a body of water and say, "Oh yeah, it's crankbait time!"

[T-Rig]

Mann's 1 Minus 5/8 oz. and 1/4 oz Baby 1- Minus. Ferocious strikes. Very little hang-ups.

Good Fishing

[Donald Garner]

Here's some of my shallow water baits I use here in Central Texas.

Shallow water crankbaits and Beetle Spins


Lipless Rattle Baits and Top Water Frogs


Ribbitt Soft Plastic Frogs and Small Swim Baits

[FlatsNBay]

Since the water temperature has been cold lately. I'm going to try slow cranking a Norman Speed N at one of my local ponds. I also may consider one of the custom thin wooden crankbaits that I've got might also be money. A slow tight wobble is what I like when the water turns cold. Report to follow.

[Smallie_Stalker]

Since the water temperature has been cold lately. I'm going to try slow cranking a Norman Speed N at one of my local ponds. I also may consider one of the custom thin wooden crankbaits that I've got might also be money. A slow tight wobble is what I like when the water turns cold. Report to follow.

If you've got any also try a Rapala Shad Rap and a Norman Tennessee Killer. Both catch a lot of cold water bass.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[bigjim5589]

I can't add a lot more to what's already been said, but I will sometimes toss a crankbait, especially square bills.

I'll throw jerkbaits more, fishing them like a crankbait at times, with just a steady retrieve & let the lure do it's thing. I'll use the old Rebel Minnow and Rapala Minnow and also the jointed versions.

If you don't mind throwing light or ultralight tackle, take a good look at Yozuri Pin's Minnows, which are a small jerkbait style lure that I've also done well with using it as a crankbait.

I recall the first time I had tried the Pin's Minnow, and it was from the bank. I was fishing a tidal river in MD in the spring, one I usually fished from a boat, but this day I had left the boat home. My intention was to just see if the Crappies were in the shallows and had not planned to be there very long. There was an area just down river from the road and bridge, where reeds and cattails grew out into the water forming a point, and the bottom there was mostly sand.

I was tossing the floating 2.75" Pin's Minnow in a silver color, past the cattails and steady cranking it back, and on almost every cast it was getting hammered. These were not real big bass, but they were keeper size, so 15" or more. MD has a 15" minimum for tidal water bass in the spring, 12" otherwise.

The bass were in the shallows, hanging right in the shadow of the cattails to ambush passing prey, and when I retrieved the Pin's Minnows just past the point, they would dart out & grab it. Those fish were in less than 18" of water.

So, since then I've stocked up on some of the Pin's Minnows in the various colors, and have used them several times for bass and they work great for various panfish species too. Yozuri had stopped producing them at one time, but re-started making them. I still have some of the original colors, and some of the newer colors, but have not seen it makes any difference. They're made in 2 sizes, but I've used the 2.75" version the most. The smaller version has been better for panfish, and it harder to cast since it's very light weight.

I usually throw them on a 7' Ultralight spinning outfit with 6lb Ande line. They don't cast far because they are small, but they're worth tossing, especially in small, shallow waters.

I remember the first Pin's Minnows I had bought were cheap, bought at a fishing flea market show that I attended each year, and about $3 each. I guess others discovered them too. The next year the price was $4 and they kept going up from there. 

I've since read many times that folks now like them a lot for trout, panfish, bass and other fish, so a very popular lure. 

Yozuri Pin's Minnow

[D.W. Verts]

Yep. that Baby One Minus is the BEST crankbait I ever used in a pond/shallow water situations. Really, really good.

Dale

[ike8120]

I throw the KVD 1.5 Shallow Runner, Rappala Shad Rap, Rattlin Rap and Baby Minus -1. Plus some no name ones.

[T-Rig]

I own a couple of the old discontinued Cabelas Grave Digger 1-2 ft. 1/4 oz for small waters with a smaller profile.

[The Rooster]

I fish Bandit 100 (2'-5' dive), Bandit 200 (4'-8' dive) and Bandit 300 (8'-12' dive) all from the bank. Fish them right through wood piles and all. They float. So when I crank them down and feel them hit solid, I stop reeling for a few seconds and let it float up, then continue reeling, and the bait clears the obstruction just fine.

Sometimes I do lose one, but it is much rarer than you would think. Honestly it's been years since I lost a bait from the bank. Usually I can get it back even when it gets snagged.

[Barb Catch Fishing]

Yes, I pretty much only use lipless crankbaits and square bill crankbaits when bank fishing.