Landing Fish with Big Crankbaits

[Pat Dilling]

I am looking for advice for getting big fish, over 5 pounds, into the boat when fishing with big crankbaits like the Strike King 10XD.  I don't fish with these a lot on my home lakes, however I just returned from Mexico where these baits play a main part in catching big Florida strain bass.  I was successful landing a number of good ones up to 7 pounds.  But also had some I never got weigh get away, especially near the boat.  The most common scenario was hooking the fish and playing it back near the boat with a lot of pressure exerted from both the fish and myself.  I would get them near the boat and they would come to the surface and shake their head and that  big heavy crankbait would go flying.  I was using a St Croix BassX glass cranking rod and 17 lb flourocarbon line.  How do you big bait crankers do it?

thanks, Pat

[Capt. BassinLou]

I adjust my drag on the fly depending on what the bass is doing. My goal here is to direct the bass towards  unobstructed open water. Easier said, then done sometimes. The second adjustment I make if the big bass is a jumper, I will lower my rod tip and drive my rod as deep as I can into the water, making sure my reel stays out of the water. All the while, keeping steady reeling pressure. My goal in this scenario is to control the bass from jumping as best I can.

[Mike Cork]

Jumping is their advantage. With a glass rod they get the advantage as the bait gets loose with the flex in the rod. With a blended rod (graphite butt and glass tip) you can keep a little more tension on the bait which will keep the bait pinned to their mouth if hooked well enough. Still not a perfect situation.

As you said it's all about leveraging that heavy bait to their advantage. Were these fish generally hooked on the edges of the mouth or had they swallowed the bait? If they were just smacking at the bait and getting hooked outside or just inside the mouth, maybe a color change so they inhale the bait better getting both sets of trebles inside their mouth.

[Smallie_Stalker]

All great advice so far. A composite or even all graphite cranking rod will definitely help.

What kind of hookset are you using? With cranks you should just be leaning back on the fish and maybe a gentle sweep of the rod. A cross their eyes type of hookset with pretty much most treble hook baits can potentially lose you more fish than it gains.

I would add just a few things to what's already been said that have helped me with bigger cranks like these.

1) If you get a look at the fish and notice it is hooked by only one hook, or worse one point of a single treble, try the "crossover" method of altering the rod/line angle to the opposite side of the fish while maintaining pressure on the fish. This can sometimes get an extra point or the entire other treble into the fish.

2) Try braid instead of flouro. Flouro has some stretch to it whereas braid doesn't. Can help drive the hook points deeper with less effort and help keep them there

3) Use as long a shank on the trebles as you can get away with. And/or add an extra split ring to each hook hanger.

4) Use as light a gauge of hook wire or thin a diameter as you can get away with. Both options penetrate deeper.

I believe it's VMC that has some new hooks that have thin diameter wire but are advertised as 2 X strong.


I'm primarily a crankbait guy and these things have helped me land more fish especially on the bigger cranks.

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[skidemn]

First, change your hooks! Switch your hooks out to Owner, Gamakatsu or whatever high-end ultra sticky treble hook you like, but make no mistake, a sharp hook can mean the difference between landing a skin hooked fish and watching it flip away. Second, I like glass rods like the Dobyn's DC765CB Glass, DC736CB Glass for baits up to 6XD since the slower action unloads much slower than graphite, keeping the fish pinned better on a head shake. Third, when I see or feel a crankbait fish coming up, I put my rod tip in the water to put the pressure on them to go back down and it helps keep those wild flips to a minimum. And lastly, CHANGE YOUR HOOKS! This is so important I have to mention it twice!


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[Smallie_Stalker]

First, change your hooks! Switch your hooks out to Owner, Gamakatsu or whatever high-end ultra sticky treble hook you like, but make no mistake, a sharp hook can mean the difference between landing a skin hooked fish and watching it flip away. Second, I like glass rods like the Dobyn's DC765CB Glass, DC736CB Glass for baits up to 6XD since the slower action unloads much slower than graphite, keeping the fish pinned better on a head shake. Third, when I see or feel a crankbait fish coming up, I put my rod tip in the water to put the pressure on them to go back down and it helps keep those wild flips to a minimum. And lastly, CHANGE YOUR HOOKS! This is so important I have to mention it twice!


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I love my DC 736 CB Glass. You know it's a graphite/glass composite right?

Basically Dobyns cranking rods come in 2 flavors. If a model # simply says CB like the 705 CB it is a graphite cranking stick. The models that say CB Glass are a glass/graphite composite.

Personally I prefer  composite  rods for cranking which is one of the main reasons  I like the Dobyns Glass models so much.
Gary has figured it out well and in a way that keeps the blank from being too heavy and large to fish with all day.



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[Dink Dawg]

A 10XD weighs two ounces and has large gauge hooks.  I wonder if your rod was possibly under powered to obtain good penetration?  Stock hooks from SK get replaced.  I also prefer a composite rod, 805CB glass for the power and reflex.  In fairness, I don't fish baits larger than an 8XD.  Although I don't put my rod well down in the water, I keep the tip very low.  Glad you had a good trip to Mexico!

[Pat Dilling]

Thanks everyone for the excellent tips and suggestions!  I will definitely be applying them.
Pat

[skidemn]

I love my DC 736 CB Glass. You know it's a graphite/glass composite right?

Yes, the only freshwater pure fiberglass rod I still own is a Kencor, and before anyone asks, no, it's not for sale.
Even my saltwater non-trolling rods are all graphite or graphite composite. I prefer the slower action of a graphite/glass composite for most treble hook baits so I've since gone to the Dobyn's CB Glass versions where available.


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[Smallie_Stalker]

@skidemn I apologize for the way my question sounded. I couldn't find any way to word it that didn't sound almost like an insult or worse. Definitely was not my intention.

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[skidemn]

@skidemn I apologize for the way my question sounded. I couldn't find any way to word it that didn't sound almost like an insult or worse. Definitely was not my intention.

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No worries at all. It didn't sound bad to me. It was an honest question, but as you pointed out I can see how someone might take it wrong. In any case, I've kinda become a Dobyn's fan boy over the last year and two months, and I've spent way too much time learning the brand. It started with a borrowed DC732SF and a year later I've got over 20 of my own. My girlfriend thinks I may have a slight problem, and I agree with her—I don't have enough Dobyn's rods...


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[Hobious]

i think the rod is the one of the biggest factors in losing a crankbait fish. 

especially a big crankbait.  if you imagine a big crankbait stuck in your hand, your initial instincts may be to shake it off of there ASAP.  luckily as humans we usually have another hand to help out.  so a handless fish will shake hard.  and that big mass of a crankbait body has a lot of energy when being shaken by mr or mrs bigbass.  you need the right rod to keep the perfect tension.

my friend has two discontinued St Croix crankbait rods.  standing next to him, he gets way more bass to the boat than i do.  i dont own a dedicated crankbait rod.  just not my favorite technique at this point.