recoommend me a good crankbait or two

[327]

Smaller would be better, somewhere in the 5foot diving to 8 foot range. Also has anyone had luck in shallower water with crankbaits? If you have a favorite, please provide me with a name or link!
thanks

[dave the dope man]

Hey 327. I have to recommend the Bandit line of crankbaits. My personel favorite is the Footloose for top water. I can basically fish it wherever anyone can fish a spinnerbait. Next I would go to the 200 series crankbait. Now as far as colors, It all depends on water clarity and that is all dependent on body of water, time of year, and what type of body of water it is ie: river, lake, lake with a defined creek and current etc...Good luck partner..Any other questions, just post 'em.........Dave

[Gabby]

I would always recommend the "lipless" crankbait - good ole Rat-L-Trap.  I also like Bandits & Berkley Frenzy.

[Tritonrob]

Bandits are hard crank to beat.  I also throw a 1 minus and some of the Old Big 0's.

[327]

thanks for the tips. As far as color goes, I like more baitfish/natural looking colors. I will look into the bandit line. A topwater one would be great for where I fish, some shallow pockets and grass etc. Thanks again

[HoosierAngler]

Manns Baby-1 minus in ghost and Firetiger, Luhr-Jensen Speedtrap in chr/blu and crawdad.

[327]

so many to buy, so little money!

[Mailman]

327
If you havent tried one you have got to get what we call the Hillkiller
It is a Yo Zuri Hardcore Shad, it is holographic and it catches fish. You can get them
at better fishing supplies stores or bass pro has them online [havent seen them in their cat] We use the 3" but they make a smaller size. It is an awsome bait and it costs about 10.00

[OHbassaholic]

Bandits are fantastic!  I'd also recommend the DT series of cranks from Rapala.

When you get into jerk baits, check out the Belly-Up from TClarkCustomLures.com.

[mitchell]

I use the Fat Free shad/guppy/fry models made by Excaliber. Shad color and firetiger seem to work most the times. I use them from 1'-10' all year long. The suspending models 4-6' work great over grass and in the colder months when you need to slow down. The 8-10' Free shad works good on ledges and points. I've fished alot of crankbaits and will use these 90% of the time. My second bait is the mann's minus series. The baby minus-1 works great in 1-2' over grass and laydowns. Hope this helps!

Mitch

[Gabby]

The "Firetiger" (green top, yellow middle, orange belly) are really working well in a lot of places lately.  I know the red/orange craw-imitating baits will be hot in a few months, if not now.

I also really like black tops and white bottoms.  Splatterback & white have also been good.

[518]

Rapala DT 6 for shallow breaklines
Bagley Balsa B for shallow flats with wood,
If your looking smaller than that the Honey-B by bagley and the Norman Tiny-N are good ones.

[327]

i got the baby 1- grey ghost, and when i go to academy in a few days, i will look for some bandits. I want to make a trip up to the north to visit the bass pro store one day. thanks for all the info!

[327]

uploaded the pic of my 5lber just now, go check it out!

[Yellow Puma]

The Bandit cranks are Awsome,the come through wood rather well and catch the heck out of fish!

[Chip]

Trust me! I know crankbaits! LOL   If you are looking for a good set of cranks, I would try this route:

1. X-raps for jerking cooler water.. Once you hit 60 degrees, they are still good but not as HOT as they are below 60..

2. Fat Free Shad

3. Manns Baby-1 minus

4. Traps

5. Norman 12 foot divers.

Be sure and purchase colors to meet your conditions.

Have Fun

Chip

[bass1cpr]

 Bandits would be one of my first choices for someone just getting started. 100 series for the 2 to 5 foot range 200 series for 5 to 8 foot. Baby 1 minus for the top to one foot. I saw splatterback mentioned that bait must work everywhere. Firetiger and chartruse with blue back and natural color I would get Silver sparkle minnow. A brown craw color would also be a wise choice. Keep it simple starting out.

[OHbassaholic]

The colors I usually turn new anglers on to for crank baits is firetiger, silver/black back, silver/blue back, Tenn shad and rootbeer type natural colors.

[327]

i'm not sure of the brand of the first one I bought, but I think in the lake that I fish, silver and black will work well. It seems the fish like that. I am anxious to try out the 1- grey ghost.

Does anyone know how how far the 4- dives?

[bass1cpr]

-4 self explaining. Another good bait and is easy to find bomber fat A 4F or 5F Firetiger.

[327]

lol i didnt even realize
thanks

[327]

i never did get to academy for the bandit, but i caught a couple fish on the 1- and i messed around with the 4- but didnt get any hits. thanks for the reccomendations

[mitchell]

327, One thing to keep in mind is that with water temps below 60 you should do better with a tight wiggle vs. wide wiggle in water above 60. The minus series is a wide wiggle and the excaliber series is most a tight wiggle along with the rat-l-traps. Just some tips i've read and used with good results. Hope it helps!

Mitch

[Fishaholic]

Here's a great bait to consider...the Twitch-N-Go by Bettencourt Baits.

Work it as a crank, a jerk bait, a sub surface bait, or twitch it on top for some great topwater action...

[shadow]

Of course there are tons of good crankbaits available, but the best I've ever used would have to be the Thundershad. It's designed and endorsed by Rick Clunn and it does work well. I bought 2 of them from Cabela's and they are available in 2 or 3 different sizes and several colors as well. Another favorite of mine is made by the Bill Norman lure company. It's a fairly new lure (for me anyway) called the Thin N and it's definitely worth a try. The color I chose is called "Bream 1" and the detail and finish has to be seen to be believed. Later!