I hate you Crankbait!

Don

Well-known member
I don't get the difference between stick and crank baits. the pope dog has landed me allot of blues. Rapala is another favorite but what type is it, stick or crank?
 

troutspinner

Nuts & Bolts Guy
I don't get the difference between stick and crank baits. the pope dog has landed me allot of blues. Rapala is another favorite but what type is it, stick or crank?
Slippery slope with this one. Stick is what many bass anglers call a jerk bait but I’ve also seen it used for pencil poppers. Then you have the Senko style lures that are also called stick baits…..
 

truecrimson

Well-known member
Cranks tend be shorter and fatter and have a larger bill or lip. They also tend to have a wider variety of lip or bill shapes. They tend to be deeper diving, usually below 3'. They tend to be used more in lakes.

Jerks tend to be longer and skinnier and have a shorter bill. They tend to have very low variety in bill shape. They tend to ride higher, 3' and up. They tend to be used more in rivers, creeks, and ponds.

Jerks often get called "top waters" even if they dive. This gets them confused with true top waters like poppers, and frogs.

You may have noticed a lot of use of the word "tend", because all of this is fairly malleable and there is a great deal of overlap. If I say jerk baits NEVER have a long teardrop shaped lip then the next post will be someone posting a link to one. If the forage someplace is long and skinny and 12 feet down people will be using a long skinny diving bait with a big lip, whatever you want to call it.
 

Melvinp

Well-known member
Didn’t know how deep this thing went so hit the rapala site
 

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Randy Z

Well-known member
Crankbaits are awesome. I use them alot! I tend to use them in shallower lakes and trolling. My largest bass was on a 20 year old crankbait. The small ones are awesome for bluegill, and crappie. I think you just have to use them alot and understand how to run them. Ive gotten so many bites by bouncing the bill off of structure. Its a good technique but one that takes some time to learn as to not get snagged. Yes i get them snagged alot. Not as much as Melvin though. Hahahaha! Im still a top water guy, thats for sure!
 

troutspinner

Nuts & Bolts Guy
Crankbaits are awesome. I use them alot! I tend to use them in shallower lakes and trolling. My largest bass was on a 20 year old crankbait. The small ones are awesome for bluegill, and crappie. I think you just have to use them alot and understand how to run them. Ive gotten so many bites by bouncing the bill off of structure. Its a good technique but one that takes some time to learn as to not get snagged. Yes i get them snagged alot. Not as much as Melvin though. Hahahaha! Im still a top water guy, thats for sure!

I think you’re right. I have come to the conclusion that bass can be caught on anything as long as the angler is proficient in what they are throwing. I haven’t given cranks the time to learn but honestly, it is because I just don’t like that method over other methods.

This year I am going to focus on catching numbers. Forget the experimenting I’ve done the last 3 years of every damn bait in the world! Lol and stick to what I like, and know how to throw.
 
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