{"id":5630,"date":"2018-10-04T22:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T22:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/?p=5630"},"modified":"2018-10-04T22:00:55","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T22:00:55","slug":"deep-water-crankbaits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/deep-water-crankbaits\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fish Deep Diving Crankbaits"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve caught a lot of fish over the years on river system lakes all over the country. These lakes tend to have a lot of deep water situations that I rely on deep water crankbaits.\u00a0 Crankbaits are a great way to catch big fish when they move out of the shallows.<\/p>\n

I think about all the bass I’ve caught throughout the years and a good portion have come from crankbaits.\u00a0 Unfortunately most people don’t know how to effectively fish deep diving crankbaits. How do you fish deep diving crankbaits? What do you look for in a crankbait?\u00a0 How do you set your rod up? These are all of the things that I’m going to want to talk about in this article.<\/p>\n

How to Fish Deep Water Crankbaits<\/h2>\n

Before I get into all the finite details, what exactly is a deep diving crankbait?\u00a0 It’s essentially a crankbait that runs in deeper water than what you’d use during the spring.\u00a0 Think of crankbaits like the Norman Deep Little<\/a> and Strike King’s 10XD Deep diving crankbait<\/a>.\u00a0 Both of these deep divers are easy to fish and really bring in a ton of bass.<\/p>\n

When do You Use a Deep Diving Crankbait?<\/h3>\n

You’ll typically use a deep diving crankbait anytime bass leave the shallows for deeper water.\u00a0 You’ll use it during extreme weather changes, mainly during the summer and cold winters.\u00a0 Don’t fool around with them during the spawn and spring\/fall, while the fish are in the shallows.<\/p>\n

During the summer, bass tend to rush the shallow water structure to feed early mornings and just before dusk.\u00a0 They only go out to deeper water after the weather starts to warm up around 10am.\u00a0 Early mornings you’d have better luck fishing the shallows with a Strike King Square Bill in Bluegill<\/a> or Shad Colorings.\u00a0 Normally I’ll start out the summer fishing the bluegill beds early morning<\/a>\u00a0and then switch out to deeper water around 9:30-10am.<\/p>\n

Which Crankbaits are Best for Deep Water?<\/h3>\n

What I like to do is have a wide complex arsenal of crankbaits. You never know how deep bass are going to suspend on any given day so bring along a wide variety of depths.\u00a0 Most of the time I’ll setup with a Strike King 5XD Crankbait<\/a>\u00a0which runs at about 15 feet( Strike King 6Xd goes 17-19ft<\/a>).\u00a0 In deeper water I’ll throw out a Rapala Deep Diver that holds between 20 and 25 feet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When you think about a deep diving crankbait make sure you think about bottom contact.\u00a0 Your crankbait needs to be able to run deep enough to dig into the bottom.\u00a0 Its nose should run along the bottom, displacing a lot of water and making a lot of noise.\u00a0 All that attention will really key in those trophies.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Pick the Right Crankbait for The Water Depth<\/h3>\n

If you’re fishing a spot that you see fish camped out at 14 feet of water, you don’t want a crankbait that barely gets down their.\u00a0 Instead opt for a bigger crankbait that will get down to 16-20 feet and really dig hard into the bottom.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right depth is extremely important when trying to bring in larger fish.\u00a0 As you start to learn more and develop your crankbait skills you should start to fill up your tackle box.\u00a0 You’ll start to notice you have a ton of different styles that you like to use in different depths.<\/p>\n

Choosing The Right Crankbait Color<\/h4>\n

Color is another really important thing to consider.\u00a0 Check out my post on choosing the best crankbait colors<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

During the summer I typically try to match the forage as best I can.\u00a0 You’re best bet is going to be sticking to shad colored lures<\/a> that work most of the summer.\u00a0 Muted tones seem to work best during the summer and brighter colorful crankbaits work best during the winter.\u00a0 It’s really going to depend on water clarity, dirty water requires brighter color schemes.<\/p>\n

Rod Reel and Line Setup<\/h4>\n

Now we need to focus on your rod reel and line setup when throwing a deep diving crankbait.\u00a0 This is very, very important.\u00a0 When you throw a deep diving crankbait you want to throw it on the longest rod possible.<\/p>\n

I’m a huge fan of Abu Garcia’s 7’10” Medium Heavy Casting Rod<\/a>.\u00a0 You need a long rod so that you can make an extra long cast.\u00a0 Think about how you cast.\u00a0 1\/3 of your cast is going to be as you reel the crankbait down, the next 1\/3 of the cast it will be digging into the bottom, and the last 1\/3 will be reeling it back up to you.\u00a0 You’re really not going to be getting a lot of bites in the first 1\/3 and last 1\/3.\u00a0 So the longer you cast the more time you’ll spend in the strike zone.<\/p>\n

You want to use light line with deep diving crankbaits. Go with 10-12lb test maximum, any higher than that and it will affect the wobble of your lure.\u00a0 I prefer to use 10 pound P-Line Fluorocarbon<\/a>, but any other fluorocarbon line will do.\u00a0 Fluorocarbon line allows the bait to get down just a little bit deeper.<\/p>\n

How Fast Should You Crank?<\/h3>\n

The speed that you need to crank is going to depend on the time of year you’re fishing.\u00a0 During the summer you’re going to really want to crank as fast as possible.\u00a0 You really want to burn that crankbait back to the boat.<\/p>\n

During the winter time fish are a little more lethargic. You’ll want to slow down your cranking speed waiting for less aggressive strikes.<\/p>\n

Other Deep Diving Crankbait Tips<\/h3>\n

Anytime you’re out there fishing deep diving crankbaits it’s important to know a few basic tips.\u00a0 It’s one of my favorite ways to catch fish and it’s one of the best ways to catch big fish.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Use Your Electronics<\/h4>\n

When fishing deep water it’s important to remember to always use your electronics.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter if you’re fishing a ditch, rock pile etc. electronics will speed up your search.\u00a0 When you find a great fishing spot set your waypoint to come back again tomorrow.<\/p>\n

When fishing the bottom it’s important to look for any variation along the bottom.\u00a0 Look for an edge that signifies a change of structure.\u00a0That edge creates a point where fish funnel the baitfish giving them positions to hide.\u00a0 Line up directly along the edge and fish horizontally to it with the current.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Make a Long Cast<\/h4>\n

I talked about making long casts above, but it’s so important that it needed to be said again.\u00a0 The longer you cast the more time you’ll stay in the strike zone.\u00a0 Longer casts give you better depth with the crankbait, you’ll get down in the strike zone faster and stay longer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Adjust Your Retrieve Speeds<\/h4>\n

The retrieve speeds fish want during warmer months is going to be entirely different than a chill. In warmer months the fish will typically want a super fast burning retrieve.\u00a0 This allows it to really tear through the rocks making a lot of noise and drawing tons of attention.\u00a0 During the colder months you’ll want to slow down your retrieve barely moving through the rocks.<\/p>\n

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4. Throw Deeper Than You Think<\/h4>\n

You should always throw a crankbait that digs down deeper than you actually want to fish.\u00a0 If you’re fishing in 15ft of water throw a crankbait that goes down 17-18ft.\u00a0 The extra depth will really force your lure to dig down into the bottom.\u00a0 With more bottom contact your lure will make a lot more commotion.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Look For Thinner Lips<\/h4>\n

Keep an eye out for crankbaits that use a “circuit board lip”.\u00a0 Thin lips allow the bait to take on less water movement allowing it to get down faster.\u00a0 It should dive almost vertically down into the strike zone, staying down there longer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve caught a lot of fish over the years on river system lakes all over the country. These lakes tend to have a lot of deep water situations that I rely on deep water crankbaits.\u00a0 Crankbaits are a great way to catch big fish when they move out of the shallows. I think about all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[10,15,3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Fish Deep Diving Crankbaits - RangetoReel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rangetoreel.com\/deep-water-crankbaits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Fish Deep Diving Crankbaits - RangetoReel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’ve caught a lot of fish over the years on river system lakes all over the country. These lakes tend to have a lot of deep water situations that I rely on deep water crankbaits.\u00a0 Crankbaits are a great way to catch big fish when they move out of the shallows. 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