Crankbaits come in all shapes and sizes and in quite a few diving depths. One of the best ways to catch big bass is to fish deep water with deep diving crankbaits. Fishing this way requires a specific set of equipment and a different approach, but it can produce giant bass.

Deep cranking usually refers to fishing crankbaits in water deeper than 15-feet. Some crankbaits can reach depths of 25-feet or more, but generally, the 15 to the 20-foot zone is where most deep cranking takes place.

A good rule of thumb is to use a crankbait that dives deeper than the water you are fishing as it helps to get the bait banging into the bottom to create a disturbance that attracts bass and a deflection off of the cover, which in turn gets bass to react.

Many techniques can be done on a wide variety of rods; deep cranking is not one of them. The same holds for reels and line, and fishing deep crankbaits should be done with the right equipment.

A long (7’6” or longer) crankbait rod with some backbone will allow for long casts and the power to land big bass. Choosing a slow retrieve (5.4:1 gear ratio) baitcast reel will help to eliminate wearing you down after hours of casting and retrieving bait with so much resistance as it is pulled through the water. Match your combo with a 12 to 15-pound fluorocarbon line to get the strength needed for these big crankbaits and monster bass.

The best time to fish deep crankbaits is anytime bass are in deep water. One of the best periods of the year is right after the bass finish spawning and head to offshore structure. Deep cranking can be an excellent way to target big bass from the post-spawn until fall in most places in the country.

Crankbaits as a whole are simple to fish, cast, and retrieve. The standard retrieve will catch fish, but often some variance during the retrieve is best to get the bait to look more erratic.

The biggest key with deep crankbaits is to get them down as far as they can dive in the shortest amount of time. Once you make a cast, retrieve quickly to the bait down deep, and then you can slow down your retrieve as the bait grinds along the bottom.

Fishing deep diving crankbaits is a great way to tempt big bass and bass off of the bank in further water are often less pressured than those around visible structure along the shoreline. Give deep crankbaits a shot the next time bass move deep in your region.