Do you have confidence throwing a crankbait? Even experienced anglers make some of these common crankbait fishing mistakes! Learning how to properly fish a crankbait can make the difference between having a great day catching big bass, or getting skunked.  Jeremy Francis from Fishing the Lonestar teaches you how to fish a crankbait the right way, and how to stop making these crankbait fishing mistakes! Take his advice and go hit the water with a good ol' crankbait and do some work!

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Video transcript:

Speaker 1:
There's one! Ooo! Got some good fight to him. Crankbait fishing, in the Fall, can yield some pretty good results. If you don't do these three things. We're talking about what not to do with crankbait fishing in today's video.

Speaker 1:
All right, guys, welcome back to the MONSTERBASS Channel. My name is Jeremy, with Fishing The Lonestar. I just landed a pretty good fish, right here, on the crankbaits. But in today's video, we're talking about what not to do with crankbait fishing. We're going to go through three simple things that you can do to improve your crankbait game, and catch more fish in the Fall, because they are chewing cranks.

Speaker 1:
All right. So today, I'm throwing the Xcite Baits XB-5; a two to five foot diving crankbait. What's unique about it, though, it's got a wider body. I'll show you from the bottom; these harder edges on the sides, gives it a nice, good wobble to it, and a good hard one knock in it, as well. So you get some good sound, and it's that copper-green color. A great little bait fish profile for this time of year. Mostly, going to be throwing this today on a glass rod. We'll talk about, though, the application of hook-set in just a moment. But throwing it on a glass rod with fluorocarbon, and the reel is a 7.5:1 gear ratio. Probably should go a little bit slower, but we'll talk about that, as well. Let's dive in.

Speaker 1:
All right. So crankbait can really excel around grass and laydowns. However, you have to also be very patient fishing around those grass and laydowns. Right now, I'm fishing around a brush pile, so I'm going to slowly bring it by. But as soon as I feel it tick or hit that brush pile, I'm going to stop my retrieve, and let that lure back up and float up off of it. Now, crankbaits, by nature, do float. But they also dive down when you retrieve. So as you retrieve, it's going to dive down. As you stop, it's going to float back up. So it's contrary to what you normally do when you hit something with a Texas Rig, or say for example, a Swimbait, you want to jerk up, and get it up in the water column. With a crankbait, it's the exact opposite.

Speaker 1:
There's a fish!

Speaker 1:
But it's the exact opposite. You want to stop, because that crankbait is going to float and back up off of that brush pile.

Speaker 1:
Whoa! All right. That little guy came off. Fine by me, because I don't have to then, worry about my hooks getting in my hand.

Speaker 1:
So for today's video, we came to a man-made lake. Yes, it's man-made lake. Most lakes are, but this one has a lot of brush piles and fish are holding to it. So, for the purpose of showing you how to fish a crankbait around some of these brush piles, this is a perfect little setup. That was a little branch right there, on top of the water. So, as I was saying a minute ago, your crank...

Speaker 1:
Oh, a fish came up and ate it, right as I was pulling it out of the water. We'll call that a bonus fish. That usually does not happen, but that was pretty cool that it did happen. All right. Caught that one right as we were pulling it out of the water. Came up and swiped at it.

Speaker 1:
All right. So as I was saying, before that fish rudely interrupted us, I want to fish right down the edge of this brush pile. And as soon as I feel it hit something, I'm going to stop my retrieve. And that'll allow that lure to back up off of what I just ran into. Now, normally, you would jerk it off or up out of something like that, if you're doing a Swimbait or Texas Rig, but with a crankbait, number one thing you don't want to do, is try to jerk when you feel like you've been hung up on either grass or a laydown, timber, et cetera. Just let that lure float right back up off of it, and then continue your retrieve again.

Speaker 1:
So the key here, in doing that, is to feel the difference between a bass biting and you catching grass. Right now, I'm stuck in grass. I can feel the crankbait is not wobbling like it should. So, I'm going to just go ahead and pull that in, get that hydrilla off. We're fishing, right now, at about three to five feet of water. This is a two to five foot diving crankbait, so I probably should even reel a little bit slower than I am, just to keep that bait right above the grass. You'll feel a little bit of tightness, whether it's a brush pile, timber, or grass. And when you feel that tightness, just stop retrieving, and that lure flow back up, and then start reeling again. You'll know when a bass bites it. The rod will load up, and it'll pull pretty hard. Or you'll feel that bump-bump bite, which is way different than if you just feel a one tick. That's probably you hitting something or running into timber.

Speaker 1:
All right. So number two, of things not to do.

Speaker 1:
Ooo! That was a bite. I missed it. Oh, he came back. He got it. Hang on. Let me catch this fish. Oh, [lands 00:04:36] is on, as well.

Speaker 1:
All right, I was about to go on to number two, and I landed this fish. If it'll quit spinning, I'll get him off. And I will say, this Xcite Bait has some pretty sharp hooks. Let that little guy go.

Speaker 1:
All right. Number two; the thing that I used to do a lot, and quite honestly, it caused me not to fish crankbaits. Because I just didn't really like them, is reeling too fast. So you'll notice, my retrieve speed is pretty slow. It's almost like a chatter bait, where you just want to reel it slow enough to where you get that shimmy in it; much faster than that. Now sometimes, you can burn a crankbait. Sometimes fish like it like that, but most crankbaits have a pretty good wobble to them, so reel pretty slow. Which is sometimes where your gear ratio comes into play. Now this is a 7.5:1. What that means is, for every turn of the handle to there, the spool is going to turn 7.5 times. So most of the time, with a crankbait, a lot of guys who like to crank a lot, we'll have a 6.5:1 or slower real. Just make sure that they're not reeling it too fast. You can compensate by just making yourself reel slow, but that is harder to do, I'm going to say, because you just get excited sometimes, as fishermen. And you want a reel fast to catch more fish. But you usually catch more with the crankbait reeling slower, which is why a gear ratio slower than 7.5:1 is normally ideal. Otherwise just reel very slow.

Speaker 1:
All right. The third and final thing to do, if you watch this, stop setting the hook so hard. Your hook-set should be just a sweeping motion, as you'll see here-

Speaker 2:
[inaudible 00:06:22].

Speaker 1:
... instead of a really hard jerk, which is going to rip the hooks. When you're dealing with treble hooks, you don't need a hard hook-set. Pulled that one right off of that brush pile. And you saw just a sweep hook-set versus a hard-jerk, and you'll catch them doing it. You don't need to give a hard hook-set or pull the hook away from him. All right, let's take another look at what that hook-set looks like with a crankbait, again, with those small treble hooks.

Speaker 1:
As I'm reeling, somewhat slow, when I feel the bite tick my rod, here in a minute, I'm just going to turn my hips and lean in. Let my rod load up, and the fish will hook itself. You don't need a hard hook-set. You'll see it right here.

Speaker 1:
There's one. Ooo! Got some good fight to him. I [heard 00:07:37] little bitty hooks. Oh, that's a good fish. I was just burning that. I was just burning. I barely got one hook in him, too. One little bitty of treble hook.

Speaker 1:
All right. I was burning that one back to the boat, because I threw it up in really shallow water, and as I was burning it, the fish came and ate it right off the bottom. Stuck him good in his bottom lip, even though he just had one hook in him. All right, guys, there you go. Good one to end on. A couple of crankbait fishing tips.

Speaker 1:
All right, guys, that's going to be a wrap on this video of what not to do fishing the crankbaits. I'll run them really quickly, again. If you hit timber or grass, do not jerk up. Stop. Let that lure back up and float off of your obstruction, and you'll catch more fish that way. Two is, do not reel too fast. Slow down, use a slower gear ratio, if you need to. And last don't jerk hard on your hook-sets. Just lean into them, sweep a little bit, reel, and those treble hooks will do the job for you. You do not have to have a heavy hook-set.

Speaker 1:
Also guys, if you're not already subscribed to the MONSTERBASS Channel, you should you do that. Hit the link below, or the subscribe button below. Make sure you subscribe to the MONSTERBASS Channel for more helpful tips and videos like this coming your way. Also, if you have not yet subscribed to Fishing The Lonestar, my channel, please do that. It'll be linked below as well. Would love to see you over on my page. And if you've not yet checked out MONSTERBASS, the Regional Pro bags. A phenomenal subscription coming to you monthly, with regionalized baits to help you catch more fish where you live. MONSTERBASS, go catch one.

Speaker 1:
Whatever you do, don't throw it up on the bank. Some other 'not to do'.

Speaker 2:
Rule number four.

Speaker 1:
I don't know what number it is, but you shouldn't do it.