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Video transcript:
Alex Rudd:
What's up, MONSTERBASS Channel. Thank you guys for taking time out of your busy day, your busy week to come hang out with us and to watch this video. For you guys that don't know who I am, my name is Alex Rudd, I own and operate the Alex Rudd Fishing channel. And I also help to pick the bass that come in your Southern Region Box every single month. You probably have seen my ugly mug in that little pamphlet that you get every month. And you guys also saw my ugly mug on a sticker that came in a box a few months ago. And I'm sorry that you had to see me, but hopefully you stuck that sticker somewhere nice so that everybody else has to feel your pain. It's well, but guys, today we're going to be talking about the January MONSTERBASS Box.
Alex Rudd:
More specifically, we're going to be talking about the Strike King baits that came in that box. And even more specifically, we're going to be talking about the crankbaits that came in your January box. And really how we gave you guys tools to fish different areas of the water column, as well as different kinds of water. And just talk about how crankbaits in general, even though we all fall under the category of a crankbait, how drastically different they can all be and how they are all tools to help you to put fish in to the boat. So what baits are we going to be talking about today?
Alex Rudd:
Number one, we're going to be talking about the KVD 1.5 Flat Side, which I've actually already got tied on my own rod because this is going to be a huge tool for me tomorrow when I go fishing. And really this whole entire time of year here where it's, I'm sure you guys can see it, really cold here in East Tennessee. The next one is going to be the Strike King 3XD. Awesome little bait. Another just massive tool for me this time of year. And then the Red Eye Shad in half ounce. Again, another massive tool for me this time of year. And really all three of these crankbaits are crankbaits that I have tied on, ready to go at any moment in the winter, because they're all tools that can be used to go out and to catch fish.
Alex Rudd:
So really today, I want to talk to you guys about all three of these baits, where I like to use them ,when I like to use them. The cover structure things that I like to look for when I use these baits. And I want to talk to you guys about the gear that I use because that's super duper important. I want to start there because really a crankbait rod and a crankbait rod and reel setup, in my opinion, is one of the setups that every angler should have in their boat, on the bank in their [inaudible 00:02:14], wherever they happen to be fishing. For me, cranking is a huge part of my fishing life. It's been a huge part of my life. Period.
Alex Rudd:
First fish I ever caught in my life was on a crankbait and probably be the last fish that I ever catch on my life will be on a crankbait. But cranking a crankbait, like I said, it's a huge thing not only for me, but for really all of the South. You talked to a lot of these Southern anglers, especially the ones that fish on these highland reservoirs, the Tennessee river system lakes, these riverine style lakes, everybody cranks a crank bait. And so for me, cranking is just a huge part of what I do. So I've got a lot of cranking setups. I actually got four cranking setups, but I want to talk about this cranking set up in particular today, just because of the way that this crankbait rod acts. The way that the reel acts, everything about it is something I feel like if you're going to go out and you're going to fish treble hook baits, especially crankbaits, it's something that you need just to be a little bit more successful.
Alex Rudd:
So let's talk about the rod, first of all. I'm using a loose David Fritz Perfect cranking stick. Now, does it have to be a loose rod? Does it have to be a loose reel? No. This is just what I use, what I find confidence in. But what's really special about this rod is it is a crankbait specific rod. And so what that means it is a composite between glass, fiberglass and graphite. And what that does for that rod is it makes it extremely parabolic. And so that means that it's going to bend down almost to the last guide near the reel seat in the rod. And it's going to have a very slow taper and a very good bend in the rod. And so that's super important when you're fishing treble hook baits, but especially when you're fishing crankbaits.
Alex Rudd:
And it's really important for a couple of reasons. Number one, it helps to drive those hooks in. And so I know what you're thinking. Alex, I thought you wanted a stiffer rod to really drop hooks in. When you're fishing things like jigs and other big single hook baits, Texas rigs, single hook swimbaits, things like that. Yeah. That's super important because you've got one big hook that you're going to ram up in that fish's mouth. And for the most part, it's going to keep them pinned. But when you're fishing these treble hook baits, you've got a lot of little hooks. And so one thing that a lot of guys ask me about is, Alex, how do I keep these fish pinned when they come up tail walking and when they come up head [inaudible 00:00:04:24], when they charge next to the boat on treble hooks.
Alex Rudd:
Well, having a good parabolic rod helps to do that because what it does, it helps to drive those hooks in. And then that parabolic action helps to absorb the shock of those fish jumping. Helps to absorb the shock of those fish running next to the boat, because the times with one big hook, it's really hard for them to shake it. But with a bunch of little hooks, it's really easy for it to get them out of their mouth. And so having a good parabolic cranking rod is super important. If you don't have a cranking specific rod, look for something that's more moderate fast. There are a lot of great moderate, fast rods out there on the market that are great for just general purpose. Everything. I've got a couple of moderate, fast rods in the box that I could easily throw a crankbait on and get away with it. But I can also throw swimbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, all kinds of different baits on there so that I have a more general purpose set up.
Alex Rudd:
But if you can get one and if you do have one throw all your crankbaits on a cranking specific rod. And then the reel speed and the line is super important too. I use a 6:8 gear ratio reel. This is a Lew's Custom Pro. Again, it does not have to be a Lew's, but something in that six gear ratio family. That six gear ratio, I'll be honest with you, I don't know exactly what it is about the speed at which that reel turns, but it's absolutely perfect for crankbaits, especially smaller body crankbaits. Obviously that lower gear ratio is going to help you to have a little bit more torque on the bait. It's not going to wear you out as much when you're cranking that crankbait, but there's something about the amount of line that that thing brings in that is just absolutely perfect for cranking your crankbait.
Alex Rudd:
And then the third thing is that line. So this is where I differ from some people. A lot of guys, when it comes to cranking a crankbait, especially like a 1.5 square bill or a lipless, like we're going to talk about here in a minute, they go with that 15 pound fluorocarbon. Me, I use 10 pound fluorocarbon on absolutely every crankbait that I use. And I do that for two main reasons. Number one, it helps that crankbait, especially billed crankbaits, to get to the maximum dive in depth that it can possibly get. And so what that means is it's going as deep as it can possibly go. It stand in that strike zone as long as it possibly can. And I've found times that getting that bait just two to three foot deeper, makes all the difference in the world in putting fish into the boat.
Alex Rudd:
And then the second reason when it comes to baits like your Red Eye Shad that don't have a bill, that are going to sink, that you're not trying to get to go down in the column, it helps to activate them just a little bit quick. And so what that means is that smaller diameter line, as soon as you reel this bait or pick up on this bait, it starts to do what it's supposed to do. Heavier line will inhibit the bait from actually moving and shimming and rattling and getting everything in the bait moving. And you'll see this, especially, in chatterbaits and things like that. You hear a lot of guys that drop the diameter of the hooks to help this as well.
Alex Rudd:
But I've found with line, I get more of the effect that I want as far as activating that bait and getting it to do what I want it to do immediately. As soon as I start to reel it, drag it, or do whatever I'm doing to that bait to try to impart action upon it. And so for me, my cranking setup is super, super important just to help me put more fish into the boat. I have a ton of confidence in cranking and I have refined my cranking setup down to where it's at now. And then several different versions of my cranking setup to be as effective as it can possibly be wherever I happen to be fishing.
Alex Rudd:
So now let's actually start talking about these crankbaits that you guys received and where I like to focus on fishing them. Where you guys might want to focus on fishing them. And the different applications for all three of the crankbaits. So we'll start with the little 1.5 Side Flat. So this thing is a cold water killer. This is a bait that I have tied on all throughout the winter, into the spring. Anytime that I'm dealing with that sub 50 degree water range from sub 50, all the way to the point at which it gets hard and freezes, this little flat side crankbait is going to do work. Now, you guys can probably see there, it's got a pretty good size bill on it. This thing is going to get anywhere from 10 to 13, 14 feet, depending on again, the line diameter that you guys choose.
Alex Rudd:
And so for me, I'm really going to focus on throwing this crankbait on a more vertical cover. And so what that means is I'm looking for those 45 degree or steeper banks. And oftentimes, only throwing this thing on bluffed walls, bluffed out walls. Which means, you'll be driving down the lake or even driving up the road, you'll see an almost vertical wall or a vertical rock wall. That is what I call or that is what I refer to as a bluffed wall. And those fish really like to use those bluffed walls in the winter because it allows them to move vertically instead of horizontally.
Alex Rudd:
What you got to realize is that oftentimes fish don't want to move really far distances. When you hear a lot of people talk about fish are moving, they're not moving miles and miles or even hundreds of yards, they may have moved 10 or 15 yards in one direction. Or 10 or 15 yards in the other direction. What they like to do, especially in the winter, is they like to move vertically. So if we have a cold front move through, if we have some adverse weather conditions move through, they can get a little bit deeper, get in more stable water. And then when it starts to warm back up as those fish are more ready to feed, they can move back up shallower, get around those bait [inaudible 00:09:55] crawdads, and start to feed.
Alex Rudd:
And so this thing is going to hit that area of the lake very, very well, that more vertical cover. And it all has to do with that bill on that thing. It's going to dive, it's going to get down there and it's going to eat. And what I've noticed is, yeah, you can fish this thing on 45 degree banks. You can fish it on rocky banks, but when you're fishing it shallower than really six to eight feet, this thing is going to get hung up a whole, whole ton. And so it's just more effective on that more steeper cover, that more vertical cover, that cover where those fish are going to be able to move up and down to get deep, to get shallow and just really use those more bluffed out walls more effectively.
Alex Rudd:
Now the 3XD is also what you would consider a mid range or deeper diving crankbait. This thing again, is going to get in that 10 to 15 foot range really, really effectively, especially if you're fishing it on 10 pound fluorocarbon. Now what's different is the bill shape on this one actually helps it to deflect off cover a little bit better than that flat side does. You guys can see they're very, very similar, but just the more roundness to the front of that bait, as well as this little upturn, you guys can see how it goes down and then turns up. What that does, it helps it to dive, but then once it's into the diving depth it helps it to deflect off of rocks, off of wood, off of different cover a lot more effectively. And so you can fish this bait on that vertical cover, just like you can fish that flat side, but you can also fish this really from that zero to 15 foot range of water, super, super effectively and get bit.
Alex Rudd:
And it's going to do a really good job of deflecting off rocks, deflecting off cover. I love to throw the 3XD when I'm around a lot of wood on vertical cover. And I love to throw this thing on those long tapering, gravel rock, mud points, those are where I'm going to make really long cast, cover a lot of water from zero to 15 feet and be able to cover all of that range of water super, super effectively, and be able to catch fish in all those different ranges of water. And that little 3XD just the shape of the bill, the overall design, the more round sides on the bait helps it to deflect and roll off of cover, and just be more effective in that stuff where that flat side oftentimes will get hung up. And you'll just find some frustration with it. You can pick up the 3XD and fish those areas super, super effectively.
Alex Rudd:
And then the last one being the Red Eyed Shad. Now, a lipless is a magical bait. And it is magical because you can do so many different things with it. You can fish it in two foot of water. You can fish it in 20 foot of water. You can drag it. You can hop it. You can burn it. You can buzz it. You can do all kinds of different things with the lipless. But for me, especially fishing the Tennessee river system, especially fishing in a lot of rivers, this is a shallow water killer. Because I can fish this thing as shallow as I want it and still get bites. And as we move later on into the winter, what starts to happen around here is we start to get a lot more rain and they start pushing a lot more current through the dams around here.
Alex Rudd:
And so what that means is there's going to be a lot more moving water on the lakes that I fish and the rivers that I fish and those fish will start to transition shallower and shallower and shallower to the point where they will literally be pushing bait fish up onto the bank so shallow that you can't get most crankbaits. And that's where this little lipless with really sticky hooks is going to be super, super effective. You're going to be able to fish that hopper shallow water, and still be able to get those fish to eat this thing.
Alex Rudd:
And it is just a fantastic shad imitator. While all at the same time, if you're fishing a grass lake way further South, you can be able to rip this thing out of the grass fish, that grass more effectively. Even if you're fishing in a rocky reservoir, you can buzz this thing off the bottom really, really slowly. You can even fish it like a jig get a ton of bites. There's just so many different ways you can fish the lipless and get a ton of bites on it. And then like I said, super important, fish it on that little bit ladder line, I'm going to help you guys to activate this bait quicker. And that's really important, especially when you're in that super, super shallow water.
Alex Rudd:
A lot of the times when I'm fishing that two to three foot range of water, you're going to cast up into almost nothing. And you want that bait working as soon as it hits the water, so that any fish in that area, they're already picking up on that bait where it's at and you get them to react to that bait. But really, really awesome little bait. Now, one last tip before I let you guys go. And this one is for the guys who may not have a ton of rods and reels, and you're saying, "Alex, I need something that's going to help me to put more crankbait fishing in the boat, but I can't go out and buy a brand new crank and reel and cranking rod right now."
Alex Rudd:
One thing that you can do is you can fish mono. A mono has more stretch. So a 10 pound mono is going to stretch really, really well. So you can load that up on your moderate, fast, or even fast action rod. And you start to get all the benefits of that more parabolic rod in the cranking stick and all that kind of stuff. So just a quick tip for you guys that may be limited on your fishing grill, throw on some mono. It is still great line. You're still going to be able to get down the diving depth effectively, do everything that you need to do, but you get all the added benefits of that more stretch in there, so it helps us take those fish better.
Alex Rudd:
But guys, those are the crankbaits that came in your MONSTERBASS Box. Hopefully you guys learned something from today's video. Hopefully you got some tips and tricks that you can go out and use on the lake. I'll be hitting the lake tomorrow with the flat side. So come over to my channel, come and hit the subscribe button and check it out. I'll have all kinds of video content on all the baits that I talked about as well as the little flat side. Hopefully tomorrow we can load the boat with it. But as always guys, thank you for watching and we'll see you next time.
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