Been catching a lot of fish cranking of late… catching as well as losing a lot of bass on them.

The vid above really emphasizes the focus you have to put on equipment and terminal tackle when  you’re trying to closing the deal on crank bait fish.  It’s been a learning experience and in the end there’s no 100% land-rate way around crankbait fishing especially deep cranking;  but factors like changing out your hooks to Mustad KVD Short Shanks and going with a high quality, low stretch, low diameter flourocarbon like Sunline FC Sniper as well.  On 6XD style baits I’ll go with straight 10lbs test however when going up to 10XD sized baits I’ll use 12-14lbs.

Another big key when deep cranking has been equipment.  When throwing cranks like the Strike King 6XD, 10XD, and other so called “mag-diving” cranks the right rod is essential.  Your standard 7′ composite stick just doesn’t cut it anymore on baits that can run, casted, to almost 27′.This kind of cranking takes a longer beefier rod.  On 6XD’s and 8XD’s or baits that run down to 21-22ft up to 1.25oz I run a Powell Max 3D 804 CB.  When going up to the gigantic stuff like a 10XD or greater I’ll turn to a Powell Max 3D 7115 CB.  Both rods offer a bit more beef but still a moderate classic cranking style action to allow the fish to do the work when hooking up.

Reels are pretty simple.  I like my Shimano Stuff such as the Casitas,  Curado I, or Chronarch reels.  Speeds are key; on 6XD style baits a standard  6:2:1 is what I opt for so I can get the bait down quick and retrieve the bait fairly quickly.  On the 10XD however I do go for a slower reel – something like a 5:2:1.  The added power helps crank that beast down and also keeps it down.