Crankbaits vs. the “Others”

Crankbaits vs. the “Others”
By Gunner


A few weeks ago an old friend of mine who I have not seen in over 30 years when I lived in Shadyside, Ohio stopped by. He quit fishing 2 years ago as he had been fishing tourneys since the early 1970’s. I wish I would have had the chance to be around him more over the past 30 years to get on the tourney trails he fished, but life has a strange way of dealing with things and it was not meant to be…

During our visit he was in my “Fishing Room” and we went through the tackle boxes, rods, reels, just about everything you can imagine. He does not fish for anything but bass so a lot of my cat gear and muskie gear just did not interests him but when we got to the bass gear it all changed!

While going through the literary thousands of baits we started talking fishing styles, and mine has always been crankbaits. His has been pitchin in cover for most of his tourney time on the water. He made a comment that struck me funny and got me to thinking. He said well almost anyone can catch fish on crankbaits… At the time he said it; it was just part of the talk but struck a chord. It was not till the next day that it really hit me. There is a skill to crankbaits and it takes practice to acquire!

True you can buy the bait, open the box, tie it on cast it and reel it in and some times you might catch one that way. There are many times that open box style will not work. You have to be able to “work” the bait just as you have to learn and work any other bait in your box, which is where I am going to go with this article.

After watching crankbait masters Rick Clunn & David Frits plus reading every article I could find on crankbaits I have over the years developed a good style that has helped me boat many bass both in tourneys and just for fun!

What I did have to do was force myself to learn and use the “other” baits. It got to the point that I could catch bass on crankbaits every time I went on the water. Now I am not saying I got 5+ pounders or high numbers of bass each time, but I can honestly say I at least got one every trip, it may not have been a big one, but at least one bass on every outing.

I know a lot of people would say ok, so what is the problem? If you think about even though I was able to get at least one fish, most time one fish will not win a tourney. So I had to learn the other baits… You have to picture in your mind I have 823 different crankbaits, so learning something else was not easy.

I started by reading and watching shows, talking to people and just going to the store and buying different types of baits. The hardest part for me was on the water, I had to take 4 or 5 different poles rigged with the different baits and “NO” crankbaits at all either in the boat or on a rig.

I had to do that to myself because I became accustomed to my confidence bait and technique. Knowing I had to do it was just a start. So the days on the water at times seemed long and dragging but I can say now, 10 tackle boxes later loaded with everything you can think of has made me a better all around fisherman.

There is an old saying that goes; Change always comes with resistance, now I know what that truly meant. I resisted as much and as long as one person could do! Although flipping is one of my styles I have learned now a few years back, about 15 to be exact, along with every other style, crankbaits along with the others have helped make many more fun filled days on the water, so if you are stuck in the one or even two styles, take my advice and force yourself to learn and use the “other” baits, it will pay off in the end and make you a better fisherman!

There will be days that one type of bait will not work all day or even at all. I hope it is not on a tournament day for you! You will wish you had taken the time to try and learn the “other” baits. Now that I am in my 40’s I have learned two key things, it is never too late to learn something new and never stop learning! I try to pick up on something each and every time I go fishing with someone. I truly believe that everyone can show you something new, and yes there have been times when I learned by watching someone else how “Not” to do this or that. I have to admit sometimes that is the most enjoyable type of lesson.

The meat of this article is simple, if you have a confidence bait that you fish more the 50 percent of the time, take the time to learn a new style, force yourself I f you have too, I will be a benefit to you and worth the time and effort you put into it.

Be safe and I really hope to see you out there, Godspeed to all…
Ron “Gunner”