Crankin' from the bank

Crankin’ From the banks
By gunner


I had received a few e-mails asking about using crankbaits from the banks. I have to apologize because I overlooked this situation completely. It seems that most everyone that has a boat forgets where they “came from” when they started bass fishing.

I remember as a kid going to the local store and buying that all important crankbait that I had seen on TV. You know the one, that caught everything when the pro cast it from his rod tip! Yes that is it… that one.

Well one thing I did not look at, at that time was I was standing on the sides of the Ohio River and lakes while he was in his boat casting to the shore. So needless to say as a kid I lost a good number of lures to the waters in Ohio.

But to get back to the questions asked of the site, you can fish with crankbaits from the bank of the water if you do a few things differently and just use some common sense. First thing is do NOT pick a deep runner crankbait. That is almost a sure snag and loss of lure! You want to stay with shallow runners, maybe a 5 foot runner as the deepest. You can cast it straight out and reel it in, but that is the opposite of what the boat guys and gals is doing…. Remember they throw to the bank and reel back out which has the bait run the contour of the bottom.

The best thing you can do is to walk the bank to where you can find cover in the water, like Lilly pads, or some other form of emergent vegetation. Then you need to cast along the side of it, run the bait past the sides or front of it if you can. Work holding the rod tip high, helping the bait from diving and snagging. Work it slow and let it “bump” off underwater cover but stay focused.

Sometimes you can cast a heavier bait from the banks to some standing timber you see in a cove…. Again the best thing you can do is hold the tip high…
Now you are going to lose a few baits this way, but if you are careful, the fish you catch will more than make up for the few baits lost.

Just remember:

NO deep running crankbaits

Work it slow, let it bump some

Hold the tip of the rod high

About a one or two o’clock position and learn to “Feel” the bait work. Don’t just set the hook every time you get a bump. That is the biggest mistake made by bank anglers. They get the baits, have not had the chance to fish from a boat much or at all. So they really don’t know how the bait feels and works. And it is this inexperience that will cost you money and time.

It takes time to learn, don’t rush it and try to learn something new about your baits every time you go fishing. Knowing how a bait works, feels and runs is a very valuable tool for any fisherman, boater or non-boater.

When you catch some of these bankside beauties, send a few photos in to us here and we will post them on the site!

Good luck and see you out there!!!
gunner