Bass will gobble down and go crazy over a well-chosen crankbait. Why do they invoke such an aggressive response from bass? Crankbaits cover a lot of ground as they vibrate in the watery depths. Dave Boyd, a crankbait expert from Tallahassee, Florida, has more than 20 years of experience fishing on Lake Talquin. Dave says the muddier your water, the shallower the fish go. He says to look for structure in the shallow water. For example, look for docks, stumps, clam beds and vegetation. Typically, Dave sets a square-billed crankbait on his line and retrieves it aggressively when fishing in these shallow structures.
Don’t Be Afraid to Lose a Crankbait
Especially when we paid between five to 10 dollars for a crankbait, we have an attachment to its well-being. As an angler who wants a boat full of fish, you have to risk your crankbait to hook the big one occasionally. One example of this is how Dave often casts his square-billed plugs out into shallow water near coontail and hydrilla. The catch on the weeds can be annoying, but Dave puts 17 to 20-pound cast on his reel and fishes specifically for this purpose. Many times, you unhook the weeds only to trigger a strike.
Square-billed Crankbaits: Where to Use Them
Cast into docks, stumps and grass beds with your plug to seduce a would-be meal into grabbing your lure. When square-billed plugs crash into an object, the lure tends to halt with its nose down, and the tail hooked upwards. Next, the plug leaps over the obstruction. A round-billed plug will often rotate on the bill after it contacts something. When this happens, the plug will turn sideways to hook the structure.
How to Stop Your Crankbait from Getting Hung Up
Whenever you fish a lake, add a lure retriever to your arsenal of fishing equipment. In fact, you can’t fish a lake like Talquin without one. Many times, a lure retriever consists of a one to two-ounce weight with a spiral wire that threads through the fishing line and the ring to attach to a heavy line. Lure retrievers slide down the line to the lure, and it pulls the lure free without interruption. It lets you use your lures more aggressively while still saving them.
Different Seasons, Different Plugs
David confesses he hates fishing deep water and only does it during the summer months. If you plan to hunt deep, employ a plug with a side-to-side wiggle that is wide. Over the winter season, plugs with a tighter wiggle provoke a more aggressive attack. The narrow vibrations imitate a specific type of prey during this season.
Sometimes the secrets of reeling in a five-pound bass will have a more subtle edge. For some crankbaits, Dave bends the eyelet to guarantee it tracks straight. He can also do this to make it favor a right or left turn. In particular, you can use this while casting the plug next to the dock or a steep bank. When used well, square-billed crankbaits become a fisherman’s lucky lure to strike uncontrollable terror into the hearts of bass everywhere.
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