[whrizob]

ok guys, as most of you know, i consider myself a finesse fisherman. i take pride in getting a fish to bite, even when he is not hungry. with that said, i power fish 75% of the time. and as some may know, i love to throw crankbaits.! i spend more time cranking, then any other method out there. here is what i have learned and put together. first off, i want to start out by saying that i go a little overboard on my rod and reels for cranking. i believe that there is a rod, reel, and even line for every type of fishing. i have 6 crankbait rods that i use all the time. i will explain what they are all for and what reels and line i use. one is lipless crankbait rod, 2 are small to med crankbaits, 2 are for med to large crankbaits, and the other is for deep cranks.

#1 is my lipless crankbait rod and reel combo. i use a 7ft medium action medium fast tip rod for this technique. i do not like a glass rod. i like the composite rods bc i can "rip" the crankbait out of the grass. i use a 5:4 gear ratio reel. i like to keep my lipless just on the top of the cover i am fishing. the slow gear ratio makes sure i dont reel it up to fast. my line is a 12lb pline copolomer, flouracarbon coated. i have just had really good results out of this line. its not a true flouracarbon, so its still has a strech, but sinks bc it is flouracarbon coated. i like a little strecth in my line for most crankbait rod. helps me from pulling the bait out of the fishes mouth.

#2 is the two small to medium crankbait rods. i use these most of the time. i pretty much through bandit cranks on these rods. they are identical! they are 7ft medium action fast tip. i again use a composite rod for this. i would say if your not experienced in fitting fish on a crankbait, or have trouble keeping fish on, then you might want to go to a glass rod. it will keep you from pulling the bait out as easily. i like a composite rod, but not a cheap one. a good high quality composite rod is key. kistler makes a good one for this technique. another reason i like a composite rod is bc its much lighter than most glass rods. and like i said, i throw these alot. now to the reel. i like a high speed reel for these rods. i use a 6:3! mainly bc im really not worried about getting max depth on these baits. i use these for throwing down banks and near cover. i like the high speed reel bc once i hook up, i can still get them away from cover quicker. again on these reels i like the same 12lb test line p line as mentioned before.

#3 are my two medium to large crankbait rods. the rods are 7ft medium action with fast tip. one is a glass rod and one is a composite rod. i will throw and medium to large cranks on both rods. i like the glass over the composite on the really large profile baits. i feels that the bait itself can cause resistance and pull itself out sometimes. a glass rod will not allow that to happen. but again i use a 6:3 gear ratio reel for this technique. i feel the crankbaits will still get down to where i need them to with the high speed reel. again i use the same pline.

#4 is my deep crankbait rod. by far one of my favorite way to catch bass on deep structure in the summer. my deep crank rod is always a glass rod for me. i like a glass rod bc like i said before, i feel that the bait itself causes resistance and can pull itself out. the glass rod helps with that. i also like the glass rod bc i feel like you really need that flexibility to give the bait the most realistic action. summer fish are usually finicky, and i want it to look as real as possible. now for this technique i use slow gear ratio reel. i like a 5:4. i use this for a couple different reasons. one being it allows my bait to get to its maximum depth. the slower you reel, the more a bait can reach that depth. that slower reel allows this without me having to slow myself down. second, is bc of the pure cranking power you get from a slow reel. its gears are much bigger and stronger than a fast gear ratio reel. this is important bc you are pulling such a big crankbait and then if you add a fish. it will allow you to power the fish up to the surface. this real important. its like using a winch to get them in. now for the line, i use a pure flouracarbon for this technique. i want my baits to get the maximum depth as possible. this line sinks and will allow that. any floating line causes the crankbait to have to pull the line down with it and will not allow it to go as deep.

guys these is the set ups i have came up with and that work best for me. and as you can tell, most of the set ups are the same. i like multiple rods, bc i dont like chaning baits. my small to medium and medium to large are pretty much the same set ups. you can get away with just one rod if you wanted. i would say that if you learn how to play the fish, then any set up will put them in the boat. i know other people have different set ups they use. i know some people use only glass rods for canking. i know some people use just high speed reels for everything and just slow down there retrieve. the way i look at it is use what works for you and will give you the cofidence in landing these fish!