Shallow and middepth crankbaits are a fine option to locate and catch big springtime bass.
April 09, 2024
By Matt Straw
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Editor Note: From the pages of In-Fisherman’s 2024 Bass Guide
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Staring at the box again? All those hardbaits. Shallow, medium, and deep-divers. Suspending jerks. Squarebills. Round bills. Narrow bills. Wide bills. No bills. One will be particularly effective early in the season on a lake near you. But how to choose? What part does the lake itself play in making that determination?
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Early on when the water’s cold, I almost exclusively work suspending jerks, especially a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 or the new Rapala Mavrik 110 . Both are equally effective for smallmouths and largemouths. But I tend to gravitate toward clear water—lakes and rivers seined by zebra and quagga mussels where bass might be seen from 20 feet away or more. All bass crack jerkbaits in the 40°F to 55°F range in clear water up north. Pros, on the other hand, have to match all conditions they face, north to south, week after week. Hardbaits often come out of the box first. Conditions, forage species, terrain, and cover have everything to do with their choices.
“If the water is stained or dirty, I’m going with a crankbait,” says 2023 Bassmaster Classic champ Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson. “For 6 feet of water and less, I’m tying on a squarebill, specifically the Bagley Elite Pro Sunny B . From 6 to 10 feet, I’m going with a medium-running crankbait like the original Sunny B . Squarebills are great for sneaking around shallow cover and not getting hung up. You can feel your way through cover and when you bump into rocks or wood. Pause the bait every once in a while to let it trigger strikes. The Pro Sunny B is a really good crankbait. It’s got a nice profile—not too big but still casts well and it’s effective for both smallmouths and largemouths.”
2023 Bassmaster Classic champ Jeff Gustafson says that in early season when the water’s dirty, he goes with a squarebill crank in shallow water. Certain characteristics of the lakes, rivers, and reservoirs we fish can anoint a style, size, and color of the optimum lure—and always for a reason. “The old-school Storm Wiggle Wart is still a great choice on Table Rock, but on Toledo Bend the Strike King Red Eye Shad is legendary,” says Kevin VanDam, winner of four Bassmaster Classics. “It has a lot to do with the type of cover and the terrain. When surrounded by stumps and trees, a crankbait is a lot more efficient. The Strike King Chick Magnet caroms off wood better while the Strike King Red Eye Shad is more effective in grass. Ripping a lipless crank free of grass is a dynamite trigger.”
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VanDam won the Classic on Lay Lake in Alabama with a Red Eye. “It was a cold, early prespawn event and I tried flat-sided cranks, but bass were honed in on that lipless bait,” he says. “Those bass are known for that. The next year I won the Classic in New Orleans with a squarebill. When you get that next uptick in temperature in spring, that’s when the squarebill shines. In the coldest water, a Red Eye is the ticket—so efficient at fishing various depths so you can stay in the kill zone and keep it right in their face at whatever depth. But suspending baits are key choices in frigid water, too.”
During the spring, using a crankbait to search for and catch numubers of big bass is highly effective. During the searching process, use various lip shapes and sizes, play with colors and body shapes and eventually you'll dial in the bite. Baby It’s Cold Outside When I talked to VanDam, he was gassing up his boat and heading for a Michigan lake. In February. (It was a mild winter.) “Even when the lake is still half frozen, I catch bass on hardbaits,” he says. “Wherever I go, the Red Eye is often my first call.”
2021 B.A.S.S Angler of the Year Seth Feider also opts for lipless cranks in early spring. “I like the Storm Arashi Vibe early on,” he says. “It’s a perfect match for me in waters ranging between 42°F and 52°F. I fish lipless cranks almost anywhere but always around grass. I fish it yo-yo style, pulling it off bottom a few cranks, letting it fall back to bottom, then ripping through the grass.”
Gustafson concurs. “Lipless baits are coming out of the box whenever grass is present,” he says. “Almost no better reaction bite exists than when you pull a lipless bait off a blade of grass and it gets crushed. Another great cold-water bait in the South, lipless baits shine where traditional crankbaits are going to get clogged up all the time by grass. That’s part of the reason why you see them used so often in Florida and on the Tennessee River lakes.
“The lipless profile matches shad and crayfish,” Gustafson adds. “Typically, I’m going with a natural shad pattern but if I’m fishing early on a reservoir, it has to be some shade of red. In Florida, gold is always a good choice. I’m big on fishing my ‘traps’ with a yo-yo retrieve versus reeling it straight in. Let it fall into and over stuff on the bottom. Great for producing reaction bites. Water color has a big influence on the color crankbait I choose. The clearer the water, the more natural I’m going, while as it gets more stained or dirty I dial up brightness. Red is always a good March color, and in the dirty stuff I like to have some chartreuse mixed in. I have a box full of different lipless cranks representing almost every brand, but over the years I’ve probably caught the most fish on the discontinued Xcaliber baits.”
VanDam has a lipless bias in cold water, too. “I love the Red Eye in the coldest water for sure, and it’s great for covering weedflats,” he says. “I can count it down to specific depths most bass are using and yo-yo it like a jig. You need that pause after ripping off bottom or through grass because the Red Eye has a sexy wiggle on the drop. The way it falls makes it really effective. It drops horizontally, shimmies, and bass knock the fire out of it. The flat sides produce a tight wobble bass can’t refuse.”
Give ‘Em Some Lip “If crankbaits can target the right zone, go with it,” VanDam says. “When bass are using middepths, the new Strike King Gravel Dawg is awesome. It’s a wide-wobbling bait available in two versions that dive to 8 and 10 feet, respectively. It’s better for that mid-range below what you can reach with the Strike King 1.5 or Chick Magnet We always have that debate pitting lipped cranks against lipless versions. At certain times bass definitely prefer one over the other. I don’t have a set formula. You have to go to work and find out.”
There is a plethora of hardbaits on the market and it can be overwhelming. For springtime bass, focus on the shallow and middepth running crankbaits, then match the color combinations to the forage base on your home waters. VanDam does go with billed cranks at times for morphological reasons. “Baits that give off a lot of vibration with a wide wobble can be spectacular in cold water,” VanDam says. “I think bass rely on their lateral line more in chilly water, especially when it’s stained or cloudy. Baits with a wide wobble at slow speeds get lunched, so give them time to find it. Fish it slow in cold water. I’m never fishing it fast. Make contact, pause, then restart, no matter what you’re throwing—that’s the key retrieve early. I choose subtle, natural colors in clear water and bright colors in cloudy water. Bass can be super active in cold water, but not moving as fast. And latitude has a lot to do with it. A Michigan bass is more acclimated to cold water. You can catch bass on cranks up here when the ice goes out, whereas in Texas you can’t get a bite in 40°F water.”
Pros often opt for jerks in cold, clear water. “If the lake is clear, a jerkbait is going out there first, especially in chilly water,” Gustafson says. “But over the past several years, guys have been throwing jerkbaits year-round, even in the South when they were once considered cold-water-only baits. If I know I’m at a place where pelagic baitfish are present and I feel like bass are looking up, I’m mixing in a jerkbait. I carry a box full, but the Shimano World Minnow is a great first choice. It casts like a bullet, gets down quick, and has a unique look.”
In spring, Feider turns to a brand-new star among suspending baits. “The Rapala Mavrik just came out,” he says. “It suspends perfectly and it’s an efficient hooker because it comes with VMC Redline Trebles. Bass don’t come off. I tend to work it faster than I should, but longer pauses are best from the upper 30s to just over 40°F. By that time you can fish it pretty fast, snapping it more and covering water.”
But, don’t overlook the Rapala DT Series for springtime bass, baits including the DT4, DT6 and DT10. The entire family of cranks are known bass catchers all across the country.
As mentioned, Gustafson likes to fish the Pro Sunny B squarebill in shallow water and for working around and deflecting off cover, and a medium-running crank like the original Sunny B in about 6 to 10 feet of water.
“Crankbait action can be so deadly at times,” Gustafson says. “But they have definitely lost some popularity with everybody so heavily on the forward-facing sonar train now. That’s too bad. I’ve seen so many times where crankbaits simply get more bites than anything else.”
Even in murky water, Feider often rolls with subtle-action flat-sided and shad-shaped cranks. “The tight shimmy of a Rapala Shad Rap causes it to get ripped in cold water a lot,” he says. “The paint jobs on the new Shad Rap Elite Series are high tech. The action is similar to the original Shad Rap, but more capable. My go-to flat-sided cranks are the Rapala OG Slim and Rapala OGT Tiny with rounded bills, which deflect better off rocks.
Keep a healthy supply of jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits handy for springtime bass, both garner a lot of attention and are known bass catchers all year long, during early season especially. “Flat-sided baits are especially effective for cold-water largemouths. I’m typically cranking those in dirty water, targeting fish that on bottom or up against banks in 6 to 8 feet or less. The worst thing you can do is just reel a crank in. Deflect off cover, pause, speed up with a couple quick cranks and slow back down. Mix it up. In cold water you get a lot more strikes pulling the bait with the rod then pausing while you reel back down. If the water’s clear, a jerkbait might be a better option, especially when bass suspend in open water.”
Matching Tackle “G. Loomis has some nice crankbait rods in their IMX-PRO lineup,” Gustafson says. “My favorite is the IMX-PRO 855C CBR It’s designed for fishing lipless baits but it’s also a nice squarebill rod. Not too soft but still an accurate caster. For cranking applications in water less than 10 feet deep, it’s the perfect rod. I like a 6.2:1 reel (slightly slower) for cranking, but I use a 7:1 for throwing ‘traps’ (lipless cranks) for the ability to pick up line on the drop a little bit quicker. Shimano Bantam is my top choice. It’s such a good caster and it’s tight, so you’re always able to feel what is going on with your bait.
“I use braid with a fluorocarbon leader for most applications,” he says. “But for throwing crankbaits, fluorocarbon is the way to go because you get a little more stretch to prevent tearing hooks out, it’s more abrasion resistant around cover, and it doesn’t float, which can hinder the action of some baits. Match line size to the bait you’re throwing. I’m using 12-pound Shimano Mastiff for most of my cranking and jerkbait fishing.”
VanDam fishes cranks with a composite rod—the 7-foot 4-inch Lew’s KVD Tour Series Crankbait Rod paired with a Lew’s KVD Baitcaster “Fiberglass produces a slower tip speed and graphite provides sensitivity,” he says. “A softer tip keeps hooks from ripping out, creates longer casts, and allows cranks to deflect off cover better. A long rod enhances depth control when held high, low, or in between. I always use 10-pound fluorocarbon with cranks. It runs deeper and stretches less than mono and it’s more abrasion resistant than braid.”
Like Gustafson, VanDam uses a slower reel in spring. “It’s not just for slowing the presentation,” he says. “A 5.3:1 or 6.2:1 gear ratio has the power needed to horse fish out of grass.”
Feider whacks weeds with a medium-heavy fiberglass rod and spools up with 12- or 14-pound fluorocarbon. “In the cold, I like a 6.2:1 reel—slightly slower to dial down the speed for cranking, but I use a 7:1 to retrieve the Vibe for the ability to pick up line on the drop a little bit quicker,” he says. “I fish a longer fiberglass rod for cranking, and a shorter graphite rod for jerks. My favorite is a 7-foot 4-inch composite rod. The fiberglass component slows me down on the hookset. You really don’t feel bass until they have it all the way. I fish the same setup all spring—all casting equipment, all reels spooled with 12-pound fluorocarbon. When it’s cold I use a 6.3:1 gear ratio and 7:1 or faster in summer.”
Stop staring at the box this spring. Lips around wood, no lips in grass. Choose aggressive baits in stained and cloudy water. Pick subtle baits in average clarity. Throw suspending jerkbaits in clear water. But always have every style at the ready and have at it.
