help buying crankbaits

[mrpike1973]

hello i'm finally going to bite the bullet i want to buy about 20 crank baits i fish pike and some bass no walleyes. i have a couple floating raps and a x rap they work good i would just like some good suggestions on good ones that work for you this will be a investment for me so i dont want to go to the store and just pick and choose i do have a boat and shore fish i would probably buy this at a local store thank you

[lunge]

pike- x raps sz. 10-12 I like orange/clown/pearl- also the xrap shads are nice too.

rapala dt's- I have one in each size to cover the water column

rapala- shadraps,plastic ones with rattles shallow/

my fav. is a rebel jointed minnow its like 7" and had 3 trebles its yellow with orange spots

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'll second lunge..

X-raps for bass and pike.. I like the green back gold sides..

DT's are great for bass, I really like the FS-7 and DT-10.

Rat-L-Traps are another good option.

[dfv87]

I like Rattlin Raps over Rattle traps, just a preference. But X raps are multi species and can be fished many ways.

A also like casting DTs but maybe not from shore, RAttlin raps walking a shore line is a good way to cover water.

[mainbutter]

I love throwing husky j3rks.

Don't forget the good ol' original floater!!! Last summer my firetiger original floater outfished everything else I threw fishing in MN.

[wheelerboy920]

minnow raps are a good all speices bait

[riverrat56]

#5 Salmo Floating Hornet, great lure to bounce off rocks or run tight to the bottom, seems like everything in the lake loves them!

[MinnesotaMongo]

#5 Salmo Floating Hornet, great lure to bounce off rocks or run tight to the bottom, seems like everything in the lake loves them!

Ain't it the truth. Along with the good Rapala suggestions - I would definitely have a fist full of Salmo Hornets on my list. They are great search bait.

[Bottle Fish]

Originally Posted By: riverrat56

#5 Salmo Floating Hornet, great lure to bounce off rocks or run tight to the bottom, seems like everything in the lake loves them!

Ain't it the truth. Along with the good Rapala suggestions - I would definitely have a fist full of Salmo Hornets on my list. They are great search bait.

I'm with the Hornet as well. Great lure.

[Tom7227]

What about some old fashioned ones - Lazy Ike and Daredevil. I know you said crankbaits but I bet these two can still fool a fish or two. In fact since they're so seldom used you may get a hit just cause the fish don't recognize them.

[metrojoe]

I really like Bandit Crankbaits. They are durable and I've found they usually swim true right out of the box. I also like the price.

I've got 100s, 200s, and 300s, but I only have a couple of the 100s. I find I use the 200s more than anything. I've got maybe a dozen different colors, but I really like crawfish, any shad, chartreuse/blue, and of course the old reliable firetiger.

[PerchJerker]

I think Bandits look like awesome baits but I've never done as well with them as I think I should. I love the colors and sizes available though.

I agree with the suggestions for Hornets, DTs, x-raps and rattle baits. You may want to look at the x-rap shallow shad rap which is new this year too. I got to use them last fall and did really well with them.

[Deitz Dittrich]

another vote for bandits.. I have a bunch of them and they are a little more affordable.. the 100's and 200's.

[bassNspear]

i am a huge fan of the lucky crafts and DT tens. Have to watch when there on sale, which isnt often!

[metrojoe]

i am a huge fan of the lucky crafts and DT tens. Have to watch when there on sale, which isnt often!

Lucky Craft....OUCH! They look like great baits, but better your wallet than mine.

[Boxcar Wllie]

Make sure you buy two of each when you do decide to buy. You don't want to lose one and be hung out to dry...

[itchmesir]

my favorite pike crank is a blue/silver Strike King Bleeding Hook crankbait 5-7'

[crazyice]

Rapala DT-10 has been a great lure to me. I have caught more fish on that lure than any. Like mentioned above though, the whole line of DTs are great, you can really cover the water column quite well with them, plus they have a little bit more body mass to them, which seems to help with casting them a ways out. I have also done good on the X-Raps, originals, husky jerk-baits, and probably too many more to mention. I probably have 50 or more Rapalas in my boxes at home, and not many have never caught fish.

[Aaron Carrell]

Well, I'll do a quick list of my top 5 crankbaits and what they catch the most of for me. These are in some sort of order, I guess its hard to say whether its by favorite or by how many I catch with it cause that probably relates pretty closely.

1. Xcalibur XR50 Rattlebait - Bass & Northern (and the paint doesn't chip off these like it does for the Red Eye Shad, I've given up on that brand)

2. Rapala DT10 & DT6 (Bluegill color) - I like the perch color and a few others, but the bluegill always seems to come through the most often for both bass and pike. We've had pike up to 35" on those lures and when they're hitting deep cranks this seems to really do the trick. Match the hatch.

3. Rapala DT3 Fat (Blue Shad?) - The pike absolutely love these things, but I haven't caught many bass with it personally. I've got some deep teeth marks in the one I'm trying still trying to use right now.

4. Mann's Baby 1 Minus - I usually use either the Fire Shad or Baby Bass colors. Really depends on what the water clarity is like, but these work wonders in super shallow water over the tops of weeds or even through sparse lily pads. Both pike and bass hit these quite often.

5. Bomber Fat Free Shad - I believe I usually use the "Fingerling" size for this lure. This is one of my favorite cranks when fishing a variety of depths cause you can pause your retrieve and work it over the weeds just right when you want or crank it fast and it'll hit around 8' deep or so from my experience. I really like the Dance's Firetiger color for those.

[firefish_12]

you can't beat the rapala rattle trap--firetiger/minnow/gold&green and crawfish colors--pike and bass love them

good luck

[Farley]

I have a storm thunderstick that has caught lots of slimers and bass. It's firetiger. I would think for slimers something with a lot of tail movement would be good.