Best conditions to crank in?

[st.crioxfishin]

I have thrown a crankbait much more this year and have had some success with it, however, I have never "wore 'em out" with it yet. I am mainly talking about deeper diving crankbaits; ones that you would use offshore or on weedlines, not necessarily cranking shallow water around the bank.

Anyways, my question is what are your ideal cranking conditions? When do you tend to have the most success with them? Sunny days? Overcast? Wind? Calm? The reason I ask is because I have found no consistency to the times I have caught them on crankbaits. Seems like on reservoirs or rivers they seem to shine when they are pulling current, what about in natural lakes? Is it a timing deal that has nothing to do with weather conditions? Maybe its more a "time of year" thing too ex: late summer into fall.

In general dock fishing seems to be best on days with sun, pad/slop fishing too. I also find the deep weedline bite with drop baits to be best with sun that positions fish in more predictable areas. What about crankbaits, is there a rhyme or reason to when I should be throwing one of these baits?

Just looking for some thoughts from people that have more experience with these baits than I do.

[Deitz Dittrich]

For me, when its windy.. A good breeze really seems to help a crank bite.. I fish them a lot when I dont think I can keep a good feel of other presentations. Or when its tough you can sometimes get a reaction strike.

[JConrad]

I fish crank baits a lot up here in Central MN. I like Dietz like a good chop on the water....Also overcast days with wind are the best. I use them to search for bass on weed lines. Once I locate fish I normally will slow down and fish plastics or a drop shot depending on the situation/structure.

Today with the wind would have been a great day....

[Deitz Dittrich]

Jcon makes another great observation.. I have done best on overcast.. and wind.

[Nick Kuhn]

Overcast generally improves the success with any kind of bait. I think sometimes the success with a search type bait prevents you from going to a more targeted presentation sooner. There are times when I'll get bit every 5th or so cast with a crank, but a jerkbait or jig might be every third cast. It's just who wants to switch away from something that seems to be working well...

[zzz]

wind and overcast is good . real good

[RK]

First word that popped into my head was "wind." Guess I'm not alone. Part of why I fish them a lot (besides the fact that I just enjoy it) is that I fish in Western MN where it always seems to be windy.

Cranks are something you can cast into a wind and fish effectively on a deep weed edge when it'd be hard to keep on top of a slack line vertical bait like a jigworm. You can still make long casts and cover water effectively.

That having been said...my other favorite time is in July and August when it's so hot the sweat's dripping off your elbows.

[st.crioxfishin]

RK, my best day this year cranking was dead calm and very hot, good to hear you have done well in those condition too, that's what had me perplexed. Good stuff guys, thanks!