Open Water - Small crankbaits

[mozy]

I know it's the dead of winter and 80* days seem far off, but this is the time of year to stumble upon great deals on rods and reels. I'm wondering what you guys use for small crankbait rods? I recently bought a baitcasting crankbait rod, but it's for targeting bass and walleye and I'm pretty sure it won't perform well with lightweight cranks. What are your opinions on baitcasting vs. spinning? I have a 6'6" L fast action spinning outfit right now that does pretty well, but I'm curious if a baitcaster would be better?

[ate1cropy]

The past 3 years or so I have experimented with baitcasters. Ive tried all types and sizes of line. I love throwing small crankbaits and spinners but I have yet to do it as good with a baitcaster as I can with a spinner. I dont even bother any more. Im no expert but I feel that spinning gear is the way to go.

[goblueM]

I've gotta go with spinning... for lighter lures I think they just can't be beat.

[delmuts]

I do throw 1/8 oz cranks with a bait caster, but find i use a spinning outfit more for the small stuff. I would lean towards the spinning also.

[NPG]

I was also thinking about tring cranks for pannies. I was figuring for a spinning reel but was unsure about what rod is the 6-6 light the way to go?

[Scott M]

Got into some crappies this summer on 1/8th ounce Lewis Rat-L-Traps, some of the really small Rebel crawfish cranks, and of course the always popular spins, J.B. Tadpoles, Johnson Beetle Spins, and Northland Mimic Minnow Spins. Even the biggest sunfish have pretty small mouths, so unless you can go really small I don't know if I'd throw cranks for them. But for crappies absolutely. The spins are great for both species.

[bemidjibasser]

As far as a rod for tiny cranks, I would recommend a 7'0 medium light or light action with a moderate power in a spinning outfit with 4lb-6lb florocarbon lineon a decent spinning reel. The tip will load well to throw the small baits, and the moderate power will keep the hooks from tearing out of those paper mouths.

[mozy]

I kind of figured a spinning outfit would be better. I know one of the problems with baitcasters is making sure you have a lure heavy enough, and their availability seems to be low. For now I'll stick with the Light power fast action and eventually buy a moderate action.

[metrojoe]

What kind of tiny/mini crank baits do you guys like to use or have found productive?

I like trolling slow with a beetle spin type set up, but rather than using plastics, I tip the jig with a crappie minnow.

I've got one small crank bait. I'm not even sure who makes it, but I have had some luck with it. I'm thinking about expanding my mini crank bait selection and just wondering what you guys would recommend.

[mozy]

I had pretty good luck last fall with Salmo Hornets on crappies. I also like throwing small sized Original Rapala's, Shad Raps and Countdowns, but there's just something about the Hornets action that seems to attract the fish, espeically in the Hot Perch pattern.

[bemidjibasser]

I have had decent luck with the smallest husky jerk-baits, and norman crankbaits, I think they are the tiny n's.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I have quite a few of the Mr. Twister Biggie Smalls, not even sure if they still make them... I have caught quite a few nice gills on them.

[pushbutton]

not exactly crank, but storm makes a 3 inch plastic swim bait with a treble off the bottom and probably a #4 piercing out of the top( cant recall exact name, but cant miss it in the store, its a 3 pack) this thing is the bomb when conditions are ripe for aggressive pannies. often i will just take the treble off because they are just hitting so hard. best 3 dollars and 17 cents you can spend for early and late season craps and bulls.

[metrojoe]

Those Bigy Smalls look interesting. In fact I think the one micro crank bait I have might be a Bigy Small. Of course I can't locate it at the moment.

Mister Twister's web site has the full line. I might order a few and give them a try this spring.

[riverrat56]

Salmo Hornets in #3 or 4 are a great trolling lure for crappies, but due to the light weight are hard to cast. Rapala Countdown 1's and 3's have produced a ton of nice panfish in the spring when they first move shallow too feed. My #1 favorite though is the discontinued Rapala mini Fat Rap.

I would also recommend a 7' ML rod and 6# mono for casting for panfish.

[goblueM]

Also a lot of micro cranks like the Yo-Zuri Snap Bean, plus the smallest rapalas.

Check out this article, I read it a couple years ago and actually have done pretty well using its advice:

Mini Crankbaits for Panfish

by Matt Straw, InFisherman

Grass Lake has no pike and no bass. Just panfish. If the bluegills in Grass Lake become any more prolific, their only hope for survival will be to grow real teeth and mow down the occasional cow that strays into the shallows. These piranha wanna-be gills surround swimmers and try to eat their toes off.

Yet, Grass Lake (which is, to be as precise as prudently possible, somewhere in North America) demands to be fished. For every hundred peanuts there's a platter-sized pugilist in the 3/4- to 2-pound range waiting to straighten hooks and break line. Bait fishing is foolish in lakes like this. More time is spent disgorging hooks than fishing. So, in 1978, we finally discovered we could fish selectively for Grass Lake's trophy 'gills with ultralight minnowbaits like the Rebel F-49. Twitching it on top, letting it rest, and retrieving it slowly beneath the surface reversed the ratio (100 peanuts to 1 bull) to something closer to 1:1.

The first ultralight crankbait, the size MM MirrOlure, appeared way back in 1957. L&S Bait Company had been making MirrOlures for years, mostly for saltwater fishermen, when they came out with the 2-inch version. Sales manager Eric Bachnik said the MM was an instant success with crappie and trout fishermen in 1957, even though ultralight rods, reels and line had yet to appear.

And ultralight fishing is nonspecific. Bluegills are just one possibility. The next fish could be a crappie, largemouth, smallmouth, pike, walleye, dogfish, white bass, trout -- you name it. But the effectiveness of ultralight cranks for bluegills is best appreciated after watching a tank of captive bulls scarf a scoop of crappie minnows in 10 seconds flat. A bull bluegill's maw can expand wide enough to engulf a 2 1/2-inch minnow. Long, slender body shapes fit in their mouths best, which explains the effectiveness of tiny minnowbaits like the smallest MirrOlures, Rapalas, Rebels and AC Shiners.

The smallest floating Rapala wasn't introduced until 1967, when the earliest ultralight tackle was so unsophisticated it was almost unfishable. By the early 1990s, exponential advances in monofilament line, ultralight rods and small reels made ultralight fishing more efficient, fun and productive than ever before. Which means, today, it's more efficient than ever to select for larger panfish with ulatralight gear than ever before.

Yo-Zuri Snap Bean

The smallest ultralight crank so far is the Snap Bean from Yo-Zuri. It's so small, bluegills can inhale the whole thing. Other ultralight cranks today resemble tiny shad, caterpillars, ants, crayfish, frogs, minnows and nothing in particular. Miniature rattle baits like the Cordell Ultra-Light Spot and the Bill Lewis Tiny Trap are deadly for white bass. Small shad baits like the Yo-Zuri Snap Shad and the new Rapala Shad Rap are far more effective than most people realize for trolling up huge crappies in reservoirs. Tiny creature baits like the Rebel Wee Crawfish, Cat'R Crawler and Teeny Wee Frog catch anything that swims in creeks or along the edge of pad fields in natural lakes. Diminuitive banana baits like the Luhr Jensen K-3 Kwickfish and Worden's F-2 Flatfish catch everything from perch to trout when trolled along deep weededges or gravel flats. Fat baits like the Rapala Mini Fat Rap and Bomber 3F Fat A pop sunfish, bluegills and bass in shallow water all summer. In the hardware department, Eppinger makes ultralight spoons, and Mepps makes teeny size #00 spinners. All of these baits are 2-inches long or less.

When ultralight rods first appeared, they were too small. Manufacturers felt that ultralight meant ultra small and ultra soft. For years our only options were little 4 1/2- to 5-foot buggy whips that couldn't cast a Dardevle across the street, let alone a lure that weighed less than 1/8-ounce. No wonder my favorite ultralight rod today is a fast G. Loomis 7 footer equipped with a Daiwa 750 SS Tournament reel. The rod is rated to protect 2-pound test, though I usually match it with 4 pound.

Longer, faster ultralight rods cast farther. Use the same casting motion with two rods in your hand -- a 6 footer and a 7 footer. The tip of the 7 footer has to travel farther in the same amount of time. That means increased tip speed. More tip speed means more distance, when balanced with the right line and lure weights.

Ultralight reels, however, are too small for anything but fishing vertically. Coils come off in too high a frequency, the resulting line slap killing distance. Use a "light" reel for casting ultralight cranks, with a thin, tough 4-pound line like Stren Magnathin.

Cranks rarely catch more bluegills than bait. But cranks do select for bigger specimens. If you're after numbers, stick with bait. If you want to run with the bulls, grab the ultralight box.

Mini-cranks are delicate and proportionately more squirrely than larger units. Tuning them requires special precautions. Gregg Meyer says, "You almost have to check them after every cast. Breathe on one too hard and it goes off kilter. And, being micro baits, they have to be micro tuned. I visit the watchmaker shop for tools, because tuning them requires a fine pair of needlenose pliers."

The process is the same for tiny baits as for larger ones. If the bait runs to the left, turn the eye ever so slightly to the right as it faces you. Then check it in the water.

One way to make your micros run straighter is to tie directly to the loop on the bill with a loop knot. "Split rings and snaps alter the action," Meyer points out, "especially for casting. A snap or split ring weighs fully one-tenth the weight of some mini-cranks, throwing them off balance." A loop knot allows the lure to vibrate more and perhaps dig slightly deeper.

"To make mini-cranks run deeper and work harder at a slower pace, burn a hole in plastic lures, add a drop of water, and plug the hole with a toothpick or epoxy," Meyer says. SuspenDots can be used to tune micros for deeper running. For most baits, add half a Dot and they suspend. Place it on the throat behind the bill and ahead of the first (or only) treble.

Meyer also glues tiny fly-fishing shot to the body with Fishing Glue. "Sometimes SuspenDots are too big, and it can be critical that these baits hang horizontally as they fall, not nose-up or nose-down."

[Scott M]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

[Chode2235]

I really like the mini fat raps, or the Bagley Small Fry crank baits as well.

[Matt Breuer]

For a rod using mini-cranks it's tough to beat a 7' or 7'6" St. Croix Premier spiining rod. The 7'6" can really get those little baits out there. They both come in ML actions, which is about perfect for larger slabs. If you don't like a medium light, and you really want to be able to get a bait out there, they make an 8'6" light action that's a blast!

For cranks, it's tough to beat a Salmo Hornet, #4 Floating specifically. The small profile and tight wobble make it tough for crappies to resist. I've also caught 3 'gills over 10" on the Hornet, talk about a tussle! The luminescent pink dace color is amazing for crappies.

[metrojoe]

I saw a #3 Hornet at Joe's the other day. It only had one treble on the back. Is the overall size smaller also?

[Matt Breuer]

Yes, they're smaller in size as well. 3/8 of an inch shorter than the #4 floating. Same weight however...

[PerchJerker]

I've got a 7 foot Light Action Seytr rod which is perfect for throwing lite baits for panfish. Salmo hornet is one of my favorites, and the beetle spin or jig/spinner type baits are often top producers too. I'd forgotten how much fun it can be to fish with baits like that

[Nick Kuhn]

I catch quite a few crappies on small jointed shad raps (JSR-04's). Another thing I've had good luck on are the Blue Fox flash spinners in a size 1. For only 1/8 ounce that thing still casts reasonable well.