Entry 45-4

Larry Nixon

How To Tune A Crankbait

Editor's Note: Larry Nixon, of Bee Branch, Arkansas, won the 1983 Bass Masters Classic and has had almost 100 top-10 finishes. He has won the Angler-Of-The-Year title twice.

The secret to tuning a crankbait to run either left or right is to make sure you get the total eye between the jaws of your needle-nose pliers. So, when you bend over the line-tie, it’ll bend at the bill of the bait. Another important factor to remember is to not bend the line tie very much. The slightest little bend of the line tie will adjust the crankbait. If the crankbait is running to the left, bend the line tie to the right. If the crankbait is running to the right, bend the line tie to the left.

Another problem for fishermen who don’t use crankbaits made by Strike King is that other crankbait manufacturers put a large split ring on the front of the crankbait. If the split ring is too large, the crankbait can’t wobble its full range. I don’t want split rings on the line tie or the split rings on the hook hangers to restrict the motion of the bait or the motion of the hooks. Some crankbait manufacturers believe they are adding strength to the split ring on the line tie and the split ring on the hook hangers by using split rings that are bigger than necessary. However, these over-sized split rings can cause your crankbaits to perform poorly. Therefore, when I use crankbaits other than Strike King, I have to change out these split rings. With Strike King crankbaits, you know they have the proper-sized split rings on all of their lures. If you want to get maximum performance out of a crankbait and not have to change out split rings, always use Strike King crankbaits.

Now, I know some fishermen like to add weight or lighten crankbaits, but I don’t do that. If I need a crankbait to dive a little deeper, I get a deep-diving crankbait. If I want the crankbait to dive a little shallower, I choose a shallow-diving crankbait. If I only can choose one Strike King crankbait to fish with, I’ll choose the Series 2. This lure runs about 5- to 6-feet deep, has a real good wiggle and is designed to bounce off cover well.




 

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