Entry 158-4

Fishing With Randy Dearman

When to Crank

Editor’s Note: Randy Dearman, an avid fishermen and professional angler from Onalaska, Texas, has fished professionally for 20 years. He works as part of Strike King’s Pro Fishing Team and has competed in seven Bassmasters Classics.

Question: Randy, when are you using the crankbait?

Dearman: The crankbait is an appropriate lure to use at any time of the year and is a lure you can use to cover a lot of water quickly. There are only three major elements to successful crankbait fishing;
*You need to know the depth of the water where the bass are feeding so that you can pick the crankbait to fish that will run at that depth.
*You must determine the size of crankbait that the bass will eat.
*You must learn what type of retrieve the bass prefer - fast, slow, stop/start, crash it into structure or a standard retrieve.

There are so many different sizes and colors of crankbaits you can use, and the depth that the fish are feeding will usually tell you what size and often what color crankbaits will be most appropriate. A bass will hit a crankbait during the pre-spawn. A great time of year to fish crankbaits is after the bass spawn, which is during the summer time, and in the fall and winter. I guess the only time of the year that I don’t fish a crankbait is when the bass are bedding.

Question: If you could only have one crankbait in your tackle box, what size and color would you choose?

Dearman: I would pick a Series 1 because I fish shallow water more than anything else. I can still catch schooling bass over deep water with that crankbait, and if I have only one color I can pick, I’ll fish chartreuse-and-blue. Chartreuse and blue is kind of a perch color and a bluegill color. Perch and bluegills are primary food sources for the bass. This color combination also has the advantage of producing bass in both clear and stained water.

If I had only one color to pick from, I’d choose a chartreuse-and-blue crankbait. I think if you’re not fishing a crankbait throughout most of the year, you’re missing an opportunity to catch bass that may not be taking other lures. I don’t know any tournament fisherman who doesn’t have a tackle box well-stocked with crankbaits. If you haven’t fished the Series 1, you better try this year. You may be surprised at how many big fish you can catch in shallow water using this little crankbait.

Fishing With Randy Dearman

When to Crank

Next: Spit-N-King – When to Fish It

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