The ideal smallmouth bass crankbait is a smaller, compact, realistic, and noisy representation of bottom-scurrying prey. In this case, it’s their favorite, the crayfish. In early spring as smallmouths prepare for their spawn, power cranking with a shallow diving crankbait will score big numbers of feisty, prespawn fish that are cruising the shallows for feeding, and settling near spawning sites.

On Monday June 3rd, I fished for smallmouth bass on one of many Vilas County Wisconsin’s trophy fisheries. During this week I found fish spawning on many of my area’s waters so I opted to fish the largest, deepest, coldest lake I could find. Mission accomplished. As the prespawn bite was winding down, the feeding school of smallies was found and we hammered away at them with a Rapala Cranking Rap. A 25 fish day was enjoyed with all fish caught in the 16 to 20 inch range.

Lake Profile

Size: 4,000 acres
Lake Type: Oligotrophic
Maximum Depth: 100+ feet
Avg. Depth Fished: 5 to 20 feet
Water Clarity: 15ft (very clear)
Primary Fishery: Smallmouth bass, walleye, muskellunge, lake trout
Areas of Focus: Sandbars and rock bars, dropoffs, rock ledges, downed wood, windblown shorelines
Time of Day: 8am to 7pm
Lure Used: Rapala Cranking Rap 05 (Red Crawdad)

Every bass fisherman has a go-to confidence lure. Outside of the suspending jerkbait and 5 inch swimming grub, one of my year-round favorites is the crankbait. In late spring and early summer as smallmouth bass are cruising the shallows for feeding and settling on their spawning locations, the shallow running crankbait is a difficult lure selection to beat.

Under most circumstances I use a crankbait to search out cover and structure, looking for a reaction bite yet at the same time covering water in search for actively feeding fish. I don’t fish them slowly as one normally would with a fiberglass rod and a lower gear ratio reel. Rather, I power my way to ferocious strikes with speed and power. For this specific technique illustrated in the video, I prefer fishing with a “power”reel with a 6:3.1 gear ratio. Quantum’s Catalyst (redesigned for 2013) is a perfect match, spooled with 12lb fluorocarbon coated coplymer line and paired with a 7 foot medium action Quantum Tour Edition rod.

Modern crankbaits are available in all shapes and sizes, representing all types of bass forage and enabling bass anglers to cover all the bases when it comes to locating and catching fish. As we know, the favorite forage for smallmouth bass is the crayfish. Thus in my opinion, nothing works better than correctly matching the hatch.

Designed to target specific depth zones and keep you right on the fish, the Rapala Crankin’ Raps have me covered anywhere from 2 to 14 feet. In spring and early summer, approximately 99% of my bass are caught from these depths. Their round body design, loud rattle chamber, and thin tail combine to produce an enticing wobbling action that bass and even other fish species can’t seem to resist.  Well constructed and durable, the Crankin Raps also feature holographic foil inserts and external scale patterns for added realism and underwater flashing.

The shallow-diving 03 and 05 sizes in the Crankin Rap feature a square-bill designed to plow through the water, while the deeper-diving 08, 10 & 14 sizes feature a round lip that allows them to plummet quickly to their desired depth.  Available in a variety of proven colors in each size, each Rapala Crankin Rap also has the running depth prominently displayed on its bill, allowing anglers determine at a glance which Cranking Rap to choose.

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