How To Fish Crank Baits Around Grass

The Bassmsters Elite Series tournament on Lake Guntersville was won on crank baits around grass. With the Elite pros moving on to their next destination, I thought I would give you some tips for catching fish on crank baits around grass, similar to the techniques the Elite BASS pros used this past month. Crank bait fishing is a lot more than just pulling that crank bait over the top of the grass. The key is using the grass to your advantage making the grass work for you.

The first thing I tell folks when we are crank bait fishing is to get the bait down to the grass. Most inexperienced fisherman get really frustrated when the bait gets hung up or they have to keep cleaning off the grass from their crank bait. You must learn to put up with it on Guntersville because the grass is where the fish are most of the time.

After you get over the frustration of the grass then you need to learn to rip the bait. The crank bait gets its movement and hence the reaction bite, from ripping the bait down to the grass with a sweeping motion, pausing and pulling it up out of the grass. The pause and movement upwards is the movement that causes the reaction bite on the bait. Make a long sweeping motion, pause, catch up to your retrieve and pull it up. The big bass love it and you will catch more fish with a crank bait than you ever did before.

Picking the areas to use crank baits is also critical. Find the points of grass and work parallel to it, work with the current and work across the deeper edges of the points. Do these tips and learn to not let the grass frustrate you. You will be a better fisherman.