Medium Diving Crankbaits - Cook, Line and Sinker

Medium diving crankbaits can be one of my favorite lures to throw during the transition stages, whether the bass are moving to or from shallow water. You can cover a lot of water quickly and catch a lot fish. They do a great job of mimicking many types of bait. I consider a medium diving crankbait to be one that dives anywhere from around 5-12 feet deep. There are a wide variety of options in this depth range. They make ones with squarebills that will dive this deep, rounded bills, ones with tight swimming action, ones with a wide swimming action. Plus, don’t even get me started on the many different colors. The choices are endless and I try to keep my selections simple. I select which crankbait to use based on the depth I will be fishing, the main forage I think the fish should be feeding on (shad, bluegill, or crawfish), and the water/weather conditions. I like to throw reds/oranges in the early spring, chartreuse in stained water, and shad colors in clear, warmer water.

How to use a medium diving crankbait:

Using a medium diving crankbait is fairly simple. Tie one on, cast it out there, and reel it back in. Easy, right? You can certainly catch some fish just doing that but there are a few tricks that can help you catch a lot more. First off is knowing where to throw it. I typically like to throw them in areas where there is some sort of hard cover on the bottom. Something else I like to try and do is keep in bait in the strike zone as long as possible. For example, if I am fishing a sloped bottom and I feel like the fish are staying in around 8 feet of water, I will cast at angles that allow my bait to spend most of the retrieve in 8 ft of water. This can be done by throwing parallel to the bank instead of at the bank. Also remember that most bait do not swim in a straight line at a steady pace. They usually swim erratically so get in a habit of changing up you retrieve. Give the bait a few stops and quick turns of the handle during the retrieve. This can help you some extra reaction bites. Some of my favorite lure to use are listed below:

When to use it:

A medium diving crankbait can be good in many situations but I personally like throwing it the most during the pre-spawn and post-spawn transition phases. You can cover a lot of water quickly, which can help you locate the fish. They will typically move around a lot during these stages. Since they will either be moving into shallow water to spawn or back from the shallow water to their summer staging areas, these crankbaits will make for a perfect travel snack.

Gear to use:

Baitcasting gear is definitely the way to go when using these lures. I prefer around a 7’2″ to a 7’4″ MH rod. You don’t want the rod to be too stiff though because if you do, there is a good chance you could end up ripping the bait away from the fish instead of hooking it. A slower action rod will allow a little more time for the fish to inhale the bait while swinging for that hook set. I also like to use a reel with a gear ration somewhere in the middle. Not too fast, not too slow and I like to fill it up with fluorocarbon line. The fishing line can have a bigger impact on how the bait runs than you think. Smaller diameter line can actually help the bait run deeper. I will typically use 10-14lb test. Some hardware I suggest are listed below:

Advantages of this technique:

Some advantages of using medium diving crankbaits is that you can cover a lot of water with them, get reaction bites, mimic different types of bait, and also cover a wide range of depths. I hope this has helped you learn more about this very versatile technique.

Leave a ReplyCancel Reply

Trending now