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| Who is a member of this thing and how do you earn your tee shirts? I have fiddled with these for years and do use them on any kind of a slope structure, but have never felt them versatile or something that I willingly use as other than a niche bait.
JL goes on and on about how useful they are.
I have lately been throwing depth raider of the straight variety and don't mind the action but the float back I find very distasteful. Do I have to customize these things or am I just using the wrong ones?
What would be your ideal straight crank kit in sizes and and weights(ie sinker floater)?
And is there something that is especially effective with these?
Keeping in mind that I choose my name partially to reflect my fishing preference and my lack of concentration(fall asleep in the middle of the retrieve), do I really need to incorporate straight cranks in my preferred shallow repetoire? or do I keep needing to bleed off the ones I've already got in hopefully useful trades?? I can subsist with my cisco kids but it worries me when I think I might be missing something... |
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| FSF,
I'm probably the last guy you want to hear from... but here goes. First off, I probably should NOT call the deep diving crankbait a crankbait.... but more like a deep diving jerk bait.
There are two kinds in my book, both have different "depth control" capabilities. For shallow water and/or heavy cover, a high bouyancy (Depth Raider, Slammer Deep Diver, etc.) is ideal. Control your depth by the length of the pause between rips/pulls/twitches. Jason Smith laughed at me when I grabbed a Slammer Deep Diver for fishing his favorite coontail patch that he calls slop. Never yanked a weed the entire time.
The second kind of straight crank I like is the suspender. Usually this requires some kind of tinkering to obtain... but the name is self explanatory. You can jerk and park these baits wherever you please. They are ideal for fishing open water because you can "walk the dog" while maintaining depth. You can also fish them shallow with an upward motion of the rod tip.
The suspender put two fish in the boat this weekend for me and my partner MRoberts. Both from 40 feet of water.... while we pulled and parked STRAIGHT bodied crankbaits.
jlong
P.S. When do I get my T-Shirt for this club?
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| Jason, I am as disappointed as you. I was hoping to get one of those tee shirts too.
I thought there were more people pulling this stuff.
Give me a selection of baits for the 6-12 feet, fairly clear water, that I am likely to use them on. And I know the 10 inch jake is one you like but give me a set of 3 for the 6-12 and a set of 3 for the 4-6, and do you feel the prism colors have enough extra value to want to buy them? What are your 2 best jake colors also, for the cisco lakes? I assume they will transfer to shad lakes pretty well. And since you seem to have neglected the baits you caught fish on this weekend, what are the good ones for deeper suspending? and do they have to be doctored or no?
(shhhhh.....hey Jason if there aren't any shirts is there like a secret handshake?) |
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| FSF,
You are asking a lot my friend. In other words, you'd like a laundry list of my tackle box. Well, I might throw you a bone since you appear to be targeting shallow water fish like most.
For water 12 feet and less.... a deep diver is not necessarily my first candidate. I like lots of twitchbaits like the Straight (obvious) Model Shallowraider, Jakes, and TR Twitchers. Right out of the box is fine. My best color Jake is a custom color that you can't buy (sorry for teasing you). Basically, it is a white flashy thing. The Shallowraider I like regular old perch. And the TR Twitcher you can't go wrong with a walleye pattern since the gold sides really toss the light. When fishing the edges where I want to get down closer to the boat... any of the standard deep divers work.
For open water or anything deeper than 12 feet.... the deep divers and BIG Jakes are my favorites. Bagley DB-08's, Ernies, Slammer Deep Divers, and a home-made item are my favorites. When depth is critical... tinkering is required to slow down the rise of these baits. That way you can twitch them out to the side, park them there for a minute, and NOT lose depth. The best baits dart and turn FAST with lots of FLASH.
Maybe someday my best tinkering will be harnessed into a standard design for all to enjoy [:halo:]. Until then, have fun drilling, gluing, cutting, and replacing mistakes!
jlong |
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| Jason, did you write a book? If so, where can I get one, maybe a good idea for Christmas seeing as you really know what you are talking about. |
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| Divani,
No, I did not write a book. I don't think many people would be interested in hearing from a youngster like me. I may THINK I have lots of experience because I've been obsessed with these fish from the early age of 7 when I caught my first legal.... but that only gives me 22 years of "hands on" experience. Some more respected guys like Joe Bucher have almost twice that.... which may explain why Joe has a book. If you haven't read Joe Bucher's Crankbait Secrets.... you are missing out on one heck of a resource.
I have written a few magazine articles, but that is all. Most of my drivvel is spoken on the internet on these message boards. Don't need credibility to speak here.
I like crankbaits. I'm also learning to enjoy fishing deep water. Both seem to compliment one another quite well. When I move shallow (20 feet or less) I fish with every kind of lure know to man just like everyone else. Am I an expert in crankbaits? Not by a long shot. Do I catch lots of fish on them... you bet. That's why I talk about them so much.
jlong
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| I’ll join the association jlong. We must at least have hats though. Can’t seem to get any out of the muskyfirst guys. So… fishing with suspending baits is a requirement for the club. What if I consider myself a bucktail guy? Can you tinker with one to make a suspending bucktail for me? He he he [:p]
Handshake??? It’s amazing what can be accomplished without even talking to a person. Now… back to the harnessing[:praise:]
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| Jason- I'm in for the "JLong Jerk & Park Club" very effective presentation technique. Especially on the trout waters where I fish- straight retreives get you all lookers. The jerk & park definitely equates to active hits. FWIW- Little Ernies in the cabbage patch are awesome. You can actually walk them through the cabbage and follow the cabbage contour down to the deep water. Might not work so well on stained water. But's it's sure beautiful watching a Muskie hit a "jerk & park" Little Ernie @ 12' in a trout water cabbage bed.
It's your choice to Catch'em & Let'em Go!"
....>......
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| jlong, having fished these toothy son of a guns for a long, long, time. I have fished cranks a time or two. I have just recently however started fishing out away from everything for all those suspended fish that I have been ignoring for all these years. I have always considered my self very versitile as I fish from shallow to deep and everything in between. I throw jerk baits, bucktails, tandems, jigs, etc. etc. etc. However I am really a novice at this deep open water cranking thing. Have gotten a few doing this at Minoqua. Also a couple of fish over there on a heavy slow rolled tandem spinnerbait. I could use some serious help in this area. Would be more than happy and willing to trade a trip with you sometime. I have some good water here in Western WI that is full of fish. Also close to MN and could go to 'tonka or some place like that. Any help would be appreciated at this end. Might be able to show you a couple of tricks with jigs. E mail me if need be, Thanks.
Let Em Go...Let Em Grow.....Mike
Mike's Sure Catch Guide Service
[email protected][:bigsmile:] |
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| Having graduated with a “Musky Come Largely” from the Jlong Parkinson (As in twitching uncontrollably) school for straight crankers. I can attest that it does work.
Before I met Jason, I had already learned to twitch and pause a Depth Raider through heavy cover, but Jason takes it to the next level. I am surprised the guy can stand still when he is not in the boat. The reason he doesn’t like jointed baits is because they don’t twitch well.
I would say the best twitching crank for that shallow depth is the Straight Shallow Raider. It will hang and walk like no other, plus it is pretty easy to retrieve. Though working it the Parkinson way is still taxing on muscles and equipment.
For deeper water the Ernie and DB-08 are good, but my experience is more limited in this area.
Seriously, I caught my largest fish to date using Jason’s slack line twitching technique, which I learned the day before, in Canada with the Straight Shallow. I am glad Jason got to witness my success and net the fish for me.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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| Since its the jlong (STRAIGHT)crankbait society I guess I cant join with my 'pink' depthraider |
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| I would bet you have to be straight to be in this club, no jointed folks allowed. LOL
Hey jlong, I have be using Bill's new deep diving shad diver twitching this fall. I think you would like it, same action as the regular Slammer deep diver, yet it rolls and gives more of a side to side when twitched.
I pulled some boys out of the wood work to take a look at that one this fall. |
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| Jason, take that Shad Body Slammer Deep Diver and plug about 3/4 oz. of lead in the tail. The extra bouyancy from the drop belly allows you to really weight down the tail. Now that is what I call a "walk the dog" deep diver! Mine now sinks VERY slowly.
MRoberts is right, radically ripping cranks can be painful on the body when done for any length of time. I wrote an article about fighting fatigue for Esox Angler.... I wonder if they will ever run it. Anyway, that is why I look for baits that "cut" the water when jerked so you can scoot them out without breaking your back.
I gotta say, Mike was laughing at me when he saw how hard I worked that Straight Shallowraider.... but he wasn't laughing when I caught 4 fish the first day doing it and he caught none. He now admits that the "extra" work put his personal best in the boat the next day when ALL other presentations were scoring a big ZERO.
Doing the same with a deep diver is simply taking it to THE NEXT LEVEL..... literally. Guys can make fun of this "club" all they want... but there is no disputing that it puts fish in the boat. Oh yeah, and PINK depthraiders are welcome... as long as they are straight.
I may never be worthy of writing a book, but this technique certainly would have made a great chapter in Joe Bucher's Crankbait Secrets. Maybe this is just one secret he didn't want to share? Either way, it is my "do or die" practice that never gets ignored no matter what time of year.
jlong |
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| The problem with this technique is that if the guy in the front of the boat is useing it you might as well start casting off the deep side, cause there wont be any fish left. Jaosn, you failed to mention that you out fished me 8 to 4 on that trip with two over 45.
That was a Straight Shallow Raider, 8" Jake and TR twitcher bite for sure. I think in six days of fishing only two of those fish came on baits other then the twitch baits. One on a bucktail and one on a Top Raider.
It's hard work, but worth the effort.
Nail a Pig!
Mike
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| Mike,
That's assuming the guy in front is casting to the shallow side [;)] .
I lost three bruisers the first night on LOTW while fishing from the front of the boat and working the DEEP side. The nice guy I am... I gave my partner the weed edge and I relied on my trusty 'ol jerk&park. Yes, he outfished me with his world famous water-logged (scented) reef hawg.... but had I not shook off all "my" fish... the deep crank would have been the top dog in camp.
There is a time and place for everything... and I readily admit that I use LOTS of other techniques (because it is necessary). Walking deep divers is just one I feel is overlooked by many.
jlong |
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| Geez, I was pretty popular last fall. What happened (haha)?
Crankbaits are still my favorite. Anyone convert in 2002? If not... look out in 2003!
jlong |
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| I have used them a LOT more this year! Mainly thanks to "crankbait secrets" from Joe Bucher and your inspiring stories! |
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| This OLD post is one of my favorites[:bigsmile:] |
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| We've come a long way since then. |
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