i dont usually fish much for bass but recently ive been fishing more and more often. well, anyway i was fishing yesterday with a rebel crawdad and i kept missing the strikes. i would set the hook like i do with everything else ive ever used but it didnt seem to work. is this pulling the bait out of there mouth or is it just the nature of crankbaits to miss a lot of strikes?

What hooks are you using? Super sharp hooks are very important on crankbaits. For a small crankbait like that, a #4 or #6 gamakatsu round bend bronze treble hook would be a good bet if you don't have them on already. Most stock crankbait hooks are really not very sharp.

I agree with Swimbait..The hooks they put on those creature baits aren't the best quality and on the small side.You may want to go up 1-2 sizes,and use a good quality hook..Nathan
www.Bettencourtbaits.com

I agree with both :-)

But I also think it is important to have a rod with a forgiving tip. If you're fishing a stiff rod and line with little or no stretch, and you try to "send it home" with your hookset, you could be pulling the bait out of their lip.

With sharp hooks and a the proper rod you shouldn't have to hammer the hookset on a crankbait.

I'll try the owner hooks, like the ones that come on the mira shad. those are really sticky!

"i was fishing
>yesterday with a rebel crawdad and i kept missing the strikes.
>i would set the hook like i do with everything else ive ever
>used but it didnt seem to work. is this pulling the bait out
>of there mouth or is it just the nature of crankbaits to miss
>a lot of strikes?

When you say that you've been setting the hooks like you have with everything else you have fished, does this mean you are swinging on strikes like you normally would when fishing a jig or senko? If the answer is yes then chances are your pulling the hook from the fishes mouth.

When fishing baits (spinnerbaits, cranks, swimbaits, saltwater jigs) that get bit on the retrieve I recommend setting the hook by continueing to wind when you feel a strike as the presure increases wind harder. Once you begin to wind down harder move the rod in a sweeping motion to either your right or left depending on your position. Don't sweep upward always just to the side. Your reel actually does most of the hook setting and delivers the initial set then the sweeping motion seems to help to secure the hook. Sharp hooks help a lot too. I know swinging on strikes is a conditioned reaction but it's much more effectiving when the fish has picked up your bait when the lure is not moving or is sinking and the fish is holding it in it's mouth.


JerryG

Everybody has given you good advice:

1. Sharper hooks: I prefer Mustad Triple Grips.

2. Sweep-setting the hooks not a cross-their-eyes hook-set.

3. A 'forgiving' rod: I started using a 7' Kistler Helium Medium Casting rod a couple of years ago and havn't lost a cr/bait Bass since then. It is a light-in-weight(under 4 ounces with 10 line guides), extremely sensitive(I remember catching two Bass, both over 5 lbs; the first had just two prongs of the rear treble in the outside of her face and the other had only two prongs of the rear treble stuck in her upper, outer lip!), and yet powerful too.

4. Mono line: I disagree with that as mono is too stretchy for me. I know, that's why it's suppose to be 'good' for cr/bait bites but with the proper rod(HE70MC), my 15# test Seaguar's(almost no stretch) Carbon Pro flurocarbon line has brought them in and from some very 'snarly', snag-infested ponds.

5. Keep your rod tip down and especially if she start's to jump; stab it in the water and reel quickly, keeping any slack out of the 'connection' between you and the bait/Bass.

Dan

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice

thats a lot of great advice guys. thanks a lot. i was fishing it on the trunk of a fallen tree and the bass would come from under the tree and pick it up. It was quite a site. i think buying a rod specificly for crankbaiats is out of the question for right now but i will replace the hooks and possibly use florocarbon. Now i have one more question and this is going to sound even more noobish but oh well, i have to learn somehow. How can i tell the difference between weeds and bass? they both load up the line the same way to my untrained eyes...

A bass will pull back.

you will know the difference when u got a fish on there.

Jdub

you gotta get a rod designed for crankin TRUST ME...all the other advice is right on too...but with the right rod it makes all the differance, you can REALLY FEEL when its a fish and "grass bass" or ticking off the bottom...your rod tip SHOULD be bending and ticking when your crankin. check out kistler CBR models...and st croix crankin sticks if your more on a buget. you want a rod that is realy soft. ive caught many fish on duller hooks...and i use berkely 12lb XT and diawa TD-sol, and plueger president reels on mine. make sure your drag is set right... not too tight. you should be able to rip on that rod when they hit and all you do is bury thoses hooks and its FISH ON!!!!
peace

maybe a PC70MM with a curado? would that be a good all around crankbait rod?