general guidelines for crankbaits:
1) Stick with one brand. This will help you to avoid buying similar products that essentially do the same thing. I prefer strike king or norman for deep divers.
2) Be smart with your color schemes. Do you really need four different shades of shad colors? Get one shad and one bream color for clear water conditions, chartreuse for murky conditions, and a redish/brown craw pattern for when they're eatin heavy on em.
3) Be able to cover different conditions. My favorite cranks are easily squarebills, but it pays to have a developed arsenal. Get the colors listed above in each depth you will be fishing in. I like to have a 1-2' wake bait on hand, along with a 4-6' squarebill crank, 8-10' crank, and a 12'+ deep diver (usually only 2 color variations of the last 2 as I fish mostly from shore.
4) Crankbaits are more power than finesse, vary your retrieve according to heat and feeding patterns.
5) Location, Location, Location. I could sit there and throw a crankbait at a pile of rocks all day and I may not catch anything, try different areas, points being a great spot to toss a squarebill or 8-10' diver depending on the depth. Any holes you may find with a muddy/rock bottom are also a great place. If you can run a crank over the top of a grassbed by about 2' without getting hung, do it. Squarebills when fishing timber to help it knock off the branches without getting snagged.
I hope this helps some of y'all who aren't getting it going with cranks. They're an incredibly versatile bait that can produce a LOT of fish if you hit the right point or school of bait at the right time. Good Luck.


