OFFLINE

                                                             CRANKING SHALLOW WATERS

I remember my first bassing experience exactly 23 years ago, also reminding me of my age once again. It was on a dam in Standerton, the water was unbelievably clear and the trees were visible underneath the boat wherever you looked.
All we had on the boat was crank baits, being roughly ten years old at the time and keeping in mind that the tree line was only around 5ft underneath the boat you could understand the skippers hesitance to tie me on one of his pricey cranks.
After a little coaching we were into fish constantly throughout the day !
For some reason later on in life I started fishing less cranks and moved more to soft plastics and spinner baits, even still today. Why ?? I ask myself the same question over and over, if I recall correctly I used to have more productive fishing when I primarily used cranks, not at all to say you should not apply all your different applications. I have however promised myself to do more cranking in the future !

Shallow cranking in my opinion is not used by too many anglers, when I say shallow I’m talking 4ft or less. Personally I think all our shallower banks have been hit by spinner bait constantly throughout the year for years, a shallow crank can cover the same structure and grass cover yet look completely different in appearance and movement.
Isolated cover, jetties, laydowns, brush and rock piles all have bass on them the majority of the time. The presence of baitfish is also key to consistent hookups, also matching your crank as close as possible to the baitfish in that particular area.
These areas provide shade for both bass and bait, bass also using these areas as ambush points. Most fisherman would  hit these areas with spinner baits, jigs and plastics, most common reason for not cranking is that most fisherman do not want to put there trebble hooked cranks through these areas, making it all the better to try this application, you could slightly lower the chances of snagging by snipping the bottom exposed hook, letting it glide over the tops of grass beds etc.. however this could also effect your hookup ratio but getting you into prime areas. Shallow cranking can be effective during most seasons although slightly tougher during the winter months, also remember wind can sometimes ignite a once dead area. Although his could be considered power fishing as you target specific areas and constantly change your presentation from colour to retrieval. I have found that long casts work well, also approaching from every angle (Fan Casting). Try different retrieve speeds, with the odd pause. Don’t be scared to rip it through vegetation or purposely bumping into structure, letting the bass know its there.

A couple different shallow crankbaits





  
MUDLINES

When you find muddy water on the banks, often the cause of wind, remember this is also an opportunity for bass to move in and feed on crustations which may have been uprooted by the wave action. Cast a craw imitation crank right up against the bank, don’t be afraid to let it dig into the ground on your retrieve.


RIP - RAP

Rocky banks provide the perfect habitat for crustations and baitfish. Texas rigged plastics, jigs and your deeper diving cranks are well know for snagging in areas like this.
Shallow cranks presented over the tops of these rocks can produce awesome strikes.
If the water is slightly murky a fire tiger pattern or lure with a rattle will help the bass locate the lure.

FLATS

During the summer a good place to work would be areas with scattered stumps, dead weed etc.. in about 1-3 ft of water. There is usually a network of shallow depressions or ditches between the stumps and brush which could hold bass.

BRUSHPILES

Casting toward brush piles as earlier mentioned, most fisherman would steer clear of in fear of loosing the lure. Cast as close as possible to the target, slowly reel until you feel the lure contact the structure, pause your retrieval and allow the bait to naturally float the top then repeat. This has proved to be a deadly alternative to jigs and spinner baits.

SUBMERGED WEEDBEDS

Weedbeds attract many bass, work the outer edges, if this does not produce try work it just under the surface with the odd pause, also don’t be afraid to rip through vegetation.
Bass feed on small kurper and other baitfish which hold tight into these weedbeds, so try and match the baitfish.