Tips for Crankbait Bass Fishing

Bump Shallow Cover for Spring Bass

"The more things you hit with a crankbait, the more apt you are to get a strike," said Missouri pro Brian Snowden, telling one reason why he's thrilled about the new Bomber 4A .

"The 4A has the same body size as the 6A," noted Snowden, a BASS Elite Series angler who competed in his third Bassmaster Classic this year. "However, the bill design has a wider paddle and is more rounded in the front, and the angle it extends from the bait is flatter."

Bomber Model A Hardbaits The Model A is a little slimmer, a little trimmer, wiggles a little faster, and dives a little deeper than the ordinary crankbait. Floats up quickly on the pause -- a major tempter of big fish. ,,,, B02A 2-1/8", 1/4 oz., dives 2'-4', hook size #6.,, ,, B04A 2-1/8", 5/16 oz., dives 3'-6', hook size #6.,,,, B05A 1-7/8", 1/5 oz., dives 4'-6', hook size #6.,,,, B06A 2-1/8", 3/8 oz., dives 8'-10', hook size #6.,,,, B07A 2-5/8", 1/2 oz., dives 8'-10', hook size #4.

The results are that the 4A runs shallower than the 6A and its wobble is a little wider. Most importantly, from Snowden's standpoint, it is well equipped to kick off rocks and brush and other shallow cover.

"Any time the fish are relating to cover in water that's 3 to 6 feet deep, I'm likely to have a 4A tied on," Snowden said.

Snowden pointed toward riprap banks beside bridges as ideal spots for early-season fishing with a 4A. He'll position his boat close to the rocks and cast parallel to the bank to keep his lure kicking off the riprap. Snowden also pointed toward stump-coved points, wing dams and grassy areas where the vegetation hasn't grown all the way to the surface.

In every case, Snowden is very intentional about hitting cover, casting past specific stumps so that he can kick them on the way back, fishing over sufficiently shallow rocks on wing dams that the bait will hit the structure and grabbing grass with his crankbait.

At Table Rock, Snowden's home lake where he guides when he is between tour stops, he likes the design of Bomber 4A for fishing channel-swing banks. Bluffs form where creek and river channels swing close to the bank at Table Rock, and the best fishing often is at the upper and lower ends of bluffs, where the channel edge meets the bank and then turns away from it. Snowden will fish those transition points very tight with a 4A, imitating the crawfish that abound in the rocks.

Early in the year, Snowden sticks mostly with crawfish colors like Dark Green Crawdad for cranking. As spring gives way to summer, Snowden turns more to shad color patterns. Throughout the seasons, when the water is really dirty, he fishes Fire Tiger .

Whatever the color of his plug, Snowden varies his retrieves and cadences dramatically whenever he cranks. He'll crank some casts straight back, start and stop others and work others with the rod, much more so than the reel. The fish want a crankbait worked differently from one day to the next, Snowden has found, so he lets the bass decide. The only real common denominator is that he always tries to bump bottom or hit cover.

Snowden spools up with 10- to 14-pound-test green Silver Thread AN-40 for cranking a 4A and likes 12-pound-test best overall. He uses a 7-foot fiberglass St. Croix cranking rod and an Ardent 6.3:1 baitcasting reel.

This article is provided by Lurenet.com and is used with permission. jB0405.