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As we get started, it
is necessary that everyone be on the same sheet of music. And, since I
get to do
the singing today, we'll use my music. Therefore, the following is a
categorization of the various lipped crank
plugs.
SURFACE/SUB-SURFACE:
This category of crank plugs floats and is used primarily in a top water
role.
However, when retrieved, they dive slightly below the surface (not over
two feet deep) and are sometimes
highly effective as actual shallow crank plugs . The legendary Rapala
and the Bagley Bang-O-Lure are
examples.
SHALLOW
ZONE: Lipped crank plugs which run between three and six
feet comprise the shallow zone
grouping. Their only application, even though most will float at rest,
is when retrieved through this depth
range. Good examples of shallow zone lures are the Bagley Killer B II,
Rebel's Wee R, and the Norman
Little N.
MEDIUM ZONE:
Lipped plugs which fit into this category can be expected to operate at
depths of seven
to 12 feet. These are the most commonly used crank plugs and, therefore,
account for the majority of the
crank plug catches. The Rebel Deep Wee R, Bagley's Divin' B II and the 2
˝ inch Fat Free Shad (Junior)
fall into this grouping.
DEEP ZONE:
Any lipped crank plug which runs between 12 and 18 feet can be
considered a deep zone lure.
These are generally special purpose lures and are usually a bit
difficult to control. Examples are the big Fat
Free Shad and Bagley's Divin' B III.
ULTRA-DEEP
ZONE: For our purposes, any crank plug which operates
deeper than 18 feet is an ultra-deep
lure. The jury is still out on this group, as they have only been on the
market for a short period of time.
Now, if you study the list
and recall what you've read in the magazines and seen on the television
fishing
programs, chances are good that you will immediately recognize the
supposedly 'forgotten' category we
mentioned earlier. Right, THE SHALLOW ZONE CRANK PLUG IS THE ONE. Why it
is overlooked is a
mystery to this writer, for I know for a fact that they catch more than
their share of bass. Let me cite a
couple of examples.
It was mid-June on Alabama's
Wheeler Lake, a part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) chain on
the
Tennessee River. The bass had been pretty steady on deeper, post-spawn
structure and catches were good.
However, a few days of extremely heavy rains, coupled with some TVA
manipulations of the dams, had
brought the water levels up approximately two feet. Suddenly, the fish
were nowhere to be found. They had
vacated the deeper structures and the edge of the old river channel.
Likewise, they were not to be found in
the milfoil grass beds, nor along the stumpy, red clay banks. A group of
very good tournament pro's
searched for three practice days with little result.
One of the anglers, however,
remembered the old tongue-in-cheek rule about locating bass—"They
are
either deep, shallow or somewhere in-between." Like most of the
other contestants, this fisherman had
searched extensively, but fruitlessly, in the newly inundated shoreline
cover. He solved the problem by
simply backing off the shoreline and fishing the shallow slopes leading
up to it. The bass, as he recalled
for us, were stacked like the proverbial cord-wood in four and five feet
of water a short distance out from the
banks and grass lines. The successful lures employed were a Bagley Divin'
Killer B I and a Rebel Wee R,
each of which ran four to five feet deep on a medium retrieve. The key
to triggering a strike was to crank the
lure down with a few rapid turns of the reel handle, slow it down, and
use a stop-and-go retrieve back to the
boat.
In another instance, this
one being on Georgia's famous Lake Lanier, the bass were found to be
holding in
submerged brush tops in the shallow flats of the upper River area.
Worms, jigs and spinner baits were
marginally productive. It was found, however, that a shallow zone crank
plug, a Norman Little N to be
specific, was the ticket. One had only to retrieve the lure across the
underwater brush tops, bumping the
limbs gently, to provoke immediate and savage strikes. Although the
water itself was fairly deep, the fish
were obviously lying in the upper portions of the tops and the shallow
lure was perfectly in their strike zone.
A 'truism' about fishing
says that shallow bass are active, feeding bass. Consequently, a good
many
anglers adhere to the rule of starting out their fishing as shallow as
is reasonable, given the season and other
conditions. First, it is much easier to fish shallow; and, secondly, the
bass will readily take a lure offering.
Obviously, a cold day in the dead of Winter would not be very conducive
to finding bass shallow. But, there
is good potential all other times of the year, with early Summer (late
May and all of June) being possibly the
best. During this period, the heat has not yet exerted its dominance and
the shallow waters are still
acceptably comfortable for the fish. With all the spawning rituals
complete, the bass are once again
schooled and mobile, in search of food. Also, the Spring bait fish hatch
will now be large enough to be
preyed upon, but still be in the protective cover areas of the shallows.
Evidence of these situations is
usually noticeable by lots of surface activity.
Locating potentially
productive areas for using shallow crank plugs is not too difficult. The
first things to
remember are that Fall and Winter bass take up residence in the vicinity
of steeply sloping areas, while in
the warmer months they like flats and gradual slopes. Next, we would
look for areas that have significant
amounts of cover in less than eight feet of water. Stump fields and
under water grass beds would be
excellent. Finally, we would hope to see bait fish activity in and about
that cover. The last step would be to
select an appropriate lure and sample the area.
As with any lure selection
decision, depth and speed, in that order, are the main considerations in
choosing
a shallow zone crank plug. It should run approximately one foot off the
bottom or, if there are stumps, grass
or other cover present, just over the top of that cover. One specific
thing to avoid in the shallow zone is a plug
which makes contact with the bottom. Whereas, in the deeper areas, we
would like the lure to make
intermittent contact with the bottom features, there will probably be
some plug-fouling slime, muck or grass
in the shallow zones.
The speed of the lure is
often a major determinant in stimulating the urge to strike in a bass.
In deep
waters areas, fast retrieves are usually the key to provoking a
response. However, in the shallows, the bass
are already defined as active and feeding, and fast retrieves are not
usually necessary. In fact, the contrary
is often the case. In shallow water, the most productive retrieve with a
lipped crank plug is usually slow and
erratic, simulating an injured bait fish. My own experience has shown
that the stop-and-go technique usually
proves to be the best, with the strikes coming just when the lure stops.
The angler must be alert, for
stop-and-go strikes are normally very light and difficult to detect. An
immediate hook-set is required, since
a bass can inhale a lure, determine it to be a fake, and exhale it in
the twinkling of an eye. Underwater
research has shown that a bass can take a crank plug and eject it so
fast that the angler often doesn't even
realize that he has had a strike. There are always exceptions to every
case, so the best retrieve speed is an
item which each angler must determine for a given day and the existing
set of conditions.
If the selected fishing area
has submerged brush tops, the proper depth will usually involve the lure
just
brushing the limbs. Obviously, the slow retrieve will preclude hang-ups.
Lipped crank plugs run slightly
nose-down and will actually crawl over most of the potential snags. If
the lure does hang momentarily, give it
a bit of slack and most will float free. Be prepared for a hard strike
at this time.
Standard tackle is quite
satisfactory for presenting shallow crank plugs. It is recommended,
however, that
the angler steer away from fast tip, 'whippy' rods and those shorter
than five and one-half feet. The stiffer,
longer rods will give a bit more 'feel' of a soft strike and assist in
the rapid hook-set so often required. For
weight, comfort and responsiveness, graphite is the better rod choice.
Line weights are a matter of
preference of the angler, given that he considers all the factors
present. Lipped
crank plugs have a good bit of bass-attracting action and vibration
inherent in their design. The heavier the
line, the more those attributes will be dampened. (Consider how the lure
might run if a venetian blind cord
were used and you will get the picture.) Another factor is the presence
of cover into which the bass might
dive and become entangled. And, finally, the line will have a certain
amount of resistance to the water and
the chosen size will influence just how deep the lure will actually run.
With shallow zone lures, the operating
depth may vary as much as a foot between eight and 17 pound test. It's
simply a factor to consider in fine
tuning the presentation.
When fishing for active,
shallow bass, we can expect that many strikes will come near the boat.
This is
primarily because the lure is in a potential strike zone for the
majority of the retrieve. Accordingly, it is a good
idea to stay with standard monofilament lines, rather than one of the
new 'low stretch' types on the market.
The stretch characteristic allows the line to act as a shock absorber,
compensating for those close strikes
and the instinctive jerk of the fisherman. However, if there is a lot of
heavy cover in the area and the chances
of the bass tangling us are high, the low stretch is probably a better
call. Our reaction and resultant hook-set
will be more rapid and positive and we will be able to control the fish
better during his initial surge towards
the cover.
Super-sharp hooks are
important on any lure, but are doubly so on shallow zone crank plugs.
With the
slow retrieve normally employed, we get little hook-set from the strike,
itself. And, having virtually no other
place to go, a shallow water bass usually goes airborne immediately
after taking the lure. Sharp hooks,
then, help stack the odds of holding onto the bass a bit more in our
favor. The new Excalibur Trebles from
PRADCO are VERY good.
Lure color is always a
debatable subject, and I suspect that it effects fishermen more than it
does the fish.
Since a bass is a predator, he will normally strike at nearly any moving
object even remotely resembling
food. One of the keys to catching fish is to keep the lure wet and, if
the angler has confidence in his color
choice, he will do just that. Pure logic dictates that a lure whose
color most closely resembles the available
food supply will be the most successful. Therefore, gray, white and
chrome fit the need to imitate shad or
other bait fish. If the waters have a concentration of cray-fish, darker
colors might work well, but the lure will
have to be kept right against the bottom. Cray-fish do not swim; they
'scoot' along.
Shallow crank plugs are
extremely effective lures. Remember them and
they will provide quality bassin' experiences you will NOT forget.
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