Let me give you some tips for catching fish on crank baits, similar to the techniques the BASS elite pros used when they competed on Guntersville in April, 2009. Crank bait fishing is a lot more than just pulling a crank bait over the top of the grass; the key is using the grass to your advantage... making the grass work for you.

The first thing I tell folks when we are crank bait fishing is to get the bait down to the grass. Most inexperienced fisherman get really frustrated when the bait gets hung up or they have to keep cleaning off the grass from their crank bait. You must, however, learn to put up with it on Guntersville because the grass is where the fish are most of the time.

After you get over the frustration of the grass, then you need to learn to rip the bait because the crank bait gets its movement and hence the reaction bite from ripping the bait down to the grass with a sweeping motion, pausing and pulling it up out of the grass. The pause and then upward movement causes the reaction bite. Make a long sweeping motion, pause, reel a few times catch up to your retrieve, and then pull it up. The big bass love it, and with this technique you will catch more fish with a crank bait than you ever did before.

Lastly, picking the areas to use crank baits is critical. Find the points of grass and work parallel to them. Work with the current, and work across the deeper edges of the points. Follow these tips and learn to not let the grass frustrate you, and you will be a better fisherman.

Captain Mike Gerry
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
Web: www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
(256) 759-2270