crank it up
by DaVID a. bRoWN
Story & Photos
Tweaks & Tactical Tips Ensure Success
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ight, left, center – all common terms in the political arena, but they also apply to crankbaits. Situations and opportunities may vary throughout the day, but unlike the democrat/republican divergence, it’s perfectly fine to switch your bait’s alignment as your needs dictate. Sometimes a straight course fits the need, but other times, anglers may want their baits to run more to one side or the other. Maybe you’re tracing the edge of a channel, or paralleling a line of riprap. Some-
times you’ll find that wind, current and/or sunlight are simply making one side of the structures more productive. i recently quizzed a couple of Bassmaster elite pros, takahiro omori and Gerald Swindle, on their crankbait strategies. omori said that he finds most modern hard plastic crankbaits are tuned pretty tightly right out of the package. However, with hand- made balsa wood baits, he expects each one to per- form differently, so tuning is the assumption. For deep cranking, omori demands crankbaits