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Crankin Up Reds

5K views 31 replies 18 participants last post by  trigger22 
#1 ·
The thermometer read a cool 27 degrees yesterday morning as I set out with a friend Dave Eakins in search of a few redfish. The water temp cooled off 8 degrees with that cold snap and one would think the fish would be sluggish. The third cast of the morning proved that wasn't going to be the case. We poked and prodded at them all day landing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20. A lot of small fish, but there were some nice quality drum in the mix as well. Our bait of choice was Squarebill Crankbaits. We were throwing up in the stumps in 2-4 foot of water and getting smoked. We caught a couple on Rat L Traps as well and 2-3 came on soft plastics. Water Vertebrate Sky Fisherman Outdoor recreation
Water Sky Vertebrate Smile Tree
Water Sky Goggles Fisherman Fish
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#4 ·
New River



I have to load up on Squarebill Crankbaits now. Great job on the catch.
It is an awesome way to get them. I can't say for certain that it is a better bite than a topwater, but IMO it is right up there with it. You don't have the visual experience, but man do they hit it hard.
 
#12 ·
Which squarebills do you prefer for this? How deep are they running? Would wake-type square bills work? Do you upgrade the hooks and/or split rings?

Apologies for the interrogation -- just sounds like a lot of fun, and I'd like to gear up to try it as well.

// joel
 
#13 ·
No problem at all. I'm using the Strike King KVD 2.5. The split rings that come on them are fine, but I have installed VMC 4x strong hooks. The factory hooks held up to several fish, but eventually started getting week. That won't happen again...

They run 3-5 feet as claimed on the package.

Wake baits are also killers. It's a fun way to target them and something that's "different" than the normal approach.
 
#28 ·
Great job. This is definitely the way I have caught many largemouth.
Very similar and anyone can do it. Several of the stumps I fish are submerged and were discovered with the sonar. Cruise an area while looking at electronics and make mental note of where they were and then go back and fish them later. This time of year pay attention to flats with structure on them in 3-4 feet of water with 7-10 feet close by. As the sun heats gets high in the sky they will come up out of the deeper water and warm up on the flat.
 
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