Featured Tip

Finesse Crank For Post-Spawn Bass

Any time you can throw a smaller-profile bait into these areas, your chances of catching a post-spawn bass are good. That’s when I reach for small crankbaits. I throw these lures down the break lines bumping them into every piece of cover I can. These fish are not willing to chase down many other lures like spinnerbaits, and they’ve seen lots of soft plastics flipped onto every stump and brushpile.

The Bomber Fat A model B04F in just about any color will serve this purpose better than any other bait on the market. My favorite colors are Bengal Fire Tiger, Baby Bass, Brown on Yellow, Oxbow Bream and Silver Flash. All of these colors have their place depending on what I am trying to match. This bait will dive four to six feet, it has a small profile and its buoyancy is unmatched. The bait will actually back itself out of potential snags similar to the old balsa baits. This is great for me, since I usually crank it hard to get it down a little deeper. As soon as I feel I’m coming up on a piece of cover, I slow down the retrieve and crawl it over. Then I crank it fast again. I want it to look as if a fry is looking for a place to hide. These are the places big bass are hiding already and waiting for easy meals.

Another bait that is equally effective is the Rebel Wee-R model F93. The square bill on this bait makes it deflect very well off of everything it hits. Sometimes the fish want a little more erratic action after the bait hits something. The Wee-R also has a small profile and is made in many of the same color patterns. I use 8-pound Silver Thread AN40 for this technique because of its small diameter and abrasion resistance. This also lets the bait get a little deeper.

The spring and early summer are probably the most popular times for people to fish. That also makes it harder to find unfished water. This is another reason to throw something that the fish are not seeing on a regular basis.

Another fact about this technique is many professional fishermen use this technique to catch "limit fish." Everyone wants to know how the pro caught his 18-pound bag. What they don’t tell, however, is how they caught five keepers before they ever concentrated on the giants that are in their bag. Most good fishermen will target smaller "limit fish" before they go for the home run. They don’t talk about the fact that they usually have two or three smaller fish left over from the morning. They also don’t talk much about the fact that if it weren’t for the small limit they had on Day 2 of the tournament that they caught finesse cranking, they wouldn’t be in the running for the win on Day 4.

Brad Smith is an Arkansas guide and Bomber Pro Staff member.