These search baits can be extremely affective in producing fish and are relatively simple to use. Picking some that you think will work is another thing all together. There are so many colours and patterns to choose from, sizes are all over the map, the depths they each dive at is also all over the map, so where does someone start ?
This brings us back to the simple part, start by trying some natural colour patterns, WHy because this is the most logical and simple way to start using these baits ! So save yourself the frustration of having run out to buy those really flashy colours you are not even sure of when to apply on the water, stick to the basic colours like a perch pattern, silver and black(common bait fish colour), from here you can work on building some confidence with these baits.
Now that we have the colour selection stuff sorted out, we can discuss diving depths for what your application is. It is always wise to have a few different diving depth crank baits, WHY well you will not know what depth the fish are striking at, always a good idea to have some baits that dive from as shallow as 2ft to as deep as 20ft(deepest option will depend on the depth of the water you fish).
Deciphering the dicing depth is easily done by looking at the size of the crank bait lip. The diving lip is the plastic(sometimes thin metal) curved piece at the front of the bait where you tie your line to. The longer the lip the deeper the bait will diver, the shorter the lip the less the bait will dive. There are baits called lip less crank baits that have do diving lip, these can be used at various depths with a variety of retrieve styles.
From here it’s off to the lake to try various retreive styles and hopefully catch some fish !
The AMFisH guy…