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Crankbait Info?

Started by sundaytrucka, January 31, 2016, 04:25:42 AM

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Benni3

Rapala's jointed shadrap,,,,, :D on the river Rebel crawdads,,,,,, ;D

festus

There used to be a very popular brand of crankbaits known as Suddeth Little Earls. Can't remember if they were made in here in Tennessee or the Carolinas, but they've been discontinued but can be picked up occasionally on ebay if you're lucky.

Bandits are also a local favorite.

One of the best casters is the Rapala Fat Rap, 1/4 oz and 2" length. 

One of the worst casters, but most effective is the Storm Thin Fin.  AKA the "flying potato chip."  You'll need spinning gear and 6 or 8 lb mono for this lure, or light braid.  The Thin Fin is one of my all time favorites because it's the first crankbait I ever caught a fish on. 

Shad Raps, Flat Warts, and a host of local homemade flat balsa baits are also very good.


mo65

   I can't believe you fellers resurrected a thread from 2016...but hey...I'm a crankbait guy too! Here are a few boxes I had easy access to. This might be 1/4th of the cranks I have hoarded. Before I turned into a Penn reel freak I used to scour fleabay for cranks. I have many custom painted cranks like the second pic...zoom and you'll see it's signed. Then there are specialty cranks like the "school of shad" in the third photo. The fourth pic is an alternative to that Thin Fin Chester mentioned. Heddon's version casts a lot better Chester, but still has that crazy erratic action that provokes hard strikes. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Rancanfish

#18


Oops didn't notice the date.  I didn't see his before tit so it counts as new to me!










I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

philaroman

it's a good resurrection...

SHOOL OF SHAD is the coolest lure I've ever seen

Thank you, I'm stealing the pic :)

mo65

Quote from: philaroman on February 15, 2020, 05:36:24 PM
SHOOL OF SHAD is the coolest lure I've ever seen

   Check this one out Roman...same principal but a soft plastic swimbait.
They have since yellowed a bit, but still look really cool.
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Gfish

Coool! Who makes those school plugs Mo?
Festus, best sunfish imitation I've ever used was the Thin fin. Got my biggest LMB off one.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

mo65

Quote from: Gfish on February 15, 2020, 06:20:08 PM
Coool! Who makes those school plugs Mo?
Festus, best sunfish imitation I've ever used was the Thin fin. Got my biggest LMB off one.

   Livetarget makes them G. These newer models have a few more baitfish in the baitball than my prototype.   https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/LIVETARGET_Yearling_Baitball_Crankbait_/descpage-KPJVGLM.html

   Here's another alternative to that hard to cast Thin Fin...but this Bomber Speed Shad ain't the best casting plug either. Just a slight improvement...instead of a potato chip it's like a Frito. :D
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


festus

Quote from: mo65 on February 15, 2020, 06:48:56 PM
Quote from: Gfish on February 15, 2020, 06:20:08 PM
Coool! Who makes those school plugs Mo?
Festus, best sunfish imitation I've ever used was the Thin fin. Got my biggest LMB off one.

   Livetarget makes them G. These newer models have a few more baitfish in the baitball than my prototype.   https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/LIVETARGET_Yearling_Baitball_Crankbait_/descpage-KPJVGLM.html

   Here's another alternative to that hard to cast Thin Fin...but this Bomber Speed Shad ain't the best casting plug either. Just a slight improvement...instead of a potato chip it's like a Frito. :D
I have a couple of those Bomber Speed Shads, Mo.  Also have a Cotton Cordell model that's very similar.  Neither of those seem as effective as the original Thin Fin.  Casting a Thin Fin is similar to pitching a knuckle ball.  Some days it works, and on the days it doesn't, forget it, especially windy days.  There are a couple spots on the Clinch River that the Thin Fin has been my go-to crankbait for at least 50 years.  Both spots have culverts under roads, with usually a current going on, and if shad minnows are present, watch out.  The Thin Fin would not be my crankbait of choice bass fishing from a boat casting toward structure.  But in open water where shad are around, they are one of the best.

Kmart used to sell a 1-1/2" Shad Rap imitation.  To my knowledge Rapala never offered those small ones.  I had two, one black back, silver sides, the other was perch colored. Somewhere along the line I lost both of those and they were one of the best crankbaits I've ever used in ponds.

My favorite colors have always been shad, perch, fire-tiger, and crawdad. Rapala used to make a Fat Rap--blue back, pearl belly with some orange highlights.  The box was marked "SPECIAL."  They were always referred to as the "Watts Bar Special" in my neck of the woods, and most every bass fisherman had one.  I still have one, but haven't seen them for sale in years.

Benni3

I'm allways looking for vintage lures and they work good to,,,,,,,  ;) heddon,creek chub,,Cisco kid,,,bagley,,,,,, ;D

festus

Here are some of mine, still have a few Plano Over & Under tackleboxes in the garage that need gone through.

The first pic has one of those original Bombers that Greg (Gfish) mentioned earlier.  I have a couple of those in the 2" size somewhere that are over 50 years old.  The small ones will catch anything, crappie, smallmouth, largemouth, redeye, white bass, etc.  In the upper right hand corner is a crude imitation of the Dalton Special topwater I whittled and sanded from an O'Cedar mop handle probably when I was in my 20's. Got a couple of local favorites also, the Little Earl, the Fat Rap Watts Bar Special, and a deadly balsa lure made during the 1980s by a Mr. Price. Mr. Price passed away several years ago and sold gobs of those balsas.

The original Big O fat crankbait was invented by Fred Young from Oak Ridge, TN.  He lived about 10 miles from here and sold many of those.  I see those on ebay sometimes, but am skeptical they are original. Don't have one of those but have been looking. https://www.chattanoogan.com/2005/1/17/61178/Big-O-Hails-From-Oak-Ridge.aspx

The lures in the last 3 pics aren't all crankbaits, I just snapped a pic of a few boxes stashed in a back room.


Benni3

You got some very nice lures there,,,,,, ;D

philaroman

are your longer, skinnier more-detailed patterns mostly Yo-Zuri/Duel?

if not & you've found a cheaper equivalent, please tell

(are Yo-Zuri still Japan-made, or only Duel?)

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love all the "schooling" baits: the commercial Baitball version

seems more structurally refined (bill) than the more artsy prototype -- is it?