(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Davy Hite says that he’s won more money over the course of his career with a flipping stick in his hand than with any other presentation. That’s a bold statement considering that he’s one of the handful of anglers who’ve won both the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup. It only tells half of the story, though.
In the course of many of his successful tournament finishes, a flipping stick has finished the job, but it was a crankbait rod that got him to that point. Especially in Elite Series tournaments, where competitors are expected to break down massive bodies of water in just 2 1/2 days of practice, there’s often no better way to cover water and discern patterns than with a crankbait.
Of course, cranking means different things to different people, and even during the generalized “post-spawn” period there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The fish typically stay shallow, then move to mid-range drops, and then out to their deeper summer haunts, but even those terms vary, depending on whether you’re fishing a deep TVA ledge lake or a shallow, free-flowing river.
He encourages anglers not to get too locked into what works for someone else – pros included – but rather to use it as a guideline. He recalls hearing David Fritts advocate for 4.3:1 gear ratios on cranking reels and Rick Clunn championing a 6.3:1 instead. Each angler, Hite claims, should find “what feels good to you.”
For Hite, his choice of rod varies depending on the depth he’s fishing, and he said that he has the tools to crank up to 25 feet deep. Below that, it’s tough to get maximum coverage except with trolling or long-lining, techniques that are generally banned in tournaments. Years ago, deep populations of fish were relatively untapped, but today’s modern electronics have made them more accessible to the masses, which in turn means they’re equally pressured.
When shallow-cranking with a square-bill, he likes a 6 1/2-foot rod.
“Don’t be afraid to use that shorter rod,” he admonishes anglers who believe that a cranking stick must be 7 feet or longer. In fact, a longer rod will impede most fishermen’s accuracy when roll-casting or side-arming a square-bill around docks, cypress knees and other tight targets. Because accuracy is so critical, he pairs his shallow cranking rod with a narrow-spool, high-speed reel.
When making bomb casts to offshore structure, Hite turns to a rod over 7 feet, often a 7 1/2-foot stick. Unlike his square-bill rod, which is fast-action (glass or composite, never 100 percent graphite), he likes his rod for deep divers to have a more moderate action, which loads up and allows him to make longer casts. He pairs it with a wider-spool reel.
While he employs a wide variety of crankbaits, Hite is particularly enamored of the Rapala DT series, largely because they run true straight out of the package, and because on a normal cast, with typical tournament tackle, they dive to the advertised depth. During the immediate post spawn he’s also fond of wake baits, generally on calm days, and said that they produce some of the biggest bites of the year. He fishes most lures just as they come out of the package, but if he needs to switch hooks, he strongly prefers round-bend models and encourages anglers to be careful about upsizing in both size and gauge.
While most of the DT Series baits can easily handle an upsized treble, a light, tight-wobbling lure like a Shad Rap will quickly be overpowered by them. Additionally, if you’re making a 60-yard cast with a moderate action rod, it’s going to be hard to get a thicker-wire hook to penetrate the hard mouth of a fish. Conversely, at close quarters with a square-bill, he won’t hesitate to go to thicker wire.
Once you’ve gotten the bite, Hite stressed that body language and body position is crucial to ensuring that the bass ends up in your livewell. You should remain in control, with your feet under you and your rod in a position to maximize power and leverage.
“Losing fish makes for great stories,” he concluded. “But landing fish wins tournaments.”
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