(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.)
After decades of traveling the country, western legend and longtime tour pro John Murray realized that if there was a hole in his game, it was deep cranking. “My weakest link was TVA lakes,” he recalled, and part of the reason for that is that “one of the most effective baits for catching a bass anywhere is a crankbait, period.”
Earlier in his career, it was possible to be a specialist, relying heavily on a flipping stick, a spinnerbait or a shaky-head, but “now you have to do it all.” His failure to maximize his cranking game was hurting his ability to compete. With that in mind, a few years ago he moved to Watts Barr Lake on the Tennessee River, just 15 minutes from Chickamauga. Since making that move, he’s realized that the cranking game is not always the same – and many of the differences stem from the east vs. west conditions.
A lot of that is the difference between clear and dirty water. Many anglers historically thought that cranking was primarily a stained-water game, but that’s not the case. Clear water just requires different setups. “It’s usually just a mindset of colors,” he explained. Super-natural hues get the call, although on Lake Mead, with long distance visibility, he often uses purse chrome. On the TVA lakes, he’s more likely to rely on chartreuse or chartreuse and blue. Clearer water also often allows the fish to live and feed much deeper.
When the fish weren't active, his western mindset led him to downsize to a dropshot or shaky-head, but he found over the years that TVA bass often won’t bite those finesse baits. They want something that’ll cause a reaction, and “crankbaits make the difference.” He’ll start off by trying to match the hatch. That might mean crawfish anywhere in the country, or threadfin and gizzard shad on the TVA lakes, but he’s always keen to learn about local forage. More than color or a specific bait, however, he said that you need to figure out your approach. “Angles and speed are everything in deep cranking.”
Because speed can make a huge difference, he said that “when you’re deep cranking you really want to experiment.” Sometimes two anglers in the same boat fishing the same lure on what seems to be the same gear will have wildly different catch rates. That’s when it pays to figure out what the difference might be. He also said that successful oddball retrieves – like burning the lure or pausing it abruptly every time it hits cover – are often not intentionally discovered. “Most of the time they’re a mistake.”
He did note that there are regional and seasonally specific lures, like the Wiggle Wart in the Ozarks and the Shad Rap in cold weather, but he’s also learned that certain “standards” work well in one region over another. For example, he likes the deep divers from Duo Realis in the West, but has struggled with them in Tennessee. Conversely, the Strike King 6XD, 8XD and 10XD are deadly in the east, but he gets fewer bites on them in his native region.
If you want more information about how Murray cranks from coast to coast, including his thoughts on rods, reels and his preferred line choices, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
