We are getting to the time of the year in BC where fish are done spawning, the post spawn is over, and most fish are moving to their summer locations. There are some fish that will live close to shore and under docks. The majority of the larger fish will move onto main lake structure. Some of this structure will be points that extend into the lake, isolated rock piles, flooded trees, and drop offs. Not a lot of people in B.C. concentrate on fish in those areas. Most people are lazy, they like to fish structure they can see. They don’t want to spend the time and work to find these special honey holes off shore.
Off shore fishing in the states is huge with crankbaits. This is a very under utilized technique in our area. A lot of people don’t understand it or know what type of baits to use for this application. Spro carries a large array of crank baits to cover the water column from the surface to 20ft deep. This time of year most of the water I will be fishing is at least 7ft to 20ft. I like to have a crankbait that will run a little deeper than the water depth I am fishing. I want to be in contact with the bottom as much as possible. This is because most of the strikes will come when you deflect off cover.
There are two types of rods I like to use, the dedicated crank bait rod by St. Croix and the St. Croix 7 foot medium heavy graphite cranking rod. I like their mojo bass line because you can’t beat the quality and service for the price point. It is not high end, but it comes in around $100. I use the target cranker edition. It is made of fiberglass and designed to cast and handle the torque of the larger crankbaits on the market. Not everyone has the ability to have a rod dedicated to just one technique. For a multi use rod, the St. Croix 7 foot medium heavy graphite cranking rod comes in handy. This rod can be used for other techniques, but works well for crankbait fishing.
For fishing line, I usually run 12lb fluorocarbon made by either Seaguar or Viscous fishing line. Since fluorocarbon sinks, it helps to pull the crankbaits deeper. For the reel I will use a bait caster. There are a number of great companies out there that make really good crank bait reels. I am a big fan of Lews, Shimano, and Cabelas. Just spend around a $100 and you will get a nice reel. You have to remember don’t go cheap if your using your reel for this application because it puts a lot of torque on the components inside the reel.
With everyone pounding the banks, spend some time using your electronics off shore to find those places that people overlook and you will have schools of fish to crank on all day.
Matt Benson
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