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The Story of Line Selection for Crankbaits
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major part of the excitement of bass fishing is not knowing exactly where the fish are going to be – it is part of the thrill of the hunt I guess. This is where a crankbait is extremely valuable and will assist you in quickly establishing a pattern and where the bass are locating to. These areas could be out in open water with a channel break or sunken yacht as the only form of structure such as that you’d find in Inanda Dam or Bronkhorspruit Dam, or you could be fishing between shallow submerged brush piles or wattle trees similar to that in Witbank or Albert Falls Dam. It will go a very long way if bass anglers considered the structure they are fishing and their choice of line more carefully when rigging for the changing conditions.
Note: all these lines are 10lb breaking strain yet their diameters are all different
>> Roger Donaldson* The most important consideration to make when selecting your line is that it needs to compliment the size of your lure. If your line diameter iss too thick and breaking strain to high gh you will very likely destroy the lure’s e’s swimming action. The crankbait is designed to perform in a specific ific manner beneath the water and the more cognisant we can be of that the more successfully we’ll get the bass to bite. A line diameter which is too thick will also reduce the crankbait’s ability to dive to its desired, or specified depth. On the opposite end of the spectrum choosing a line diameter which is too thin and breaking strain insufficient will dampen your ability to react to a bite and reduce the amount of pressure you are able to Mteri is notorious for it structure (see the many trees in the background)
deliver to keep the hooks imbedded when the fish is hooked. Seasoned anglers have become so accustomed to choosing line that something as simple as the above comes naturally. However, these anglers often have many rods rigged to suit the various situations they may find themselves in, sometimes even three or four rods ready just for fishing a crankbait. Although some may view this as an obsession I can honestly say that I’ve seen how the intricate changes between rod and line can benefit you when competing at the levels which these anglers do. For the most of us however, the following two essential considerations will produce the required results and keep you catching bass time and again.
Size of the crankbait The medium to larger sized crankbaits are often the ones which dive deeper, they will also have a larger lip than others and will be that much heavier too. On average a line breaking strain of around 12 to 16lb will be sufficient to fish these deeper diving lures. To get the lure to dive deeper, it will help to choose the line with the thinnest diameter. Also, for the more flexible rod try to move toward rigging with fluorocarbon line. Fluorocarbon line is less flexible than a monofilament line and will compliment the soft rod 36 SA BASS May 2018