Back from BPS

[Ben_Daniels]

Went up to Bass pro to get some stuff for bass season, ended up buying a new citica for my crankbait rod, I can't believe how much smaller it is compared to the older models, sweet! Also got a bunch of spinnerbaits, crankbaits, some flukes, and some other soft plastics.

 

-Ben

[Terry]

nice

 

it is just too easy to spend money there

[Ben_Daniels]

nice

 

it is just too easy to spend money there

 

I know! I was gonna take it easy...$300 later

[alexcba]

yes it is.. i live about 15 mins from there and i go every other day.. bank account just keeps going down lol.

[fish-miester]

Citica is a beauty reel! and well I love those rage craws! im not hooked on the sexy shad yet tho.. all my friends are..

[Ben_Daniels]

In the hour since I've posted this I already have buyers remorse....why didn't I spend the extra $60 and get a Curado? ... I guess thats why the price points are where they are, to make me buy a curado, Should I go back tomorrow and exchange?

[alexcba]

go! i'll meet you there and you can watch me go nuts on things i may or may not use.. lol

[Drew_10]

Return those Strike King crankbaits and get your money back.

 

They are 100% junk. I bought a handful of them last year. The hooks began to rust out in a matter weeks. Note, I kept them in a plano container with a few packages of silica gel. As well, they are next to impossible to tune properly and none run even close to straight out of the box.

You get what you pay for.

 

I love strike king spinnerbaits and jigs, but they don't know bunk about building a hard body lure. Just my opinion.

[Ben_Daniels]

Citica is a beauty reel! and well I love those rage craws! im not hooked on the sexy shad yet tho.. all my friends are..

 

I haven't caught any fish on the rage craws in the past year fished them, but they look so good in the water I had to buy some more. I love the sexy shad color... a natural looking bait with a little chartreuse was a winner for me last year. I cant wait to get out bass fishing next week.

 

-Ben

[Ben_Daniels]

Return those Strike King crankbaits and get your money back.

 

They are 100% junk. I bought a handful of them last year. The hooks began to rust out in a matter weeks. Note, I kept them in a plano container with a few packages of silica gel. As well, they are next to impossible to tune properly and none run even close to straight out of the box.

You get what you pay for.

 

I love strike king spinnerbaits and jigs, but they don't know bunk about building a hard body lure. Just my opinion.

 

Really? I might go back tomorrow so I guess I should exchange em. They were $7 crankbaits so I expect them to run true! I heard they're good cranks that do run true, I don't mind swapping the hook out....what cranks should I go for? I hate paying the price for rapala's (whih I don't think are good at all) or lucky crafts and as far as deep cranks go, these were the only ones they had in the colors I wanted. They didn't have that great a selection.

 

-Ben

[alexcba]

ben Xraps are pretty cheap and come in a good assortment of sizes, colors, and lips. i also recently got very fond of live target cranks.. they are about 13 bucks a pop but man do they do their job!

[Ben_Daniels]

ben Xraps are pretty cheap and come in a good assortment of sizes, colors, and lips. i also recently got very fond of live target cranks.. they are about 13 bucks a pop but man do they do their job!

 

Ive got a TON of X-raps in most colors, along with a lot of husky jerk's... their the only two rapalas that I've seen the need to spend money on. I stood in Bass Pro today holding the live taraget perch's for a good 10 min cause they look so good, but I don't think that the detail is worth the money, also they don't have really deep diving cranks...15 FOW+

 

-Ben

[leighfns]

I used the Strike King crankbaits last year and they worked really well for me (for largies). The hooks are definitely worth changing out as they suck and they do need tuning from time to time (all crankbaits do). I have since switched all my round crankbaits to Normans as I found them more durable and easier to tune thats not to say the Strike Kings were particularly bad. Good cheap alternatives are Normans (can't get them here), Bomber (bad hooks aswell) and Bandits.

 

I have 2 Citica's and Curado aswell..... I like the Citica's fine but love my Curado. I think the main reason is the big ass grips which are awesome!!! outside of that there is not much of a performance difference.

[alexcba]

how about wally divers? 7 bucks and a little change and it goes down to 20 feet.. i was using them to smack bottom on an 18 foot drop the other day and it was doing rather well.. just need a decent cast. tail dancers aswell..

[g_clot]

Agreed on the Wally Diver and Taildancers....Go get the Koppers! I think they're cheaper at CT though. Lucky Craft has a nice lookin' jointed wake bait with a dressed tail I have my eyes on. Anyone have thoughts on the Ardent Denny Brauer Signature F-700 Flip-N-Pitch Reel? Last time I went in there I walked out with the Calcutta 300 for muskie and port credit salmon.

 

 

[leighfns]

btw the handle on that baitcaster is on the wrong side

[leighfns]

I agree with you guys that Taildancers in particular are great crankbaits, however, it looks as though he is looking more for a bass specific crankbait which has a different action that pisses off bass. Although Taildancers do catch bass you still can't beat the big fat cranks for them... On the flip side you are more likely to hook some Walleye and Pike with the other options.

[Ben_Daniels]

I used the Strike King crankbaits last year and they worked really well for me (for largies). The hooks are definitely worth changing out as they suck and they do need tuning from time to time (all crankbaits do). I have since switched all my round crankbaits to Normans as I found them more durable and easier to tune thats not to say the Strike Kings were particularly bad. Good cheap alternatives are Normans (can't get them here), Bomber (bad hooks aswell) and Bandits.

 

I have 2 Citica's and Curado aswell..... I like the Citica's fine but love my Curado. I think the main reason is the big ass grips which are awesome!!! outside of that there is not much of a performance difference.

 

Thanks for your input on everything!!! I think I'm gunna keep the Citica after your advice and reading tackletour... since I'm not using it for bigger baits and the handles are the same size as the Cruxis's that I'm used to, I think it will be great, I just didn't realize the small price differences between it and the curado when I initially bought it.

Definitely true that almost no crankbaits runs true out of the package. Living down south for most of my life I've also heard great things about the Norman DD22's, too bad I can't get em at the tackle shops up here.

 

-Ben

[Ben_Daniels]

btw the handle on that baitcaster is on the wrong side

 

That made me laugh

 

-Ben

[Ben_Daniels]

I agree with you guys that Taildancers in particular are great crankbaits, however, it looks as though he is looking more for a bass specific crankbait which has a different action that pisses off bass. Although Taildancers do catch bass you still can't beat the big fat cranks for them... On the flip side you are more likely to hook some Walleye and Pike with the other options.

 

Yea...Im looking for a bass style crank that I can fish fairly fast and aggressively for largies and smallies pretty deep...I haven't done much cranking in my life but I'm gonna put some time in this summer.

 

-Ben

[leighfns]

Thanks for your input on everything!!! I think I'm gunna keep the Citica after your advice and reading tackletour... since I'm not using it for bigger baits and the handles are the same size as the Cruxis's that I'm used to, I think it will be great, I just didn't realize the small price differences between it and the curado when I initially bought it.

Definitely true that almost no crankbaits runs true out of the package. Living down south for most of my life I've also heard great things about the Norman DD22's, too bad I can't get em at the tackle shops up here.

 

-Ben

 

My favorite crank for bass is the Norman Deep Little N...... On a side note I have been using the Rapala DT Flat's this year and they work great for all species. Cabela's has them on right now for something like 3.99 a pop needless to say I ordered a whole bunch of them

[Drew_10]

Lucky Craft, Spro, Rapala, Bomber, etc are all good. Last year BPS had those same Strike King models for under 5 bucks a piece. Thats when I bought them. The hooks rust and they don't run true. What's the point of saving some money if you have to spend 5 bucks on a pack of trebles and 10 minutes truing the bait every 50 casts or every time you bump a rock. Building a good crankbait isn't easy, and there's a reason rapala and lucky craft cost so much.

[fish-miester]

I haven't caught any fish on the rage craws in the past year fished them, but they look so good in the water I had to buy some more. I love the sexy shad color... a natural looking bait with a little chartreuse was a winner for me last year. I cant wait to get out bass fishing next week.

 

-Ben

 

 

 

ha well since they came out with the Rage tail Craw jig trailers they have worked awesome for me ! personal fav.. and well started using the rage craw this year and have liked them so far.

 

 

as for the strike king crank baits im also not a fan, baught 2 and snapped the lip off 1 in no time..didnt even smack it off anything ! so i gave it to my buddy.. all my cranks are bomber and rapala

Edited June 30, 2010 by fish-meister

[craigdritchie]

I'm pretty old school when it comes to bass cranks. For deep largies, Norman N22s, Bomber Model As, and both Rapala Fat Raps and Shad Raps have always been dependable. I always bring both floating and suspending models in a wide range of sizes and colours, so I can adapt to whatever the fish want on a given day.

 

Wally Divers and Tail Dancers also have their moments, but I seldom use them specifically for bass. I've always preferred baits with a shorter, thicker profile - especially for largies.

 

They're getting harder to find these days, but Rebel's Shad-R (suspending crank made of plastic, but looks almost identical to a Shad Rap) is a stellar bait for smallies. I found a bunch of them in the bargain bin at BPS a few months back .... at $2 apiece I bought about 20 of them.

 

Not a crankbait in the true sense, but Rattletraps also catch a LOT of bass.

[Harrison]

I'm pretty old school when it comes to bass cranks. For deep largies, Norman N22s, Bomber Model As, and both Rapala Fat Raps and Shad Raps have always been dependable.

 

Ditto Craig! If anyone has some ole' Risto raps I'd be more then happy to take them off your hands.