Crankbait
Also called crank, diving plug
A hard-bodied diving lure with a plastic or metal lip, fished by casting it out and reeling it back at a steady speed.
The lip catches water and drives the bait down and side to side. Reel and it dives, stop and most models float back up. That simplicity is the point: a crankbait is the fastest way to cover water and find out whether fish are in an area, because you can throw it, wind it back and repeat every twenty seconds.
Depth is set by the lip, not by how fast you reel. Packaging usually states a running depth, and models are sold across the range from a squarebill that digs two feet down to a deep diver that reaches twelve. Faster retrieves make the bait run more erratically, not much deeper.
The strike almost always comes off a deflection, when the bait ricochets off a rock or a stump. Anglers deliberately fish crankbaits into cover for that reason, which also means you will lose some.
Pick your crankbait by the depth you want to fish, then keep it in contact with something: bottom, rock, stumps, grass edges.
Common questions
How deep does a crankbait run?
The lip decides. Squarebills run about two to five feet, medium divers six to eight, and deep divers ten to twelve or more. Reeling faster makes the bait more erratic but barely changes its depth.
Related terms
Where this comes up
The guides that use crankbait and show it on real gear.
Crankbait is one of 206 terms in the glossary.
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