What Is Crank Bait?

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Crank baits are a type of fishing lure that is designed to imitate a fish’s natural prey. It is also designed to mimic the actions of an injured or fleeing prey. There are many types of crank baits available and all of them range in size, color, shape (flat sided and fat), weight, action, and action depth. Some crank bait’s also contain rattling noises, lights, and even glow in the dark paint jobs to help it become noticed at night or in darker waters.

In general they are usually made of aluminum or cork covered in fiber glass. The whole body is hard and contains one or two sets of treble hooks. They are in the shape of a baitfish or very similar. However, not all crank baits are the same, so let’s look at 3 common types that differentiate the most from one another.

Crawfish - Crawfish or crayfish crank baits have a very similar design to that of a live one. You will notice that many of them only incorporate the head portion of the body. These types of bait also have a clear short “bill,” or lip, on the lower front of the bait itself. This is just below where your line or leader will connect. The bill of this bait allows it to dive deep and create a lot of action when tugged. It also helps it bounce off of rocks or other debris by keeping the bait rather neutral opposed to face down.

A crawfish just happens to be a crustacean which is also one of the small and large mouth bass favorite foods.
 
Lipless - You may see these being referred to as swim-bait but swim bait and crank baits are different. The lipless crank baits have a solid body like other crank baits. Whereas swim baits have a rubber section that moves in the water. You will often see lipless crank baits with the shad pattern. They operate at different depths but do not do well against debris.

Deep Diver - These are easy to spot because of their long bills. The bill is angled slightly down and usually the same length as 1/2 to 3/4 of the bait itself. As the name suggests, deep diver, they are designed to dive deep when retrieved. They are most often used in open waters.

There are many different presentations of crank baits. Some are strictly for cast and retrieve while others are meant to dive and float, dive and float.