Cold Water Crankbaits for Bass Fishing 

Hi, K S. :)) Thanks. Glad you like the details. Cheers, Paul.

Hi, Sbchamo. Thanks. I guess it takes time to build a channel. And, this one may not be for everyone. Cheers, Paul.

Hi, irench. I haven't seen those. Good idea. Thanks, Paul

Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, I tune my jerks too. But rise rate can be pretty important in cranks too. It's not just a cold water thing either. I often do really well fishing cranks like jigs, just crawling them through cover. Most think crankbaits must be "cranked". And speed can be an important trigger. But low and slow can really catch a lot of bass. I shared this with a friend years ago. He was just getting into tournament fishing as a non-boater. He returned from his next T and told me how he just slayed em fishing a crank like a jig. His boater partner apparently got pretty miffed at this kid mopping up from the back of the boat!

Thanks, Chris. Yes, the water temp does affect buoyancy. Lead wire would make things quicker and more fine-tunable on the water, esp since the Suspend-Strips are more tin than lead I believe and aren't terribly heavy.

Ya it often takes a couple dots to get a bait where you want it! Keep up the good videos!!! Love seeing the science behind a lot of what I experience on the water.

I carry SS with me, but no lead wire. I have some in my fly-tying kit too. Yeah, one the science can certainly inform the fishing, and vice-versa; I love seeing the two merge. Just more patterns to be hip to. Knowing what's going on, or thinking I know what's going on, doesn't always help me catch fish. But it does help patch my ego some, or gives me more excuses. :)

Ego? Fishing? Nooo... ;) Unfortunately we can't swim down and ask them questions! Studying them is the closest we can get. I think that's what makes it so fun though. No matter how great an angler is, the bass can still win on any given day. Keeps ya comin' back for more!!

I've come to think that ego gets a bad rap. I think we come by it honestly. It's something that keeps us psyched. Like a dose of default level confidence to keep us focused through difficult tasks. Lol, nothing involved in my fishing gets by without some analysis. :)

Hi, Mr E. Actually, nothing was changed in the plug from beginning to end. On the first tank shot, I already had worked out the proper weights. And the suspend strip was already in place. It's all pretty easy to do. And it's tough to really knock a plug out of whack. I didn't do the best job of sequencing, instead just showing how each component is used. How much of each to use depends on the buoyancy of the particular plug. I start with the heaviest component, by hanging a weighted treble on the front hanger. If too much I go to a lighter weighted treble. If too light, I add a suspend strip, or two. Heavier gauge trebles can help too. That plug was fine. Again, it's tough to mess one up. And, I catch a bass on it in VFJ17 @20:00, and then rescue it from a brushpile @21:07. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any further questions. Cheers, Paul

@@thenatureoffishing7591 👍🍺🎣

Great idea on the lead tape. SuspenStrips are not very heavy either. I recently did a large buoyant squarebill type that... I shoulda just left alone lol. I did slow it up some but used a lot of strips. The other option is sinking lead or tungsten into the body, which I've done in the past. But its a bigger project. As to bass hearing ability... My understanding is that they can hear pretty well but that sounds in water scatter and can be difficult to pinpoint. Fish may have adaptations to do this but it doesn't appear to be structural -like off-center auditory canals. Apparently they can orient to sounds around them (as per Keith Jones). You are right that bass are not "Otophysids" -fish with a "Weberian" apparatus to amplify sound through the swim bladder via fine resonant bones in the head. Cyprinids like minnows and carp are and they "hear" uniquely well. I felt that carp could hear a fishing line "sing" in the water so learned to be careful moving line quickly near them. But I haven't seen anything like this response in bass. They will however freak out by seeing even subtle line movement under high vis conditions. The best synopsis of bass hearing I've seen is in Keith Jones' book "Knowing Bass". In it he cites research on the auditory range of bass and you are right that it's mostly at lower frequencies. The research was well done with both anatomical/physiological tests and behavioral tests that agreed. Much of the sounds that rattles make, esp small BBs, are apparently beyond the range of bass hearing. So I guess Rattl-Traps catch so many bass despite those "magic" sounds. I'm not sure what to think about "knockers" -large low frequency bearings. Bass should be able to hear them, but... when I've tapped on my camera poles, it seems to put bass off, rather than attract them. just not sure what we're "saying" to the bass. Another interesting thing that pertains to hearing underwater is that soft substrate will absorb sounds and shallow water will constrict or exclude it. So shallow soft bottomed areas can be very challenging to hear much at all over any distance. This was something I was completely unaware of until I read it. I still haven't run down the original research or considered what it means in terms of fishing. I do get to see bass responses to sound and movement through all my video work. They definitely hear things, and will respond to abrupt sounds nearby. Talking or other sounds outside the water appear not to be responded to, if they are heard at all. I do pick up the sound of passing airplanes (some of my ponds are near a small airport) through my camera mikes 3 or 4 ft deep, but its subtle. Now the shadow of a passing plane will turn them inside out! Bass also get used to sounds, even loud ones, that are commonplace. Some strip pits I fish are next to active gravel mining and heavy equipment rolls by pretty frequently (You can see this in the background of my Mid-Fall Crankbait Presentation vid. This kind of noise doesn't seem to bother the bass at all. They are most interested in immediate danger, and so it has to be close, abrupt and unexpected to startle them. At this point, I think visual images and water movement are the most important stimuli that bass respond to. Or at least these probably explain most of the fish we catch.

The Nature of Fishing thanks for the reply Paul. I bought the Keith Jones book 'Knowing Bass' brand new years ago. At present it looks like a beat up rag lol. To the best of my knowledge Canadian studies prompted by the book were Cardiac Response. The noise sources consisted of boat paddles, an electric trolling motor and a 9.9 horsepower gas motor. All of which displace a lot of water. The newest studies that I have read used speakers above and below the waterline and utilize brain stem probes for reactionary results. I'm no scientist but isn't this a better 'pure audiable' study then making sound while moving water to observe 'hearing'? It's my understanding that the Canadian -Graham A, Carleton University 2008 - studies were conducted on largemouth. And the audiable studies -Johnson C, Auburn University and follow up articles by Mike Allen University of Florida -were conducted on spotted bass. Interestingly the Auburn study concluded that the bass tested were nearly deaf with the exception of low frequency sound. I believe in the importance of water displacement and visual presentation as you do. But when others suggest that they call fish up from the bottom using the 'sound' of a $28 topwater, I have my doubts. Once again I really appreciate your responses and videos Paul. I'm not a scientist just a fisherman trying to pass on some truth to my son and grandson before the manufacturers and marketers get to their wallets :-)

Thanks for the citations. Yes, and the 'squeak' of a buzzbait probably trips our predatory switches more than it does the bass lol. And, yeah, I hear you on the competition with marketers. The level of proof is quite a bit different there. Thanks for the input.

@@thenatureoffishing7591 just a question not to contradict you. Why when I find that 1 out of 10 buzz bait with that special squeak squall you speak of, I catch more and bigger fish as compared to a more quiet one, is it because I fish them more, or because it actually works? I use to fish then right off shelf no mods, now I tighten rivets, sand blades, zip tie them to my truck antenna you name it I've done it with buzz baits. Just a honest question I would like to hear your thoughts on.

I've fished banks of lakes, and many a ponds with a more quiet buzz bait, then go back around wth my select few that are louder and squeal and plop better and catch not only numbers but overall bigger average fish.