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Choosing the best crankbait for a particular situation depends on the season, the water temperature, the aggressiveness of the fish, and the cover that you’re trying to pull them away from. Sometimes it’s as easy as throwing one in any direction and winding it back steadily, but more often than not you’ll need to impart some action, make pinpoint casts, or finesse the lure back to the boat – if not all of the above. Fortunately, Bass Pro Shops has an incredibly wide range of diving plugs to make you look like a crankbait master.
Best Squarebill: Lucky Craft Square Bill Crankbait
Lucky Craft
Lucky Craft was one of the first companies to bring Japanese engineering and craftsmanship to the US market, and in doing so they reignited the high-end squarebill category. This all-plastic model can 4X4 through the toughest conditions. It’s made to burn and not blow out, but when it hits cover at any speed it deflects, making it the perfect spinnerbait or Chatterbait substitute.
Best Deep Diving: Berkley Dredger 17.5, 20.5, 25.5
Berkley
There are lots of great deep divers on the market, but the Dredger offers a compact body that dives down almost vertically, getting to the strike zone quickly and staying there as long as possible. Even better, the tight action not only calls in fish, but makes it so you don’t have to be a world-class weightlifter to throw it all day. Depending on which model you choose, they can get down well past 20 feet.
Best Ultra-Deep Diving: Strike King 10XD
Strike King
The 10XD was the first “oversized” ultra deep diver, and it remains the king of the hill today, getting down into the living rooms of deep holding fish and pulling them out. Surprisingly, it does not get hung up much for a lure with two treble hooks, and while you may need a heavier-than-normal cranking rod to launch the 2-ounce beast, it doesn’t pull as hard as you might expect. The 10XD comes in a wide array of tournament winning colors approved by the likes of Kevin VanDam.
Best for Cold Weather: Rapala Shad Rap
Rapala
It doesn’t cast particularly well in the wind and it’s not great in heavy cover, but when cold water bass are lethargic and unwilling to chase, no other crankbait produces as many fish — especially big fish — as the balsa Shad Rap. It now comes in Elite and jointed versions, all in a number of different sizes, but the original in a basic array of craw and baitfish patterns get the job done. Others have tried to match the tight-quivering buoyant action, but no one has quite met the mark.
Best Tiny: Norman Lures Crappie Crankbaits
Norman Lures
For many years, this diminutive 1/8 ounce diver was the secret of pros like Rick Clunn who utilized it when chasing bass eating small forage or when fish were especially pressured. It gets down to 6 feet on light line, and comes with quality #10 hooks. You can upsize them if necessary if you’re around particularly big or strong fish, and rest assured that some giants will eat this.
Best Lipless: Bill Lewis Lures Rat-L-Trap
Bill Lewis Lures
This is one of the OG lipless cranks, and when anglers talk about throwing a “Trap” they often mean this staple as well as the generic category. It now comes in a wide range of sizes and colors, as well as floating and saltwater versions, but you can’t go wrong with the basic ½ ounce model in simple colors like chrome or various shades of red for most bass fishing scenarios.
Best for Rock: Storm Original Wiggle Wart
Storm
This Ozarks staple is in especially high demand any place you have largemouths, smallmouths, and spotted bass mingling among chunk rock, boulders or gravel banks. The molded body is built to take abuse, and the wide, side-to-side searching action serves dual purposes: It can call fish from a distance or trigger bites from ambush predators. The wide range of crawfish patterns are particularly popular.
