Ordered a new cranking rod and reel... how to set it up??

[waterfoul]

With some money I got for Christmas, I ordered a new crankbait rod and reel combo from BPS. I ordered a David Fritts Signature Series combo. 5.2:1 retrieve reel on a medium heavy 7' Crankin Stick. My question is, what line do you guys run on your crankin rods? I was thinking 10 lb Gamma copolymer (because I like Gamma). Or should I go with a standard mono for the line stretch to keep a surging fish from unhooking itself??

I've gotten away from thowing cranks over the last several years, mainly do to my continued success with soft plastics and jigs and such. But at a couple tournaments this year the biggest bags of the day (including a 25+ lb bag at Reeds Lake) came on crankbaits. I have a TON of crankbaits that I mainly troll but seeing these guys come in with big bags of crankbait fish made me get them all out again!!!

Here's what the BPS website has to say about this combo:


Reel: The first word out of our Product Development Manager's mouth:''This reel casts a honkin' mile! The pros, customers, everybody--they can't get over how far they can put their lure; it'll outcast any other reel! The reason? This reel has a taller, slightly heavier spool and a consistently narrower line angle, which generates incredible inertia on the cast--so not only can you cast big cranks all day without undue arm strain, you can also position your boat farther from the target. The extra-long aluminum handle adds power to your crankin' stroke, giving you the leverage to horse that lunker in from a distance. And we've designed a powerful new drag system which produces up to 10 lbs. of drag pressure. Machined-aluminum frame and spool; graphite side-plates; 4-bearing system with double-shielded premium stainless steel ball bearings; 6-pin centrifugal cast control. DF10HC has PowerLock™ instant anti-reverse; other models have dual-pawl anti-reverse.
Hybrid graphite/glass rods for the crankbait fisherman. Exclusive designs by Stacey King! Rod: Stacey King has designed one of the world’s great crankin’ rods, tested it hard, and proven its mettle through dozens of high-pressure tournaments. As the Crankin’ Stick gained its following, we’ve continued to advance its performance, to keep you ahead of the competition at every turn. We took the unidirectional fiberglass/33 million modulus graphite blank, strengthened the fibers and thinned the walls, to make it one of the lightest, most sensitive crankin’ rods available. As always, you can expect true action with plenty of power and just the right flex, because the ''Fiberglass Feeling'' tip absorbs the shock of a surging fish—keeping you in control. On the business end, you’ll find our Power Hump™ ergonomic premium cork handle fits nicely into your hand, giving you a firm, well-balanced grip at the point of attack; the XPS™ graphite reel seat is very light and strong, and features a unique soft touch finish that will only enhance your comfort. Finally, every model has premium Fuji® Concept aluminum oxide guides and a Pro-Guard™ epoxy finish, for years of heavy-duty fun. Don’t sell yourself short—if crankin’ is your strategy of choice, the Crankin’ Stick is the rod of your dreams!

[waterfoul]

Great, as I'm typing this I got an email from BPS saying my rod is backordered but I should have it in 30 days or less. Oh well, it's not like I'm bass fishing at the moment anyway! LOL!!

[thill]

I prefer P-line flourocarbon on all my bass rods (except when skippin docks). My crankbait rods all have 10lb. Much less stretch than typical mono. I certainly do not claim to be an expert at crankin, but this is what works for me.

[fishon1219]

With your crankbait rod you should stick with MONO. Even though you have the crankbait series rod that has a very soft tip, you still need that extra stretch tha mono provides. When fish hit a crankbait the usually always hook themselves so you dont need to worry about setting the hook. The thing to worry about is jerking it away from them. Florocarbon line is a bit more sensitive than mono and you will probably feel them hit the bait and jerk it away from them. This has been my experience with just over 20 years of tournament fishing.
I use my floro for soft plastics and jigs and mono for all of my fast moving baits. I have had the most success doing it that way.

[sea nympho]

I disagree with mono for crankbaits or casting tackle. I prefer and use fireline on my casting tackle. I believe most cranks run better with fireline, except floating raps which need a rapala loop knot to work properly. I choose casting tackle when I need power (big weeds, big fish, nasty snags,etc...), which means I'm not fishing floating raps. And I love cranks, almost always my first choice when looking for active fish(the best targets) because they are a good compromise between covering water and keeping your bait in the strike zone..

[djkimmel]

Line is every bit the tool for successful fishing - getting the most efficiency out of your time as you can - as your rod, reel, boat, lure, etc.

I use different line for specific reasons. Of course, we all have our level of complication or simplicity that we are willing to employ. I fish tournaments and also love to try to learn new and better ways to catch more and bigger fish. I'm almost a crankbait fanatic, but I get bored easily too so lots of different lures, techniques and lakes are the secret to my happiness.

My first priority with crankbaits is depth control. If the lure isn't where it needs to be to get the fish to bite, you won't catch too many fish no matter which line you use.

I use lighter line - to a point - to get my lure deeper, and heavier line to keep my lure shallower. I throw crankbaits from right at the surface to as keep as I am confident I can efficiently fish them.

Take for example a Bomber Shallow A that will dive about 2 feet with the average 10 pound test mono and a rod held low. If the weeds are mostly topping out at 1 foot, I'm going to waste a lot of time snagged up and cleaning my lure off.

I usually try to get some erratic action by 'bouncing' my lure off the weed tops in this case. I could hold my rod higher, but at some point, I lose hook-setting efficiency. So instead, I will use 14 or 17 pound mono to keep the Shallow A running only about a foot deep now. I could go to 20 or 25 pound test to burn it right at the top - a deadly technique particularly in the spring.

I am fortunate enough to have 3 or more crankbait rods rigged up with different line strengths to quickly make this change. I have extra spools for some reels and I may keep another reel handy to also swap out if I think I need it. You don't have to get this complicated if it seems complicated,

I mostly want to point out how line is a tool to use properly like any other tool. I use graphite All Star crankbait rods now mostly for their softer action, but still better sensitivity and reaction for ripping through weeds (we seem to have a lot in Michigan :) so I won't normally through super line.

I do throw fluorocarbon with my crankbaits at times though - again when I need the properties it provides - a denser thinner line that therefore provides a higher strength than similar thickness mono that will dive deeper than the mono because it is thinner and denser. In general, a crankbait will dive 10 to 20% deeper with the same pound test fluorocarbon verses mono.

I still have a little stretch, but fluorocarbon is more sensitive than mono so it is also good for cold water and/or ripping through weeds or other cover. Weeds in particular can ruin a lot of casts while ripping a lure correctly through weeds can put a lot of fish on the hook.

This is a just a summary of how I use line with all lures, not just crankbaits, but the right line for the right crankbait job in particular can really make the difference between a bite or two verses the fishing day of a lifetime. I've seen it happen. More than once. On those days when someone is kicking my tail with a crankbait, the first thing I look at is the line.

[fishon1219]

Well said DJK