Crankbaits come in a lot of different varieties ranging from the flat sided and flat bodied, or lipless crankbaits, as well as the fatter broad bodied style of billed crankbaits. Both types have their own place and time, and depending on the environment that you are fishing in, you are going to want to test which has it’s place on that given day. Fish tend to change their minds a lot, and could be keying in on baitfish one day, while picking off crustaceans on the bottom the next, so ensuring that you remain versatile is key.

There are a lot of different ways to fish crankbaits, but for the most part you are going to want them to appear out of nowhere, either by means of bringing them over a ledge, or by running them across where an eager fish is waiting for a meal. To get the ultimate strikes from fishing with a crankbait, try banging the plastic bill up against a submerged piece of structure and allowing it to deflect off. This method doesn’t work quite as well with lipless crankbaits because of the large plastic bill on the front of fat bodied lures giving them the ability to bounce off and quickly recover. It doesn’t matter where you are fishing, or what you are fishing for, if you give the lure a pause after it bangs against something and then continue reeling, you are going to feel hits as solid as a freight train.

For the most part, these lures aren’t really expensive. You could easily get every crankbait you needed for less than $30 and be ready to go fishing. During the spring and fall seasons, fish are actively feeding on smaller baitfish so this is going to be the best time to get use out of that $30 investment. You can get away with using them year round however, the best times that I have found in the types of waters that I like to fish are using them during the spring or fall periods in the year. If you are planning to learn a little bit more about crankbait fishing, you may want to consider picking up a lure banger, or something that can help you dislodge the bait if it gets hung up on something your plowing it through.

There is a little trick when you are fishing with crankbaits and get it lodged onto something. Instead of pulling hard against the lure trying to dislodge it, while only burying the hooks deeper into the structure, try taking the rod in one hand and tightening down the slack. Next, between the reel and first eyelet, grab the line and pluck it like a guitar string. Make sure your hand holding the rod and reel is steady because the action you are placing on it will cause it to move. Plucking the string a few times will cause the crankbait to free itself, allowing you to reel it in and try again. This has been a lifesaver for those times when the fish have only wanted my expensive custom crankbaits.

In Finland during Lauri’s time, anglers were actively competing in daily fishing competitions, so he knew that he had just found himself an advantage. He knew that other anglers had never seen a lure like this, let alone the fish. Originally starting with the materials he had readily available, his initial tests didn’t turn out quite as he had hoped. Because of this he wound up wrapping part of the lure with a thin aluminum foil that you can buy just about anywhere, and used some film negative paper to completely waterproof the wood and cork. This helped to add to the bouyancy of the lure, and gave him results that he could have never imagine. This became the first of the Rapala tournament fishing lures.

There have been a lot of productions since that first lure put Lauri Rapala on the map. Once he shared his findings with other anglers, the idea took off like a rocket ship. He ended up having to hire more people to fulfill the demand placed on him, while ensuring that each and every lure still had the attention and quality to the details that his original tournament winning lure held. From 1936 onto the mid 1960′s, this was the only lure that Lauri ever produced. He started introducing other lineups in the mid 60′s on into the late 1980′s when he started releasing more crankbait style fishing lures.

The newer Rapala fishing lures are coming out quicker than anglers can get them in their box and test them, and this is a very good thing for Rapala, because the quality has never disappeared. From the early 1990′s onto the present day, they have began manufacturing tools and other fishing products for anglers to enjoy, and have began catering to niches such as saltwater fishing and ice fishing. The lineup of Rapala ice fishing lures has become amazing, with the baits being in freezing water and still able to maintain their lifelike appeal. Rapala fishing lures are here to stay, folks.