I'd like to try pulling cranks but I don't have any. If you guys only had a little money to invest what brand and color would you buy? I think I'm good with the rod holders and rods that I have now.
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I'd like to try pulling cranks but I don't have any. If you guys only had a little money to invest what brand and color would you buy? I think I'm good with the rod holders and rods that I have now.
Pico and Geezer Clown
Northwoods in Pinconning Michigan has all sorts of cranks at or below wholesale. I run size 4 and 5 flicker shad and I think they had them for 2.37 each. We purchase 90% of our cranks from there.
Look online for unpainted cranks. I ordered some awhile back, I think it was a 25 pack for $15 or $20 . It took a month for them to get here . Typing this reminds me, I need to paint them.
Arkie's are probably the cheapest production baits. Color --- something with pink or an orange stripe on it's belly.
Picos.....my favorite colors are
Geezer Clown
Chrome Clown
Zombie
Bone Orange
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Go to any local "swap meets" and you can usually pick up a variety of "gently used" cranks for a few $ each.
Check the bargain bins at Wally World or other such outlets that carry fishing equipment.
Watch for sales at Academy, Sportsmans, Cabelas, BPS, etc.
Keep your eye on the Classifieds of this site.
Enter the site sponsor contests that contain cranks in their prize outlay.
Just checked them out and was a little irritated that they do not sell flickers online.Quote:
Originally Posted by wicklundrh
Bass pro has bandit on sale. Grizzly jig or get a hold of John Beshear he had a good deal on Arkie
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But I’ll be honest I’ve not had the best of luck pulling cranks on rough river.
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Arkie cranks! They are pretty cheap on grizzly jig... depends on your water on what colors
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I had real good luck yesterday with crankbaits from Walmart, I was like you and didn't want to put a whole lot of money into it to start with, so I bought the 2 dollar ones from Walmart in several different colors, and caught around 20 yesterday on them, 14 keepers
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About all I do down here in NC is pull cranks for crappie. I usually pull bandits, but bass pro has very nice cranks just a little bigger for usually under $2. They dive about the same as the bandit 300s. I have a few arkies, but like my bandits. I always have pink, black, orange and silver on they try a few others like yellow, white, etc. Pink and black are my two top performers with orange coming in a close third. If I start hitting the white perch or white bass, silver tops the others. The cats that always seem to hit prefer the orange for some reason. Good luck, I love it. By the way if you get the bug, there is not budget cranking. I bet I have 120 cranks and still sometimes don't seem to have what I need. lol.
I tried looking up that Northwoods place but couldn't find it. They have a web site? I've got a few crank baits but haven't used them yet. Mostly smaller one's for bass but found some really small one's in Wal Mart for under two bucks. Got to try trolling, never done it for anything.
Go get some of these. Blue chrome, black chrome, anything with chartruse, crawfish colors. Shipping kinda slow but worth the wait. Good baits and same blanks most custom painters are painting.
Aliexpress.com : Buy wLure 10cm 15g 4 5 Meter Diving Wild 45 degree Wobble 2 #4 Black Nickle Hooks Over 20 Colors ABS Construction Fishing Lure C55 from Reliable fishing lure suppliers on wLure Official Store
This guy offers different colors in his kits and sends them out in crank box ready to go.
Arkie 350 cranbait set wit box 12 pc set | eBay
Northwoods
Northwoods Wholesale Outlet
Size 7 Flicker shad... 1.99 28,000 available
BERKLEY FLICKER SHAD SIZE 7 - IN STORE SPECIAL! $1.99 WHILE 28,000 LAST! - Northwoods Wholesale Outlet
The new jointed flicker
BERKLEY FLICKER SHAD SIZE 7 - JOINTED - IN STORE SPECIAL! $2.99 - Northwoods Wholesale Outlet
Understand that they have so much stuff here they cannot possibly list it all. All you have to do is shoot them a call and they will get you a price. Trust me when I tell you they have every flicker shad and minnow made.
They also carry Millenium products cheaper than you can purchase direct from them. $80 dollar line counter reels for 50 bucks, trolling rods for 8 bucks. This place buys in bulk. And by bulk, it isn't like your local store that gets 100 of them and has a sale. They have more products than the manufacturers normally do.
You just have to look in the right spotQuote:
Originally Posted by Atimm693
And if you fall in love with it check your local academy sports in oct-nov and stock up when they're really cheap
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The least expensive website is below. The crankbait most used is the C55, which resembles the larger Bandits. For painted ones they get $1.89 a piece. I have heard that the hooks supplied are not of the highest quality, but they are adequate though.
You can also get them unpainted - UPC255 - you will have to get split-rings and treble hooks which they also sell. You will have to go to the website off and on as they sell out of some colors. If you really get into cranking you can get an inexpensive air-brush and compressor and roll your own.
wLure - More Saving, Move Fishing
Strike King - Walmart
Green
Thanks everybody. That's some great information!
Im new to cranking also. Im just getting started. I have collected almost 50 cranks in the last month. I found a bunch of bandits and strike king 3xd in my local pawn shop and gave $2.75 a piece. I also try and buy at least 1 bandit 300 or 200 every trip to Walmart I make. Bass Pro had strike king 3xd on sale couple weeks ago for 40% off. I had a gift card and spent it all on cranks lol.
Cranks don’t work as well here but the time I spent in Tn was great to pull em. I used bandits to start and still have a few. Bought the c255 from wlure and never looked back. Now most of what I have are what I painted. Better hooks and rings on mine, and a much better clear coat. What I will say is to not load up on things not recommended. What looks close might not do near as well as the good stuff. Pink, red, black, sexy shad, and a sleeper of mine that is no longer a secret, chartreuse with a glitter purple back. Good luck and I’m sorry for your bank account.
What is the difference between a Crappie Bandit and a Bandit 300?
Cranks on a limited budget :Rofl It's an illness and the only cure is to buy more !
They use different paint schemes. Crappie will bite either one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clint
This place is definitely a great resource if you can paint your own baits because the unpainted ones are very cheap......even the ones that are already painted are cheap. The key is to sign up for their email list, they send out an email every few weeks with sale items and discount codes. The only drawback is that it takes a while to get them since they ship out of China.
I was surprised that they even have other style baits for cheap - their Alabama rigs for bass are quite nice and cheaply priced.
How much can you buy a cheap sprayer for and where do you get them?
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Harbor Freight has an inexpensive setQuote:
Originally Posted by Nutbush
Search Results For "airbrush"
But if you go to Michael's Craft website you can usually pick up a 50% off coupon and get a Air Brush and compressor for only a little bit more.
Michaels
If you check Youtube there are a gazillion videos of techniques for painting lures.
If you get into cranking you will want a good airbrush as it will pay for itself and as an added bonus give you something to do when it is too cold to fish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clint
Too cold to fish? lol
It's okay to go cheap, but don't go too cheap. It's all about control of the spray, and the cheaper ones aren't as sensitive which makes it harder to control the spray.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nutbush
I've had an Iwata Eclipse gravity feed for about ten years now. I think I spent about $120 on it, and then I have no idea how much I've spent on paint and additional accessories. I researched online and found mine from an online art supply store for a lot cheaper than other places. I think Hobby Lobby carries the Iwata brand now, so you might check with them. Hobby Lobby is where I get my paint and accessories.
The coating is always a subject of debate. I use the Devcon 2-ton epoxy, which goes on a bit thicker and requires a turning wheel to cure, but it cures much harder than others and can withstand a lot more use/abuse than other methods. Dick Nite is another one, a little more expensive, but easier to use as you just dip the bait in it and go. KBS Diamond is another good one, it's about like the Dick Nite where all you do is dip into the can, but it's really expensive and hard to seal the can back up; they make it in a spray can, and I've been aiming to try that but haven't been painting much lately.
It's an ordeal to get started in, and takes a lot of learning and practice, but it is a very rewarding thing to do and a great stress relief. It's very handy to have bait colors that no one else has, or be able to paint discontinued color patterns that you love.
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