One feature that anglers often look for when picking out a crankbait is whether or not it "hunts." No doubt, the wandering side to side action can increase strikes. And, while some crankbaits hunt right out of the box, there are endless ways to modify a crankbait to make it hunt and change it's action. Below are some of my thoughts and tips on this topic.
In general, round bills tend to run truer (straight line) and square bills tend to "hunt," wander off left and right a little.
Speed alone can make a crankbait hunt. Although some baits run true no matter how fast or slow you reel it in, others start to hunt at a certain speed--either by reeling faster or slower.
There was a time that I made extreme modifications (e.g. completely swapping out the bill and/or filing it to change its shape, adding suspend dots/strips, drilling holes and filling with epoxy, etc.) to make the actions of my crankbaits "one-of-a-kind" to get more strikes. Now I try to keep the essence of a bait's original action and make it hunt just a little by changing the size and/or configuration of its hooks.
It depends on the size and shape of the bait, but by making the rear hook larger than the belly hook can make the bait hunt more on the retrieve. That being said, sometimes the opposite can also be true--it's all trial and error. I tend to downsize my hooks, so in certain situations, I leave the rear hook stock and replace the belly hook with a smaller hook to give my bait a little more hunting action.
Sometimes the best way to get a wilder (Z shape) or a more subtle (lazy S shape) hunting action from your crankbait is by simply removing one of the hooks. If I were a tournament angler, I would probably never do this because of the chance of losing a fish; however, for pond fishing, getting more strikes is worth the trade off in my opinion.
In some ways, modifying your bait to make it hunt, is similar to modifications made to a car for drift racing. Those racers modify their cars so they can get them to drift more easily and skillfully control something that is almost out of control. While throwing crankbaits with a lot of hunting action can be fun, be aware that sometimes the overly erratic action can be too much and scare fish away, especially in highly pressured ponds. I learned this "more action is not always better concept" when fishing for trout. Sometimes they prefer the unpredictable erratic wobble of a spoon and other times they don't strike anything except for a spinner on a smooth straight retrieve; bass and crankbaits are similar. So, my last bit of advice is always have fun experimenting out on the water with your crankbaits and keep an open mind.
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