CoreyH Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 I went to a local pond yesterday to water test a few crankbaits I've made. I was pleasantly surprised by a few and disappointed in a few others. One issue I had with two different cranks was that if I throw the bait straight out and reel the bait back with my rod pointed at the bait, it swims well. But as soon as I cast perpendicular to the shore and have my rod not pointed at the bait but instead pointed out in front of me and bring the bait in to the right or the left, the bait wants to roll onto its side some and not run true. It doesn't matter the rate of retrieve either. It looks as though the line tie is straight, but I stupidly didn't have a pair of pliers with me to try bending it. Any ideas on what I should try first to correct this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenlures Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 First how far is the line tie from the nose of the bait, also it just might be the lip not grabbing enough of the water, what I mean is that your angle is a little off. The closer to the nose ill give you a tighter wobble the closer to the tip of the lip will give you a lure all over the place, but before you start changing get a set of pliers and adjust it first just to make sure that is not the problem. Send a picture plus type of lip you have on the bait. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 (edited) Could it be that when you have the rod pointed at the lure it creates a lower angle of the line to lure contact, while to the side straight out is making a shallower angle of attack, because the rod tip is higher? I know this can affect how deep the lure runs, but I don't know why this would affect how the lure swims. It's the only difference I can figure out between the two retrieves. Edited March 9, 2020 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted March 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 Mark, I found it odd as well, since either way that I cast, the line is still pulling the bait forward. I'd like to say it's coincidence but I casted more than a dozen times each way and the results were consistent. Wayne, the line tie is situated right above the lip (it's a squarebill) and I have other similar baits that don't have this issue. Since I'm new to this, I also wondered if the bait is not symmetrical and that's what is causing the problem. Just using the eyeball test, it appears to be symmetrical though. I'll have to mess around with bending the line tie and see if that helps. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenlures Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 Looking straight at the nose look at the lip it might have a slight angle left or right. Wayne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 Ok this one I am a little stumped unless you hold your rod tip higher off the water when reeling with your rod held to the side The lures do need adjusting but pics would really help on this one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted March 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 After looking closely at the bait, I'm thinking that the lip is just slightly off and isn't completely straight. I'm going to mess with the line tie to make sure, but if that doesn't fix it I'm going to figure it's the lip. Thanks for the suggestions and help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimb8s Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Maybe not enough weight in the belly ? Sounds like a productive trip and learning experience , keep after it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
