Why use mini crankbaits
Every experienced ultralight angler can tell you that micro crankbaits are excellent for catching a lot of fish, on a consistent basis. These tiny baitfish replicas are perfect for targeting tight lipped, line weary fish especially when the predator fish are in the mood for a quick bite. If you’ve ever used micro crankbaits though, you can probably attest to the fact that the hooks included on most models are simply not up to snuff. In fact, on most models you can actually end up bending the light wire hooks if your drag is set too heavy. This is a recipe for disaster whether you’ve just caught your first fish of the day or the fishing is on fire.
Adjusting your crankbaits
You can keep these problems from happening to you by making a few small adjustments to the design of your ultralight crankbaits. The biggest way to improve these tiny lures is by changing out the snap rings on the bottom side of the bait. You can put on slightly heavier models that will hold onto your hooks better and give you a much better action when the bait is moving through the water column.
Using heavier treble hooks
Another way to improve the performance of the lures is to swap out the super-light wire treble hooks that are included in favor of some heavier, but still lightweight trebles. While you’ve got the hooks and snap rings off, you might want to test different setups such as a single rear treble hook, a front treble hook and a rear wide gap hook, or even take off both trebles and replacing the rear with a wide gap trailer hook. The different hook setups will give the lure a different wobble underneath the water, and some setups will cause it to run lower or higher in the water column, depending on the amount of weight that’s attached to it.
The next time you’re out on the water, give these changes a shot and see for yourself how much they improve the performance of your ultralight crankbaits.
