Crankbaits are one of the most popular hard body lures in North American angling today. They have proven to be successful with plenty of different species like bass, walleye, and bluegill. But it can be difficult to sort through the hundreds of different brands and colors available on the market to find one that suits your requirements.
I have put together a buyer’s guide of all of the important differences you will find when researching crankbaits such as the depth, weight, color, hook quality, and size.
After that, I have found the best crankbaits available on the market for the most popular fish species like trout, crappie, and pike. I have fished with hundreds of different lures across many years of angling and have put together this list of my favorites.
Table of Contents
1. Best Overall Crankbait – Truscend Fishing Lures
The truscend fishing lure is a must-have for beginner and experienced anglers alike. It comes in a variety of different colored packs, which helps you to put the favorite bait in front of that hungry fish.
The multi-jointed body makes it swim a lot more realistically than solid hard body crankbaits.
What I Like About It
A big criticism of most crankbaits is the poor-quality hooks they come with. This Truscend lure comes with high-quality mustad hooks that will do the job of catching big fish.
It is suitable for a wide range of both freshwater and saltwater fish species including bass, yellow perch, walleye, pike, muskie, roach, and trout.
Depth: 3-5 feet
2. Best Crankbait for Bass – Strike King Pro-Model 8XD Crankbait
If you are looking for a good crankbait for bass fishing, then look no further than the Strike King Pro-Model. This is a favorite of anglers all over North America.
What I Like About It
It is lightweight and easy to cast long distances. It can also dive deep to 20 feet so gives you plenty of variety in depths throughout the water column.
The variety of colors will help you to attract bass in all different environments and seasons. We strongly recommended getting different colors in your tackle box so that you can keep changing until you find the color that happens to attract bass today. You never know exactly what they will be looking for, so make sure you have options.
Specifications
- Size: 5 1/2 inches long
- Weight: 1 1/3 ounces
- Depth: 20 feet
- Color Range: Wide range of 24 different and popular colors
3. Best Crankbait for Walleye – Rapala Original Floating
The best walleye crankbait available today is the same as it was years ago, the Rapala Original Floating Lure. This lure has stood the test of time and consistently puts bait in front of hungry fish.
What I Like About It
They don’t dive super deep but have one of the most natural-looking swimming actions around. There are also plenty of varieties with #11 being a common favorite.
This rapala lure has probably caught more walleye over the years than most other crankbaits combined.
4. Best Crankbait for Crappie – Sunlure Topwater
Sunlure makes these brilliant little lures for crappie. They come in packs of 10 and 20 so you can get a large variety of 10 different colors without spending a fortune. They are available in two sizes and weights, to help to mimic the baitfish.
What I Like About It
The colorful bodies will help to attract crappie even in low visibility conditions. The lure is made from hard plastic and has carbon steel treble hooks.
These are small lures for small fish so don’t be surprised when you see them.
5. Best Crankbait for Trout – Trout Magnet
This trout magnet crankbait is famous for being effective, and I would suggest it will be for you as well.
It contains rattles within the body to provide a noise attractant to let the trout know the bait is there.
What I Like About It
It is evenly waited to help it stay at a fixed level even when stopped. There are also some brilliant natural-looking colors that will help you either blend in or stand out with the baitfish.
It is useful for catching all species but it is particularly good on trout as previously mentioned.
- Size: 2 1/2 inches long
- Depth: 2-4 feet
6. Best Crankbait for Pike – Rapala Super Shad
Unlike most of the other lures we have shown here, this crankbait is made from durable wood. Its baitfish profile and color pattern make it almost indistinguishable underwater. The hardware and hooks are heavy-duty to make sure it doesn’t slip under a hungry fish bite.
What I Like About It
Each lure is hand-tuned and tank-tested before being shipped, so you know you will receive a crankbait that works. It is made with stainless steel through wire. It is built to withstand the bite and strike of big saltwater tarpon, so you know it will survive a pike battle.
This is a mid-depth lure bait. With all Rapala made lures you will have success for years to come with this model.
- Size: 5.5 inch
- Weight: 1 5/8 ounces
- Depth: 5-9 feet
7. Best Crankbait for Bluegill – Teeny Wee Crawfish
This Rebel Lures mimics a fleeing crawfish and is available in 9 brilliant colors. Teeny Wee is right, this is an ultralight and ultra-small lure that will help you to entice hungry bluegill into taking a bite. At around 1.5 inches long, this is a wee little crankbait.
What I Like About It
This has a distinctive quivering motion that will attract bluegill in clear waters and rivers. It also has a hard plastic body that can withstand the bites of fish for years to come.
These are popular with kayak fishing and can catch a variety of species including bass, trout, and sunfish. There are also two different models with different depths so you can adjust depending on where the fish are sheltering.
8. Best Crankbait for Catfish – wLure Minnow Crankbait
Including a free tackle box, this minnow crankbait will help you catch some good-sized catfish. There are over 24 different colors and styles so you can switch it up if the fish aren’t biting.
What I Like About It
These lures are also very low cost as they come directly from the manufacturer in China. I would suggest buying more than you need in case of poor quality, but at these prices, it is still good value. You can probably buy a whole box of these for the price of a single lure from other manufacturers.
And surprisingly they come with good quality, sharp hooks that you won’t need to replace.
- Size: 3 1/2 inches long
- Weight: 3/8 ounces
- Depth: Shallow
Crankbait Buyer’s Guide
What is the Difference between a Crankbait and a Jerkbait?
When to Use a Crankbait?
How to Use a Crankbait?
Crankbait Size
Crankbait Weight
Crankbait Color
Crankbait Depth
Conclusion
That brings us to the end. I hope you have found out some new information about lures, such as when to use them and when not to. You will also have seen some of the most popular crankbaits available on the market today. Having a variety of different sizes, depths, and color lures available in your tackle box will allow you to change things up until you find what the fish are hungry for today.
There is also plenty of information available to explain more about how crankbaits work and when to use them on the Vermont fishing website.
If you have experience with catching fish using crankbaits then we would love to hear your advice in the comments below. This will allow all anglers to learn and improve their skills. If you have any particular lures or colors that you have had success with in the past, then please pass along your recommendations. We are always looking for new lures to try.
Happy fishing!
Last update on 2022-11-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
