Baron Fork float 1/29/2021

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The two lures I caught fish with:

The jig was a 1/2 oz finesse jig with a watermelon colored skirt with a  3.75" Hi-Def Golden Craw and the crankbait was a Rapala BX BRAT 3' Depth.

The two lures that caught fish for Dad were:  

- Rage Menace Grub in Green Pumpkin Purple Swirl with a 1/8 oz jig head and a Z-Man TRD HogZ in Molting Craw color with a 1/16 oz jig head.

Crankbait Madness

    Since I started paying attention to what lures work best depending on the season, I decided to make more of an effort to throw crankbaits this time of year. Prior to a few months ago, I was convinced crankbaits were a waste of money. It seemed all too easy to lose them whether catching on a log and having to break off or even breaking off on a fish. However, after doing extensive research, I decided that using crankbaits is a worthwhile endeavor. I am not an experienced crankbait user, but prior to this float, I had a vague idea of what I wanted. The most practical option seemed to be a short squarebill. The point of the short squarbill was to not go too deep. My fear of losing an expensive crankbait was slightly lessened by the idea that it wasn't as likely that the lure would get caught on the bottom. Also, I primarily fish rivers, so there is more shallow water habitat then if I were fishing lakes. 

    The Rapala BX BRAT's is well carved, making it look like a passible red crayfish. Clearly the bass in the Baron Fork were convinced that it was a red crayfish because the BRAT produced better then any other lure that day. I think this was mostly due to the type of water I was fishing. It was a backwater and not remotely clear by Baron Fork standards which gave bass the element of ambush. The frantic motion of the little crankbait was exactly what these fish were keying into. By casting with the wind and retrieving against the current, the lure performed the desired action. Using this tactic repeatedly produced bites particularly in one place that is featured in the video. I believe this lure was effective at that place because it was not too deep and had the right ratio of vegetation to rock.

    Along with my new found confidence in a crankbait, I have also recently discovered the advantages of using braided line. For a while now, braid had been something that I considered. But only a few days ago did I decide to switch to it. I must say, the combination of 10 lbs braid with an 8 lbs fluorocarbon leader worked wonders with the crankbait. I felt like I was in control on every hookset and while reeling in each fish.

   If you have any interest in trying the BRAT and want to know what it looks like, I am adding a picture of it to my "Lures" post. I am going to continue using crankbaits throughout the month of February and I hope you do the same! Thank you for reading, now get to fishing!


    Baron Fork underwater footage

    I wanted to finish off with underwater footage of rock types/formations at the bottom of the Baron Fork. Who knows, you might even see a fish if you look close enough!







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