with Kevin VanDam
I pick the crankbaits I’m going to use by depth zones. My favorite 8-12 foot deep water crankbait is a Strike King Pro Model Series 5XD. There are many places that I fish where I find good cover, grass, rocks or some type of structure in that depth zone. Over the years, this crankbait has won multiple tournaments and a lot of money for me. This is the crankbait on which I first launched the Sexy Shad color. I always have one of these Series 5XD crankbaits tied on when I’m fishing the 8-12 foot depth zone.
Some of the best advice I could give any angler is to already have chosen the lures you will fish at each depth, and then you’ll be prepared once you learn the depth where the bass are holding that you’ll be fishing from your depth finder. For instance, when I fish water that’s deeper than 12 feet, one of the lures I will start with is the Strike King Pro Model 6XD, an extremely productive crankbait for offshore structure and especially for the hotter times of the year when the bass are holding in those deeper depth zones.
I like the Strike King Pro Model XD because it casts like a rocket taking off. This crankbait lets me make really long casts, and it gets down to that depth zone quickly. When the XD gets down into those deeper depths, it has an action that triggers bass to bite, allowing me to fish those deeper depth zones where most crankbaits won’t go. Although many anglers will choose a jig, a plastic worm or another quick-fall, hug-the-bottom type lure, I prefer to use this bigger crankbait in those depths. I know the bass that are down that deep probably haven’t seen as many deep-diving crankbaits as they have other lures.
