Few presentations trigger bass strikes more effectively in shallow water than quickly retrieving a rod thumping, wide wobbling, and shallow diving crank bait. The lure looks so inviting that no active bass and most inactive bass can resist its appeal. Patrick Pierce, B.A.S.S. and FLW touring pro from Jacksonville, Florida, uses shallow cranks as one of his primary tools to bring quality sacks to the scales, especially during the fall.

Typical fall water clarity is clear to stained, and in these conditions Patrick chooses flat-sided lures, such as the Tennessee Killer, Sisson Skinny P Shallow, or any of the Flat Shad shallow running baits. Under sunny conditions, he stays with natural shad colors, such as white with a grey, blue, or green back. On cloudy days, he opts for chartreuse/blue back (homer), chartreuse/brown back, or fire tiger. This time of year, a tropical storm can quickly muddy his destination lake. Patrick’s go-to baits in muddy or heavily stained water include round-bodied balsa baits with a square bill, such as a Lee Sisson Premium Balsa Shallow 1 or Shallow 2, Bagley’s Balsa B2, Lucky Craft RC 1.5, or Flat Shad Baits OB2. In such low visibility he chooses chartreuse/black back, white/black back, or silver foil/black back colors. If the baitfish are unusually small, he uses a Bandit 200 in the same colors.

When chunking the flat-sided baits, Patrick uses a 6.5-foot medium or medium-light action graphite bait casting outfit with a 6:1 ratio reel spooled with 14 or 17-lb test Sufix Siege monofilament. For the larger, round-bodied lures, he chooses a 7-foot medium action fiberglass or fiberglass-graphite composite “cranking” bait casting outfit. Onto this longer rod, he seats a 6:1 ratio reel spooled with 20-lb test Sufix Siege. This is a power presentation, especially in off-color water, so he leaves his finesse tackle and light line stowed.

“Plan on retying your Sufix frequently because fishing heavy cover punishes your line. You don’t want damaged line when an 8-pounder jumps on your plug,” Patrick stated. Patrick is generally looking for shallow wood, stumps, or rocks that provide good ambush points for bass. He fishes shallow crank baits fast with short, accurate, underhand casts, trying to deflect the baits off cover. He makes repeated casts to each piece of cover from multiple angles.

 “Some days they eat your lure on the first cast, but other days it takes multiple casts to draw a strike. The key is to determine whether it is a day to put the Minn Kota trolling motor on high or slow down and thoroughly work the cover,” Patrick shared.

Experimenting with different baits and colors is essential. If you go more than 10-15 minutes without a bite, change something. Some days you have to match the hatch with natural colors and sizes, while on other days, the bright colors and larger “thumper” baits will draw more strikes.

A good pair of sunglasses, such as Patrick’s favorite Costa Del Mar polarized glasses, will help you see underwater stumps and rocks that other anglers overlook. These subtle spots are generally the best, as they do not get pounded like the more obvious shoreline spots.

If you find a productive area but the bite slows, leave it alone for an hour or two, then come back. Shad can be very skittish, and you can spook them out of a pocket or into deeper water turning off the bite. Give that area a little rest and it will often turn on the bite again.

As the water cools this fall, move shallow, tie on your shallow water crank baits, and get some incredible reflex strikes. After you watch a 5-pound bass engulf your lure, you will want to add this power-fishing presentation to your arsenal.

Bert Deener is a licensed captain and a fisheries biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

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