Wheeler's cranking approach for fall and winter
by Major League Fishing 4 Dec 2024 11:03 PST
Even in the jighead minnow era, Mercury pro Jacob Wheeler still catches plenty of fall and winter bass on good, old-fashioned crankbaits © Rob Matsuura / Major League Fishing
These days, it can feel impossible to talk about bass fishing without also talking about forward-facing sonar and soft-plastic minnows rigged on jigheads. However, one of the most traditional, tried-and-true techniques can still produce, especially at this time of year — throwing a crankbait.
According to Bass Pro Tour star Jacob Wheeler, cranking a plug is a great way to catch bass in the late fall and winter. That doesn't necessarily mean mindlessly chunking and winding down a bank, though — like everything he does, the Mercury pro is highly technical with his crankbaits and places an extreme emphasis on precision casting and boat positioning, which allow him to get more bites.
Make your crankbait work for you
A crankbait is not a secret lure — everyone reading this likely has plenty of them, with tackle boxes full of everything from squarebills to magnum deep divers. Even though we all have them, Wheeler believes many anglers are not maximizing the power of crankbaits or casting them in the right areas during the fall and winter.
"I think a lot of anglers know the power of crankbaits this time of year, but most just cast and wind them around without a purpose," the three-time Fishing Clash Angler of the Year said. "This is a time of year when many of our lakes are a bit lower, so one of the biggest things is finding those key areas and taking your time. It's not just cranking down the bank, but more about being more precise with your casts and making multiple casts to the same targets."
OK, so what are those focal points? It varies from lake to lake, according to Wheeler, but he said there are some key themes that tend to hold true across the country.
"Most of the best places are small areas on channel banks or little channel swings," he explained. "I'm not talking about a 200-yard stretch of riprap, because there may only be three or four good areas on that whole stretch. Most of the best areas will be something with 'crunchier' bottom, whether that's little rock piles or some wood that your bait can deflect off of. When you find that, that's the juice, and you really need to take your time there and make several casts from different angles."
When throwing a crankbait, Wheeler is always moving his boat closer to and farther from the shore according to the contour of the bank. Doing so allows the bait to contact the bottom and thus do its job.
"On deeper stretches, I like to get my boat right on the bank to make those parallel casts," he said. "The way many of these places are, you could be going down the bank one way, and your bait's not hitting anything, but you get just the right angle and are hitting bottom. No matter where you're at, taking the time and putting more thought into every cast will get you more fish."
Finding the 'juice' and picking the right bait
Wheeler speeds up the process of finding likely areas by using his electronics but also goes old-school and looks around for transition areas and rocky banks. Both approaches help him find key spots faster than just cranking along until he stumbles across something productive.
"I used to be the guy who would find a bank and just go, but you'll have a better chance with a little research," he said. "You'll need some sort of mapping, whether it's C-Map or Navionics, to find those channel banks, but you can also see steeper banks and little 'push outs' on the map that are likely to have these better areas. That takes some of the guesswork out of it."
Once he finds a likely spot, Wheeler again emphasizes the need for multiple casts at different angles.
"If you can hit a little corner or something with the bait, make multiple casts to get it to deflect at different angles," he said. "Your retrieve speed is also very important for generating bites. I fish fast when it's still warm and start to mix in the stop-and-go retrieves as it gets colder."
For colors, Wheeler keeps it simple. He believes profile and speed are the most important factors.
"Trying several different baits will tell you what sort of action they want," he said. "I'm not big on a bait having to perfectly imitate a shad or crawfish, because the best areas are ambush spots to feed, and they will eat whatever is available. I'm not big on one color being that much better because it has a yellow stripe down the side or a red throat. I only think about switching up colors if they're short-striking the bait and you aren't hooking all of them, but switching to a different bait style can also help with that sometimes."
Regarding baits, Wheeler uses plenty. He'll often have several rigged up and ready at the same time, as he says there really isn't one bait that can do it all. The primary variables he uses to pick the right plug are depth and water clarity.
"In that 3- to 5-foot zone, if the water is a little more stained, I'll throw a Rapala OG Rocco No. 5 or a squarebill. That square lip deflects off of everything and is the four-wheeler of the crankbait world," he said. "If the water is a little clearer or cooler, I like flat-sided baits like anOG Tiny, and a DT6 if it's slightly deeper. But, what I like most about crankbaits is that they make them for so many different depths, and they are the ultimate search bait for fall fishing."