It's four-thirty in the morning and soon the sun will glisten off a dead-calm bay with highs in the 70s and water temps in the 60s, a perfect day for fishing. You mentally prepare yourself for some great shallow water action and the approach to bring in your day's catch.
In a situation like this, I've come to appreciate the approach of fishing shallow water transition points. The fish are moving through these staging areas in higher numbers and feeding is a necessity. The bait is usually chased and attacked. In this situation, I have come to love fishing shallow-running cranks. Not just any old crankbait, but a MegaBait crank with a prism finish and true running straight from the package to the fish.
In these transition areas, water is usually anywhere from 4-10 feet deep and extends to points, rock or gravel humps. The fish have come from a spawn area (females) and are usually recovering. Another simultaneous situation is going on, and that is the second wave of fish going into spawn, making for a bonanza of fishing and a perfect setting for the MegaBait Cranks.
Bait: The bait of choice when fishing a transition point is the MegaCrank 50 or MegaCrank 65. The 50 runs 4-6 ft and the 65 runs 6-8 ft deep. Fished on 10lb test line the bait runs true to depth and tight on its wiggle.
Fishing with a slow retrieve, this bait will dig in quickly and pulse on a tight wiggle that will drive bass to strike. Because of the tight wiggle, the slow retrieve will actually give it a lethargic presentation and the big transition females will notice it is just enough to run down and clobber. Fan casting the point and varying from deep to shallow and nicking up into weeds and vegetation is key in putting this bait right where a big fish is. These fish are moving around to find bait, but also can be hanging on the bottom in recovery. Movement and varying cast angles will increase your success.
Color: The MegaCrank comes in 9 colors and I have found all are of natural color and forage types and work well in all bodies of water, from the river to lakes and larger reservoir watersheds. My color preference is the green back and chartreuse belly, easily seen by the bass, and works well in overcast or sunny conditions.
Truly a gem in the crank market today, after months of on-the-water testing and targeted conditions, the staff found the Mega-Crank from MegaBait a top choice for shallow water approaches.