On the flipside, the crankbait's built-in hooking mechanism is one of the several traits that makes the hard body such a deadly fishing lure. Most of the problems that arise in crankbait fishing stem solely from a lack of education on the subject. And believe me, there is much to know. Crankbaits are generally constructed from featherweight balsa wood, cedar or hard plastic. Although there are some innovative novelty lures out there, most crankbaits intended for bass fishing generally take the shape of some sort of forage source such sunfish, shad or crawfish.
Manufacturers place a plastic lip just beneath the nose on most crankbaits.
The bill creates resistance when the lure is pulled through the water, thus causing the lure to dive nose first at an angle below the surface. The length, shape and angle of the bill dicate the maximum depth to which the lure is capable of diving. Crankbaits with long bills will naturally dive deeper than those with shorter, more compact bills. Crankbaits armed with a slender bill will naturally have a faster, tighter wobble than one with a wider bill. And believe me, the type of wobble a lure yields can make a big difference in the number of strikes it'll draw from lake to lake, and day to day.