Always use a crankbait that will dive deeper than the depth you’re fishing. You always want to be rooting up the bottom. A lot of times that will stir up the fish and get reaction strikes, even when they’re just down there with their bellies on the bottom and not wanting to eat.

Given all the different ranges that crankbaits will dive to, it’s a good idea to keep a variety handy. If I’m fishing, say, 5 to 7 feet deep, I’ll throw a Strike King Series 5, which runs about 10 feet deep. And many times I’ll throw a Strike King 6XD, which runs 20 feet deep, in 13 or 14 feet of water.

There are a few exceptions to that general rule. For instance, in a clear-water scenario where you’re fishing for smallmouths, you can burn a crankbait over them and that erratic action might make them come up and chase down the lure. Also, suspended largemouths can sometimes be coaxed into taking a crankbait coming through at their depth, though most of the time I’m probably going to give them something else. In general, however, it’s better for a crankbait to be digging bottom than just swimming along; nothing triggers strikes like a crankbait bouncing off the bottom and into a fish’s face.

—– Walmart pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark.