JACK WOLLITZ The right bait is important

The calendar is moving relentlessly toward the beginning of the new fishing season and many anglers are taking inventory of their tackle and lures.
The big question for those who have learned it's foolish to lug out every size, style and color in every lure category known to the fishing world is this: What baits are essential.
Crankbaits are among those essentials.
For many years, hard-body baits were known as plugs. Then, as bass anglers began to catch more and more fish with them, their style of fishing lent its name to the lures. Because the bass crowd tended to use the baits by heaving them out and cranking them back to the boat, hard baits became known as crankbaits.
Today, however, many walleye anglers also use the lures, but more often with trolling techniques than by casting and cranking.
For walleye and bass
Whether you crank them or drag them behind your moving boat, crankbaits are extremely productive choices for walleyes and bass. And it's overwhelmingly tempting to stock your tackle boxes with too many crankbaits.
It's smart, therefore, to make good decisions that streamline your crankbait selection - not only to avoid overloading the boat but to make it easy when you are deciding what lure to tie on out on the water.
To begin, consider the time of year and the speed of retrieve you believe will be most effective. Then consider the type of forage the fish are eating and the depth at which you suspect the fish are living.
In the spring, walleyes and bass are up in relatively shallow water. Many anglers, for instance, catch both species along the same stretches of bank at Mosquito and Pymatuning - often in water four feet deep or less.
Shallow-running baits
So it would make sense to take a selection of shallow-running baits out with you on spring-time trips. These might include lipless crankbaits like Rat-L-Traps and Cordell Spots. Other good choices are the shallow models of Shad Raps and the so-called "alphabet baits" made by Bomber, Bill Norman and A.C. Shiner.
As the season progresses and the walleyes and bass drop off toward the ends of points and main lake humps and ledges, anglers can add deep-diving models to their crankbait arsenals.
Color selection is another confounding variable. Again, it's tempting to carry enough colors to paint your own rainbow out on the lake.
Knowledgeable anglers, however, typically limit their choices to chartreuse (often used in stained water), shad and crawfish patterns. If the fish aren't hitting either of those three basic colors, they probably aren't interested in crankbaits at all.
Without a doubt, confidence plays a big role in an anglers ability to catch fish on a certain lure. That includes crankbaits.
Work it smarter
In other words, you will be more likely to catch fish on a lure that you really do believe will catch fish. You'll work it smarter and more thoroughly if you just know a fish will want to eat it.
Because I am supremely confident in them, I prefer three particular crankbaits: a Bomber Model 6A in firetiger color, a Norman Deep Little N in either chartreuse with blue back or Tennessee shad, and the A.C. Shiner Model 001 in silver and black.
The A.C. Shiner is for bouncing around wood cover in two to four feet of water. The Norman is for deeper fish -- 10 to 12 feet down. The firetiger Bomber is an all-around great choice for walleyes, smallies and largemouths when they are hanging around the bottom in six to eight feet of water.
Key to almost every crankbait technique is to get the lure to hit something during its presentation - whether it's the bottom or cover such as stumps and rocks. Bites often are triggered when the lure ricochets off something.
Notice the lure's action during a standard retrieve. It wiggles rapidly, and that itself signals a game fish that the bait is trying to flee and thus is vulnerable.
Taking advantage of the predator's instinct to pick off panicky prey is exactly what the crankbait is designed to do.
So stock up smartly and you'll find your own reliable baits. Keep your selection manageable and work them with confidence. They most definitely will produce when circumstances call for covering a lot of water.
jwwollitz@aol.com