Rick Clunn’s Crankbait Fishing System: Making Every Cast Count
There is a significant difference between covering water and understanding water. Two bass anglers can fish the same shoreline, throw nearly identical crankbaits, and make roughly the same number of casts, yet finish the day with completely different results. One angler is simply trying to put a lure in front of a willing fish. The other is constantly gathering information, evaluating conditions, and developing a better understanding of where bass are positioned and what it takes to make them bite. That distinction is at the center of Rick Clunn’s approach to crankbait fishing, and it helps explain why the four-time Bassmaster Classic champion has remained one of the most influential thinkers in competitive bass fishing.
Clunn has spent decades refining a system built around fish behavior rather than personal preference. His philosophy is that anglers devote far too much attention to the things they enjoy thinking about, such as lure colors, rods, reels, and tackle selection, while failing to concentrate on what the fish are actually doing. Those mechanical decisions certainly have their place, but once they are made, the angler’s attention needs to shift to understanding the water. Where are the bass positioned? What environmental factors are influencing their behavior? What presentation gives the angler the best opportunity to reach those fish and generate a strike? For Clunn, a crankbait is particularly valuable because it can help answer several of those questions while simultaneously catching fish.
This is the foundation of a productive crankbait fishing system. The objective is not simply to make more casts or cover more shoreline. It is to make each cast contribute to a developing understanding of the fishery. A cast that produces a bass provides obvious information, but a crankbait that encounters an unexpected piece of cover, identifies a depth change, or reveals a transition in bottom composition can be just as valuable to the overall process.
Breaking Down Water Before Choosing a Crankbait
One of Clunn’s most useful concepts is approaching a large body of water as though it were a farm pond. Rather than allowing the size of a reservoir to complicate his decisions, he breaks the lake into smaller, manageable sections and begins evaluating the conditions within each area. Visible cover often provides the starting point. Stumps, standing timber, vegetation, rocky banks, and windblown shorelines are all recognizable features that can be examined and eliminated as a pattern develops. If those visible targets fail to produce, his attention can shift toward less obvious structure such as submerged creek channels, brush piles, and changes in bottom composition.
This process is especially important on unfamiliar water. An angler who tries to fish every available type of cover will eventually spend more time running between locations than actually learning anything about the fish. Clunn’s approach is to develop an initial idea based on the available conditions and then test it. If bass appear to be using wood on windblown banks, the next step is to determine whether that relationship continues elsewhere. If the fish are not responding, the process of elimination continues until something begins to develop. The objective is to progressively narrow the number of variables rather than continually starting over with a completely different approach.
Environmental differences provide valuable clues throughout this process. Water clarity can vary considerably between the main lake and the backs of tributaries, while wind direction can make one shoreline significantly different from another. Current, sunlight, available forage, and seasonal conditions also influence how bass position around structure and cover. Clunn has long emphasized recognizing those differences because they often explain why one section of a lake produces while another seemingly identical area does not. Once the angler recognizes the conditions associated with productive water, the search becomes considerably more focused.
Choosing the Right Crankbait for the Job
Crankbait selection should support the objective of the angler rather than simply reflect personal preference. One of the more interesting aspects of Clunn’s system is how he approaches lure size depending on whether he is trying to locate fish or target larger bass. On unfamiliar water, a smaller crankbait may be the preferred starting point because its compact profile can generate more strikes. Those additional bites provide valuable feedback about whether bass are present, how they are positioned, and whether an area deserves more attention.
On familiar water, particularly when Clunn already knows that an area holds the size of fish he needs, his approach may be entirely different. A larger crankbait with greater body mass, a stronger wobble, and increased water displacement may be the better option for targeting quality bass. That decision comes with an important tradeoff. A larger lure may reduce the overall number of strikes, but the objective is not always to catch the greatest number of fish. Sometimes the goal is to identify the presentation that gives an angler the best opportunity to catch a larger bass. Understanding when to prioritize information and when to prioritize fish size is an important part of becoming a more effective crankbait fisherman.
Water clarity adds another dimension to lure selection. In clear water, bass have a greater opportunity to visually track a crankbait, making profile and movement important considerations. As visibility decreases, the fish may rely more heavily on their lateral line to detect movement and pressure changes in the surrounding water. Clunn places considerable importance on those sensory differences. A crankbait with a pronounced side-to-side action or greater water displacement may provide a stronger signal in stained water, while a more subtle presentation can be appropriate under other conditions. This is why changing lure color is not always the best response when water conditions change. Sometimes the more meaningful adjustment involves selecting a crankbait that moves differently.
The Livingston Lures RC Kicker series was developed around this understanding of crankbait performance. The objective was not simply to introduce another collection of crankbaits, but to provide anglers with tools capable of reaching productive depths and effectively working through the cover where bass are positioned. Depth, action, body size, and bill configuration all contribute to how a crankbait performs, and each characteristic becomes more important when the angler understands the specific problem the lure needs to solve.
Using a Crankbait to Understand What Is Underwater
One of the greatest advantages of crankbait fishing is the information a lure provides throughout the retrieve. A crankbait is constantly communicating with the angler, although recognizing that information requires experience and attention. Contact with rock feels different from contact with wood, and both are different from the gradual resistance encountered when a bait begins working through submerged vegetation. A crankbait that suddenly begins ticking bottom may reveal a change in depth, while an unexpected deflection can identify an isolated piece of cover that was previously unknown.
These details become particularly valuable when fishing unfamiliar areas or targeting submerged structure that cannot be seen from the surface. By paying attention to how the lure performs, an angler can begin developing a mental picture of the underwater environment. A series of casts might reveal where a rocky bottom transitions to softer sediment, how far a brush pile extends from the bank, or where submerged vegetation begins along a break. Once those features are identified, the angler can adjust casting angles and retrieve paths to work the most promising portions of the structure more effectively.
Clunn’s philosophy also challenges the tendency to avoid areas where crankbaits are likely to become hung up. During his fourth Bassmaster Classic victory on the James River, he recalled getting hung up 43 times while fishing cypress trees and cypress knees. He considered it one of the best days of execution he had experienced because he was consistently putting his crankbait into the cover where the fish were positioned. According to Clunn, avoiding that contact would have cost him the overwhelming majority of his strikes.
That experience illustrates a fundamental principle of crankbait fishing. Contact with cover is not necessarily a mistake, and getting hung up does not automatically indicate that an angler is fishing poorly. The real skill involves learning how to make deliberate contact while maintaining enough control to keep the lure fishing effectively. When a crankbait strikes a stump, rock, or other obstruction, its movement changes abruptly. The lure may kick sideways, hesitate, or change direction before resuming its original path. Those changes can trigger strikes from bass that might otherwise ignore a steady retrieve.
The RC Kicker was designed with this style of fishing in mind. Its bill configuration helps the bait deflect when it encounters cover, allowing anglers to fish aggressively around the structures bass use. However, even a well-designed crankbait requires an angler who understands how to control it. Casting angle, retrieve speed, rod position, and the amount of line in the water all influence how the lure contacts an obstruction and what happens afterward.
Developing the Feel That Makes Crankbait Fishing Effective
There is a level of crankbait fishing that cannot be learned simply by reading about techniques or watching someone retrieve a lure. Experienced anglers develop a feel for what their crankbait is doing, and that sensitivity allows them to make adjustments before a problem becomes obvious. Clunn has discussed slightly increasing retrieve speed as his crankbait approaches certain types of brush, helping the lure strike the obstruction and deflect through it. Around submerged vegetation, changes in rod position can help control how aggressively the lure digs into the cover. Raising the rod can reduce contact when the bait begins burying too deeply, while lowering it can help maintain contact when the lure is running too high.
Knowing how to respond when a crankbait begins to hang is equally important. Many anglers instinctively pull harder when the lure suddenly stops, but that reaction can make the situation worse. Clunn emphasizes that the bill may initially be responsible for the obstruction rather than the hooks. Pulling harder can drive the hooks into the cover and turn a temporary problem into a lost lure. Giving the bait slack and using controlled pops of the line can sometimes allow the crankbait’s buoyancy and bill design to help it back away from the obstruction. Line stretch can also play a role in this process, providing some of the movement needed to free the lure without continually increasing pressure.
These skills are developed through repetition, and they become increasingly important as anglers begin fishing more difficult cover. A fisherman who only throws crankbaits along clean banks may become proficient at casting and retrieving, but never fully develop the ability to recognize and control the lure around obstacles. Fishing wood, rock, brush, and vegetation teaches anglers to distinguish between productive contact and the warning signs of an impending snag. Over time, those experiences lead to better casting angles, more effective retrieves, and a greater willingness to put the lure into places where less experienced anglers are reluctant to fish.
Turning Individual Strikes Into a Repeatable Pattern
Catching a bass provides an immediate reward, but the information surrounding that strike can be far more valuable than the fish itself. Consider an angler who catches a bass after a crankbait deflects off a submerged stump on a windblown point. The obvious response is to make another cast to the same stump. A more complete approach is to evaluate the conditions that produced the strike and determine whether they might apply to other locations.
Was the bass holding on the windward side of the cover? Was the stump positioned near a depth change? Did the crankbait contact bottom before striking the wood, or was the fish triggered by the sudden deflection? Was the bass located on an isolated target or within a larger concentration of cover? Each answer helps define the circumstances surrounding the strike and provides a basis for testing similar locations.
This is where crankbait fishing becomes a system rather than a collection of individual catches. One strike may be coincidence, but repeated strikes associated with the same combination of conditions begin to establish a pattern. Perhaps the bass are consistently holding on submerged wood in four to six feet of water. Perhaps they are using rock transitions exposed to wind, or positioning along the outside edge of vegetation near deeper water. Once those relationships become apparent, the angler can stop treating every piece of shoreline as equally productive and begin concentrating on locations that share the characteristics of successful areas.
The same reasoning applies when a productive area stops producing. Instead of immediately abandoning the pattern or cycling through every lure in the tackle box, the angler can examine which conditions have changed. Wind direction may have shifted, water clarity may have deteriorated, or fish may have repositioned along the same structure. Changing crankbait depth, retrieve speed, or casting angle can provide useful feedback without completely abandoning the original approach. The important distinction is that each adjustment should have a reason behind it.
Clunn’s system is organized without being rigid. It depends on beginning with a concept, testing that concept against actual fish behavior, and allowing the information gathered throughout the day to guide subsequent decisions. The angler is not attempting to force fish into a predetermined pattern. He is using the available evidence to discover the pattern that exists under the current conditions.
Making Every Cast Count
Modern crankbait design has provided anglers with more options for reaching specific depths, producing different actions, and fishing difficult cover. The Livingston Lures RC Kicker reflects Rick Clunn’s experience in understanding what a crankbait must accomplish once it reaches the fish. Its design supports the aggressive contact, deflection, and depth control that are central to his approach, but the lure is only one part of the larger system.
The greater lesson is that successful crankbait fishing requires more than casting accuracy and confidence in a particular bait. It requires an understanding of fish behavior, a willingness to evaluate changing conditions, and enough experience to recognize what the lure is telling you throughout the retrieve. An angler who learns to read underwater cover, recognize productive contact, and connect individual strikes to broader environmental patterns becomes increasingly capable of finding fish under unfamiliar conditions.
Two anglers may spend the same amount of time fishing the same water, but the one who pays attention to the information gathered on every cast has a distinct advantage. He is not simply repeating the same presentation and hoping for a different result. He is refining his understanding of the water, identifying the conditions that matter, and making his next cast with a more specific purpose.
That is the real value of Rick Clunn’s crankbait fishing system. The goal is not merely to cover water until a fish bites. It is to learn enough from each cast that the next one has a better chance of producing a bass.
About the Featured Expert — Rick Clunn
Rick Clunn is one of the most accomplished professional bass anglers in fishing history, with four Bassmaster Classic championships, 32 Bassmaster Classic qualifications, and a competitive career spanning more than five decades. Recognized as the winner of ESPN's Greatest Angler Debate in 2005, Clunn has helped shape modern bass fishing through his approach to fish behavior, environmental awareness, crankbait fishing, and tournament strategy. As a member of the Livingston Lures professional team, Clunn brings decades of firsthand experience to lure testing, product refinement, and the development of fishing techniques. His extensive knowledge of bass behavior and fishing conditions provides the foundation for the strategies discussed in this article.
Rick Clunn — Livingston Lures Pro Team | Rick Clunn Collection
About the Author — Steven Paul
Steven Paul is a professional angler, USCG-licensed captain, internationally award-winning fishing lure designer, author, and Chief Development Director for Livingston Lures. As the Tennessee state-record muskellunge holder, Paul spends more than 300 days annually on the water guiding, developing fishing tackle, and studying predator behavior. He is the author of Next Level Musky Fishing and Musky IQ: Analyze & Execute, a contributing writer for Field & Stream and Great Lakes Angler, and the owner and host of Musky 360. His work with Livingston Lures combines firsthand fishing knowledge, professional angler interviews, and practical lure engineering.
Steven Paul Professional Biography | Livingston Lures Pro Team
