Chucky Hamrick of Stonewall is kind of like a shallower version of Bates.
In the heat, he also prefers cranking, but he will be in skinnier water and he’ll be looking for structure. It’s a pattern that has produce fish from Alabama lakes to Toledo Bend on the Louisiana/Texas border.
“I fish a crankbait during hot weather like most people fish a spinnerbait,” said Hamrick. “I’ll bounce that crankbait off brush, stumps, grass or anything different. I like the KVD crankbait that runs 4 to 6 feet deep and I can’t tell you how many big fish I’ve caught on Bandit crankbaits during the summer.
“There’s always some fish in shallow water even when many are in deep water. Those shallow water fish are easier to locate and catch, also.”
When it comes to color on crankbaits Hamrick likes yellow with a black back, white with a blue back, and, if there’s crawfish present, chartreuse brown in the crawfish pattern. He usually tweaks his lures, too.
“One of the most important things I like to do is use oversized hooks on my crankbaits,” Hamrick said. “I’ll move up one hook size and maybe two sizes and that’s the first thing I’ll do when I take a crankbait out of the box. I’ll go from a No. 6 on a Bandit to a No. 2 hook and I can’t tell you how many tournaments I’ve won with that bait.”
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