When casting shallow water with crankbaits stealth is a must. I always use my bow mount and when working shorelines I stay just far enough that I can still reach the shore. I like to work my way down the shore line with the wind and keep the boat facing the shore. If you have two people in the boat put the second person on the front deck with you.
Total Solutions Technique
Start by casting as close as possible to the shoreline. Keep your rod tip at about 11:00 when starting your retrieve. Reel slow to start out with the bait bumping the bottom, often times this is when you will get hit. As you get closer to the boat drop your rod tip to about 9 o’clock and pick up the speed. After you are no longer touching the bottom stop or give a slight jerk to your retrieve. This again will often trigger a hit. If the shore line breaks fast and it is 5 feet or deeper under the boat I will drop my rod tip all the way down to the water line to obtain maximum depth. Always be prepared for a strike just as your bait starts coming up. If you see a walleye take a swing at the bait and miss it, change your retrieve or come back to that area when you’re done working the remainder of the shoreline.
Total Solutions Equipment
When casting cranks I like a 6’6” to 7’ Fenwick® AETOS® Spinning Rod or Berkley Heritage 7-foot medium-light spinning rod. The longer rod gives me longer casts and plenty of back bone. Both the rods are light in weight and very sensitive. I love the new Crystal FireLine in 8/3 or 10/4for casting cranks. It has no memory and is extremely sensitive so you can feel it bumping the bottom or ticking the weeds. It’s also tough enough that ifyou run into the occasional pike you’re less likely to loose your cranks. For real shallow water I like to throw the Berkley Flicker Minnow. If I am dealing with water in the 3-6’ range I like the new Flicker Shad designed by Keith Kavajecz and Gary Parsons. If you don’t have any of these make it a point to try them, they are an awesome bait.
 Berkley® FireLine Crystal™ |
 Berkley® Flicker Shad® |
 Berkley® Flicker Minnow® |
 Fenwick® AETOS® Spinning Rod |
