Russ Lane's 5 Favorite shallow-running crankbaits

Russ Lane might be the most underrated crankbait fisherman on the Bassmaster Elite Series. He's so well respected with a crankbait that Spro turned over the design board to Lane and allowed him to create his own line of crankbaits, the Fat Papa series. Lane says that the crankbait bite is heating up as the water cools down. "I like throwing shallow-running crankbaits in tournaments because they really up your odds of getting a bite," he says. "You can cover a lot more water with them than by flipping or dragging something. Plus, this time of year the bass are eating shad, and there's nothing that's more shad-looking than these crankbaits."

1. Spro Fat John

This wide-bodied shallow runner was designed by Elite Series pro John Crews as a wide-rolling attention getter, two traits that Lane likes. “This is really good in dirty water because it puts off lots of vibration and wobbles a lot,” he says. “It’s good around stumps and laydowns, and I typically throw it in 2 to 4 feet of water.”

2. Buckeye Short Circuit

“This is good when the shad are in the backs of the flats of the main river channel right when the water starts to get cooler,” Lane said of this flat-bodied balsa cranker. “It’s got a real tight wiggle and is pretty subtle.” Lane throws it on 15-pound-test Sunline monofilament around wood and gravel in 2 to 4 feet of water.

3. Buckeye Wake Up

Lane likes this slender subsurface bait around shallow ditches that come into the backs of creeks and cut through the middle of flats in water “so shallow that your trolling motor is rubbing the ground,” says Lane. “Key in on shad or toss it around stumps.” He throws the Wake Up — and all of these shallow runners — on a Abu Garcia Revo Winch cranking reel that has a 5:1 gear ratio. “This bait has a wide wobble that stays right at or just below the surface. Keep your rod tip high and use a steady retrieve.”

4. Spro Fat Papa 55

This little critter is one of Lane’s own creations. He created it as a shallow and subtle crankbait that would get bites in high-pressure situations. It's got sticky-sharp Gamakatsu hooks that are just the right size to snag bass thay may nip at the little bait. It’s a scaled down version of the original Fat Papa, a 70-millimeter specimen that dives slightly deeper. “The 55 is good around rocks and gravel points that are just outside the flats in the backs of creeks, what I call secondary places. They’re the first stop that fish make as they work their way to the backs of these creeks.” The color shown is honey craw, one of Lane's favorites.

5. Spro Aruku Shad 65

Lane likes a lipless crankbait, Spro’s Aruku Shad in this case, when he’s trying to cover lots of water. “This is a great bait to throw when you’re on a lake that has grass or mud flats,” he says. “You can really throw it a long way and will pick off fish when they’re roaming around following shad schools. Just keep your rod tip high and reel it quickly so it doesn’t get snagged.”