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Randy Howell’s crankbait tacklebox

The 2014 Bassmaster Classic champ’s lineup of just four crankbaits you can use year-round.

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Photography by
Craig Lamb
Randy Howell won the 2014 Bassmaster Classic on a crankbait, and the Bassmaster Elite Series pro has a long-standing affinity for crankbaits. 
That includes deep diving into their intricate details and nuances. Their various actions and varieties make each type productive. Most notably, Howell collaborates with Livingston Lures on the design of its hard bait lineup of topwaters, jerkbaits and crankbaits that include his Classic winning Howeller DMC and the related series seen here. The baits are fitted with 2X Strong, Daiichi #4 hooks with the Bleeding Treble Hook color at the front for added strike appeal. 
What stands out about Livingston Lures is the EBS (Electronic Baitfish Sounds) based on natural and instinctive feeding enticements of bass. The EBS Smart Chip emits realistic sounds specific to the bait type and color, including shad and crawfish. 
Here’s Howell’s lineup of year-round crankbaits specific to the Howeller DMC (Dream Master Classic) series. It includes the original DMC, DMC Jr., DMC SQ and DMC Plus. Howell emphasized line size can make these baits run slightly deeper or shallower. “Use heavier line to make them run shallower, or go lighter to reach deeper depths,” Howell said. 
Howeller DMC
The Classic winner in Guntersville Craw has a wide wobble and hard vibration ideal for bouncing through cover. “I wanted the buoyancy of a balsa bait with the casting accuracy provided by the added weight from the plastic body and EBS Smart Chip.” 
In late winter into early spring, Howell uses this lure on sun-warmed riprap banks and rocky shorelines, transitioning in prespawn to wood-featured transition areas. He backtracks to wood, stumps and trees used by bass in postspawn migration. Designed to run up to 10 feet, Howell comes full circle in fall when bass and bait migrate back to the creeks, where he focuses on shady areas used as ambush points by the bass. 
Howeller DMC Plus
With a slightly wider body than the original DMC, the Plus (right) has a wide, strong wobble, fast action and can penetrate the 12-foot strike zone. No worries about hangups as the bait can maneuver through cover and float back out when paused after striking deep wood, also when strikes are most likely to occur. 
“You also cover more water with longer casts with the larger profile, and you get more vibration and sound with the EBS Smart Chip at those deeper depths,” Howell said. 
Howeller DMC Jr. 
As the name implies, this downsized version of the DMC original is productive when smaller bait is favored by the bass. “I wanted the smaller profile but with the same wide, hard vibration and wobble,” Howell said. With a running depth up to 10 feet, you get long casts with the weight from the sound chamber and chip, while the bait maintains its relatively snag-free properties from the balsa-like buoyancy in a plastic body. Howell categorizes the Junior as a year-round bait for the designed strike zone. 
Howeller SQ
The Squarebill (left) is an option to the DMC Jr. (right) with its running depth of up to 4 feet. “Squarebills originated with lightweight balsa baits that could maneuver snag-free through shoreline laydowns, logs and boulders in shallow water. The SQ has a circuit board lip with sharp tips to keep it running through cover. 
“The setback of balsa baits was the lack of casting control to make pinpoint presentations into limbs,” Howell said. “The SQ eliminates that with its heavier body, while still giving it that buoyancy you need when it hits a limb to keep it moving through the strike zone.” Howell uses 10- to 12-pound line to make the SQ run into deeper strike zones. “It’s got a flat angle of dive and can move 1 foot from side to side,” said, adding that makes it productive for bass holding in submerged grass.” 
What’s even better, the same rod-and-reel combo is ideally matched for using all four of Howell’s versatile year-round crankbaits. Howell matches his signature Daiwa Tatula Elite Small Crankbait/Lipless/Jerkbait rod with a Daiwa 100XS reel. 
The 7-foot, 4-inch rod with a Medium/Light action has a shorter handle so the rod can be held closer to the body for casting crankbaits around shallow cover. “I wanted the lighter tip for longer casts, while it loads up really well for better hooksets.”
Howell matches the rod up with the Tatula XS in a 7.1:1 ratio. “It’s between the 8.1:1 and 6.3:1 ratios, so I can crank faster without working harder,” Howell said, also favoring the reel for its T-Wing System level wind that opens up the line feed during the cast to reduce line resistance. The benefit is longer casts with fewer backlashes most desirable when using smaller baits. 

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