That is a good thought, but truly, there are a million lures and baits that work well on Lake Mead.
You can fish crankbaits, or topwater plugs, or jerkbaits, or jigs, or spinnerbaits, or big soft plastics, or small soft plastics, or spoons, or live bait, or cut bait, or any of the combination, and you can succeed on the lake. They all work. The biggest challenge at Mead is finding the fish, and working the lures properly. Most of that comes with practice. If you are confident fishing a crankbait, then go out there and fish it. A LOT. Spend time trying things out and letting the fish tell you what they want. If you catch a fish, remember what you were doing when it hit (were you burning it in, or were you twitching it?). Try to replicate that on the next cast.
That doesn't mean that it will work next time you are fishing. You always have to switch your presentation up a bit to adapt to what the fish are doing.
The most important thing you can do when trying to choose a lure, is to do what fly fishermen do -
MATCH THE HATCH. If the fish are eating 3" threadfin shad, then fish a bait that looks like a 3" shad. If they are eating crayfish, then throw a crayfish imitator. The forage is seasonal, and you have to know what they are eating at a specific time of the year (gutting a fish you catch and inspecting the stomach contents can give you a good hint; but lets toss those largemouth and smallmouth back so they can grow). [
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Experience is the best teacher. Get out there and experiment!
You wont truly learn until you fail. You wont make the same mistake twice!
The Whizzle
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