Welcome to the home of Union County's finest bass anglers! Founded in 1985, The Carolina Crankers are the oldest bass fishing club in the county. Many of our members have been with us for 25 years or better. With two separate circuits and no annual membership dues, our club offers something for everyone. Weekend warriors may enjoy our year-round Saturday Series while others enjoy a late bite with our Sportsman's Series. Every season brings new members to our ranks and new members will always be welcome!
Last Cast From The Rock!!
The 2017 Carolina Crankers regular season wrapped up today on High Rock Lake. With temperatures in the upper forties and light fog, anglers bundled up for the 7am blastoff. With cooler morning temperatures all week, teams were eager to find fish in early fall patterns. Unfortunately, the cooler mornings have yet to start the fall schooling at High Rock. Teams enjoyed a strong buzzbait bite before the sun started to really climb. As the sun peaked overhead and the temperature quickly climbed, fish ran for any cover nearby. It became a textbook bite flipping docks and cranking stumps and laydowns. Fish moved from 3 to 5 feet in the morning out to 10 to 12 feet by noon. Most teams experienced a heavy bite although keeper fish were a struggle for some. In fishing, patterns and predictability are everything. Right now is the perfect time on High Rock to hone your angling skills or to teach a young angler how to pattern and catch fish. After a beautiful day on the lake, The Carolina Crankers hit the scales. With the heaviest bag of the day, Jarrett Freeze and Rodney Adams took home first place and today's side pot with 15lbs. and 14ozs! Taking home second place with 14lbs. and 2ozs. was the team of Christian Johnson and Troy Armstrong. Christian and Troy anchored their total with today's big fish weighing 4lbs. and 10ozs. Congratulations guys!!! We would like to thank our five young anglers that competed with us today! The Carolina Crankers and Bass Monkey Academy are dedicated to helping and teaching our next generation of young anglers. Thank you to our members, their families and our sponsors for making this a wonderful season! Join The Carolina Crankers in January as we kick off the 2018 season!!! If you have a young angler that lives for bass fishing, join us at Bass Monkey Academy! Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
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Toss in the Moss!
The Carolina Crankers tackled the mossy jungle at Tuckertown today. Even with the chemical treatments earlier this season, the "nasty" stuff still remains. The grass beds, the lilly pads and the hydrilla are gone. Everything anglers loved about the lake is no longer there, only the aggravating terrible, cant fish anything on the bottom jungle snot remains. Chasing the best five for today proved to be a struggle. Dragging a "clean" worm in 8 to 10 feet of water took most fish today. Only two limits were taken by weigh-in at 3pm. With 14lbs. and 12ozs, Jeremy Talbert and his partner Joel grabbed first place and took home today's side-pot. With the tournaments only other limit, Dean Talbert and Mayer Childress took second place with 11lbs. and 8ozs. The tournament's big fish belonged to Jason Thomas at 7lbs, and 4ozs. Congratulations guys for a great catch on a tough day! The Carolina Crankers will wrap up the 2017 regular season next month on High Rock Lake. Join us on October 21st as we blast form the restaurant side of Tamarac at 7am. All anglers are welcome! Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Last Wave!
The Carolina Crankers made their last trip to Norman for the 2017 season this week. Long before daylight, teams lined the ramps eager to be the first to take the lake and run for that "secret" spot. Only the hum of the outboards racing down the lake could be heard over the cover of darkness as blast-off shook the waters. Spotty showers on the morning trip left fog and heavy cloud cover for most of the morning. A strong topwater bite during the overcast hours was responsible for most of today's totals. Angler after angler mentioned the shut-down when the sun broke free. Like a light switch, the bite was gone. Hammering it out, cast after cast, teams struggled to improve their catch as the heat set in on the lake. At weigh-in a typical sea of spots accounted for most totals. However, several largemouth found their way to the scales including today's big fish. Taking home first place and today's sidepot, Rob Digh and Aaron Digh brought in 12lbs. and 12ozs for almost $1000! Anchored by a 4lbs. and 6oz. largemouth, Rick Poplin and Maurice Freeze sacked 12lbs to grab second place and big fish for the day. Great job guys! Thank you to all our anglers that joined us on Norman today! We would also like to give a huge shout to Dustin Loftin of Dry Pond Tackle! Dustin brought Queen's jigs, a Dirty Shad swimbait and Dry Pond Apparel for anglers at the weigh-in. Dustin, we appreciate everything you do for our anglers and the fishing community! We invite everyone to stop in and see Dustin at Dry Pond Tackle! Come hit Tuckertown Reservoir with The Carolina Crankers on September 23rd. Blast-off is at 7am from the highway 49 ramp. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Bassin' On Badin!!!
Grab your big boy britches and roll on the sunscreen! The summer sizzle is here to stay. With temps in the mid nineties all week, hydration for today's Carolina Crankers tournament on Badin was as crucial as the early bite. At daybreak, anglers sped across the waters heading for the quick bite in the fields of grass that stretch the lake from creek to creek. Unfortunately, few fish were caught shallow as water temperatures climbed through the mid eighties and left teams scrambling and scouting for a solid bite. Offshore humps proved to be a stronger pattern as anglers worked further into the depths. With an outstanding bag in today's conditions, Roger Pope sacked a limit of 16lbs. and 4ozs. to grab the win and today's side-pot for over $850! Taking second place and $130 was the team of Chris Tucker and Kenneth Tucker with 13lbs and 6ozs. Jay Mcintyre caught today's big fish weighing 5lbs even to go home with the $145 big fish pot. Great job guys! Come out and join The Carolina Crankers next month as we return to Lake Norman on August 12th. Blast-off is at 6am from Beatties Ford ramp. We would also like to remind everyone that Bass Monkey Academy will meet this Tuesday night July 18th for our flipping and pitching seminar for the youth anglers. If you have a young fisherman in the family, join us for our free, hands on training classes and seminars! Full class schedules and information are on the Bass Monkey Academy page above. Thank you to all our anglers that joined us on Badin today! Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Greenbacks on the Side!
I'll take one sausage biscuit with a stack of cash on the side! Long before daylight, anglers started lining up for The Carolina Crankers tournament on Lake Norman. Dustin Loftin dropped in for check-in bringing hot Bojangle's biscuits and gift cards to Dry Pond Tackle and Outfitters. Anglers went through them faster than a fresh bag of Senkos. After a quick bite, teams dropped them in the lake waiting for blast-off. 32 boats anxiously waited for the 6am launch. Then they were gone, racing and searching ready to compete with super clear waters and wolf pack spots. With a side pot for today just shy of $1000, competition was fierce! Unfortunately, the resident bass population must have hit the drive-thru early as well. Today, the bass just weren't "chewin" like they should be. What normally would be a mad dash of culling on the lake turned to a hard drag to pull a solid limit. Only a dozen limits would make it to the scales for the 2pm weigh-in. Knocking down 13lbs. and 4ozs. Kelly Johnson and Chuck Poovey grabbed $523 for first place and took home a massive $925 side-pot!!! KJ Queen and Carroll Queen finished in second place today with 12lbs. and 8ozs. with a 3lb and 2oz tie breaking fish for $201. With Luke Helms and Jordan Baker's biggest fish at 2lbs and 12ozs, the team took home third place and $81 for their 12lbs and 8ozs bag. Today's $280 Big Fish Pot went home with Roger Pope and Brian Morgan for a 3lb and 14oz Lake Norman largemouth. The Carolina Crankers would like to send a huge "Thank You" to Dustin Loftin and Dry Pond Tackle and Outfitters for breakfast this morning as well as two $50 gift cards to Dry Pond!!! We look forward to working with you again in the future! Winning the first $50 gift card for the "lightest limit" in today's tournament with 5 fish weighing 8lbs and 4ozs was the team of Adam P. and Jacob. The husband and wife team of Garrett and Elizabeth Deweese took the second $50 gift card for the highest placing male/female team with 9lbs and 6ozs. Congratulations to all of today's top anglers! The Carolina Crankers would like to thank all our anglers that joined us for today's tournament! We would also like to invite everyone to join us July 15th as we make our very first trip to Falls Lake (Little Badin). Blast-off is at 6am. For all our youth anglers, Bass Monkey Academy will be having our first meeting this Tuesday night June 20th at 7pm. Just follow the link on this site or visit http://www.bassmonkeyacademy.weebly.com for information and our complete schedule of events. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Border Patrol!!!
The Carolina Crankers split the borders today on lake Wylie. Multiple tournaments launching from Buster Boyd put boat numbers near 100 as teams hit the lake. Early morning sustained a strong top water bite as the sun broke through the morning clouds. Quickly, the sun drove fish deeper in the clear waters. Visibility was easily 5 to 6 feet with brush only offering minimal cover for shallow lurkers. The combination of bright sun and clear waters pushed today's top anglers into mid summer deep water patterns. Today's weigh in brought a two team tie at the scales with 16lbs. and 4ozs. Using their big fish of 5lbs. and 10ozs. Travis and Cody Young took home first place and big fish for $620. With a 4lbs. and 10ozs, big fish, Taylor and Patrick grabbed second place for today's tournament. Congratulations guys!!! We would like to thank all of our anglers that joined us on Lake Wylie today. We would also like to invite everyone to join us for a wildcat on Randleman Lake on June 10th. All lake rules apply with only one fish over 20 inches long allowed and we will be doing a 3 fish limit for fish health and safety that day. Entry fee will be $20 per person with a $20 per person optional side pot. Blast off is at 7am with a 2pm weigh in. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!!
Floaters!!!
To say that the waters on Badin were covered with logs and debris would be an understatement. Last week's heavy storms and winds in the Albemarle area made the lake treacherous at top speeds. Any wrong movement had the potential for boat or motor damage. Heavy sustained winds, white-caps and steady waves made a dangerous mix for today's tournament. Only the waters above the dam near circle drive had any clearing as most of the lake looked like a mud bank runoff with heavy staining. Today was all about "trash fishing." With no determined patterns, throw everything you got! Fish were caught on jigs, blades, buzz baits, prop baits, shakey heads, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs and crankbaits. There are always hungry fish somewhere! Today was no exception as Ivey Sneed and Tony Allred found the hungriest sack with 18 pounds for the win. Ivey and Tony also took home big fish for today with 5lbs. and 10ozs. and wrapped it all up taking today's side pot. Josh and Aaron grabbed second place today with 14 pounds even. Great job guys!!! Thank you to all our anglers that joined us on Badin today! We would also like to send a special thank you to each of our anglers that shared their boats with our youth anglers today! Thank you for making it possible to share our love for the sport. The Carolina Crankers will be throwing a wildcat next Saturday 5/13/2017 on Lake Lee at 7am. Our next scheduled club tournament will be on Saturday May 20th on Lake Wylie. Blast-off will be at 6am from Buster Boyd. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!!
Up A Creek!!!
The Carolina Crankers headed to Fishing Creek for this week's tournament. With the weather running up and down the scale for the last week and heavy rains at midweek, patterning a winning bite proved a challenge. With sharp temperature drops at blast off and water so stained you could chew it many largemouth were found at the 8 to 10 foot range suspended and tight lipped. Conditions made it difficult even for the locals that call these lower lakes home. Most anglers enjoyed an early bite but nothing sustained after the first hour of the morning. With only an hour left in the tournament the bite seemed to pick up as water levels started dropping. Blades, jigs and plastics were responsible for most of todays totals at weigh-in. Only three limits were taken from the dingy waters today with Cody Ahlstrom and Smitty McWhorter taking the top spot with a 14lbs. and 14ozs. limit. Taking second place and today's side-pot, Chris Teague and Brandon Farmer hit the scales with 13lbs. and 4ozs. Wayne Snyder grabbed the tournaments big-fish with a nice 4lbs. and 8ozs. largemouth. We would like to congratulate all of todays top fishermen! Great job everyone! We would like to invite all bass fishermen and women from all clubs to please join us on April 22nd at Badin Lake. We will be hosting the 704 Cast For A Cure Tournament from 6:30am to 3:30 pm from Alcoa Landing. Anglers may pre-register for the event at 704 Outdoors website and be qualified for a raffle for a Ruger rifle. Anglers may register the morning of the event at the ramp. The entry fee is $100 a boat and $10 Big Fish with all proceeds from tournament benefitting the Corbin Sikes family. Everybody please stay for the huge raffle with great prizes including a guided filmed hog hunt with 704 Outdoors as the Grand Prize! Great prizes and donations from Cabelas, Lots of Bass industry prizes, hamburgers and hotdogs after the tournament and Monster Energy onsite for the event! Join The Carolina Crankers and 704 Outdoors in support for Corbin and his family!
Rip Some Lips!
The Carolina Crankers headed South of the border this week with a trip to Lake Wateree. Always a late year stop, anglers welcomed the chance to hit the lake in the prime pre-spawn season. Early practices were promising with largemouth pulling to the shallows. However midweek temperature drops in the 30's overnight slowed the bite and backed a majority of the staging bass away from the banks. Fortunately spring brought in late week highs near 70 and a beautiful day today. Temperatures in the "skinny" water slowly climbed to the low 60's and the shallows were alive. From 6 inches to 4 feet, hard bottom to mush, they were there. For the experienced angler, it is still a "defensive" bite. A quick hookset is a must for a hookup. Full lockdown on the beds should be sometime in the next two to three weeks. Jigs, blades and chatterbaits were responsible for a majority of today's weigh-in. Grabbing the top spot today, Matthew Benge hit a pre-spawn limit of 13lbs. and 8ozs. Matthew anchored his winning bag with today's big-fish weighing 4lbs. and 2ozs. Knocking out a $350 side-pot and taking home second place, Janson Couick and Bryce Crooke weighed a 12lbs. and 12ozs. limit. Congratulations guys! The Carolina Crankers would also like to give Bryce a very loud shout out for being our first Scholastic Angler to "take home the cash!" We hope you have many more great finishes in the future! Thank you Janson Couick for sharing your boat and making it possible for our youth to compete in our tournament series. We appreciate each of our anglers that joined us today on Lake Wateree. On behalf of The Scholastic Anglers and The Carolina Crankers we thank everyone for the continued tackle donations for The Scholastic Anglers! We will continue to keep a bin at each of our events to help support our young anglers and the future of our sport! We ask that everyone please remember 704 Outdoors Cast For A Cure Benefit Tournament is approaching fast. April 22nd we will host the event and all proceeds will benefit Corbin Sikes and his family. All members that fish the tournament can use it towards their qualifying count for The Carolina Classic. We invite everyone to join us on April the 8th as we travel to Fishing Creek. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Supersize!!!
After weeklong temperatures in the mid 70's, Saturday brought a stiff chill to the air. Early morning lows in the 20's and upper 40 highs had anglers bundled up and prepped for the elements. Joining our ranks today, four youth anglers hit the tournament trail on High Rock. Dylan Starnes, Zack Secrest, Bryce Crooke and Megan O'Neill hit the lake to compete as equals with The Carolina Crankers. A late week draw down and highly stained waters rewrote patterns from earlier this week. Teams went deep in the creeks and others challenged the driving winds on the main. For the experienced High Rock anglers, the bite was strong. Today, The Carolina Crankers rivaled the pros. Heavyweight after heavyweight hit the scales with club totals just over 345 pounds! Landing the heaviest sack in Carolina Crankers history, Matt Stanley and CJ Johnston crushed the scales with 27lbs. and 12ozs! With many fish weighed between 5 and 7 pounds, Matt and CJ took home today's big fish pot with a High Rock toad weighing 8lbs. and 6ozs. Grabbing the $350 side pot as well as second place for today, Jack and Phillip brought in 23lbs. and 4ozs. Congratulations guys! As the lake continues to rebound and the population grows stronger, we hope these heavyweight sacks continue to define this beautiful fishery. We would also like to send out a special thanks to our members that shared their boats and experience today with our young anglers. Eddie Foust, Billy Lee, Marshall Starnes and Blair Secrest we would like to thank each of you and express our great appreciation for your help today sharing our love for bass fishing with our young anglers! We would like to invite everyone to follow us down south on March 25th and join us on Lake Wateree. Blast-off is at 7am from Wateree Creek. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
A Grand Stand!!!
Long before dawn, The Carolina Crankers eased down the ramps anxiously waiting for daybreak. A return trip to Lake Tillery was today's second stop of the new season. The promise of blue skies and spring temperatures brought the crowds as 38 boats began to shake last winter's frost. With the perfect combination of lightly colored waters, climbing water temperatures and a full spring in bloom, anglers stretched out their motors and devoured the lake. But wait, this is the Carolinas! Weather changes by the hour! For those that got them early, enjoy that lunch in style because the washing machine hit the spin cycle by noon. Without warning, the gentle breeze began to howl. Waters began to churn on the main as 20mph sustained winds drove across the lake. For more than one, the day was done. Exhausted batteries gave up under the driving winds and cross currents. To finish your limit after midday was a proud accomplishment. A last resort, coves and creeks offered limited refuge from the winds. With such a determined bite from Tillery's "shorties," landing that winning sack took a special touch. Blake Bostic had that "magic stick" today bringing in 16lbs. and 6ozs. with a 6lbs. and 8ozs. "anchor" fish. Taking first place, big-fish and today's side-pot, Blake made it "rain" to the tune of $1035!!! Less than a pound behind, A.J. and Kendall took home $207 and second place with 15lbs. and 10ozs. Shawn Knight and Dustin H. grabbed $83 and third place with 13lbs. and 6ozs. Congratulations guys!!! We would like to thank everyone that joined us on the lake today. It is a pleasure to share the water with each of you! We would also like to welcome our female anglers and our Scholastic anglers that joined us today. Thank you for sharing our love and dedication to the sport! We invite everyone to join The Carolina Crankers on March 11th at High Rock. Blast-off is at 7am from Tamarac. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Twitch that Itch!!!
What's the cure for cabin fever? Kickin off the new year with The Carolina Crankers on Lake Tillery. At 7am, 32 boats eased out of Swift Island chasing winter dreams of beautiful green fish! Even a late week blast of warm weather wasn't enough to drive up water temperatures as most of the lake hovered in the mid 40's. Temperatures called for a slow presentation while the clear waters insured a stealthy approach. Jerks, jigs and worms were today's weapon of choice as most found that largemouth weren't yet willing to give chase on top or to track a crank. For most anglers, it was a productive day of "keepers" to keep 'em cullin.' While there were several fish in the 4 to 6 pound range, each lacked "thickness." Soon enough, these monsters will be "full-figured" for swimsuit season! With the first win of the new year, Jeff Coley and Brice Hollis hit the scales with a 13lbs. and 14ozs. limit. Just over a pound behind, Kevin Thomas took home second place with 12lbs. and 12ozs. Today's lunker belonged to Mark Tarlton as he grabbed big fish honors with a 7lbs and 0zs Lake Tillery trophy. Great job on the lake today guys! We would like to thank everyone that came out and joined us to start 2017. We look forward to fishing with each of you this season! Join us February 25th as we return to Lake Tillery. Blast off is at 7am from 24/27. Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!
Gettin' Fishy With It!!!
And the countdown begins... Just three days left folks and the 2017 season officially begins! Hook the boat and grab a friend cause the fun's about to begin! At 7am this Saturday morning, The Carolina Crankers will take the lake as we "kick it off" on Lake Tillery. So shake off that snow and drop the fruit cake cause the fish are calling! Make sure to get there early, blast off is check in order! Until then... keep 'em hooked!!!!