The right crankbait can cover water quickly and thoroughly. Try some of our experts' tips to catch more transition bass this year. Photo by Ed Harp

As summer winds down, the days become shorter, and the nights get cooler. Fall is on the way. Water temperatures are beginning to drop, and bass, sensing the change, are beginning to move toward their end-of-the-year feeding locations. This movement begins slowly at first, but accelerates as the season progresses. The trick is to find them and then follow their movements.

According to Mike Wells, a bass guide and avid crankbaiter, late summer is the time to inventory your crankbaits. The bass are still - at least for the most part - deep. They're beginning to move and will be scattered until they begin schooling in the cool waters of fall. As such, you need a bait that can cover lots of water and do it efficiently.

Crankbaits, says Wells, are the perfect tools for this job. They can be worked over, around and through a variety of structure and cover from shallow to deep.

MAKING SENSE OF YOUR CRANKBAITS Wells suggests sorting your baits into at least five groups, maybe six. First, there are your shallow runners; then you have medium runners, deep runners, suspending baits and, finally, hard jerkbaits. He believes it's a waste of time to sort by any criteria other than running depth for this time of year.

Shallow runners include baits that will run no more than 3 feet deep. Medium-running baits generally dive to 6 or 7 feet. Deep runners, according to their manufacturers, will dive to 20 feet or more. Running depth is determined by bait design, line size, casting distance and cranking speed. Consider this when sorting. Smaller diameter line will allow lures to dive to deeper depths. At one time this meant using a lower line test weight, but no longer. Spool up with some of the new premium lines for maximum strength and narrow diameters.

After sorting some lures into the first three categories, move on to your suspending baits and your jerkbaits. These categories will overlap. According to Wells, lures of this type should be categorized based on intended use. Create your own criteria based on your needs.

You may wish to consider creating a sixth category: customized lures. Place lures in this category because you have customized them yourself. Some of the best crankbaiters - anglers such as legendary smallmouth guide Bob Coan - believe these are the most effective baits of all because they are, or at least should be, customized for your waters and your fish.

A favorite of Coan's for this time of year is a suspending deep-diving bait. His custom lure looks a lot like one you might find on the shelf of a tackle store, but it's not. Coan's bait suspends because he has weighted and balanced the bait himself.

To do this, Coan takes four Storm SuspenDots (small pieces of lead tape will also work) and carefully positions them on the underside of the lure. He puts one SuspenDot on the bottom side of the running lip - just forward of the screw that holds the lure tie in place. Then he places three more SuspenDots in a triangle pattern around the first hook tie on the belly of the lure - one in front of the tie and one on each side of the tie.

According to Coan, once this bait is cranked down, you can "stop it, go pour a cup of coffee, drink the coffee, eat a bologna sandwich, and when you go back to it, you will find it just where you left it."

Wells, on the other hand, likes to customize jerkbaits. He says that a small amount of added weight will allow for a more stable suspension or allow the lure to fall ever so slowly. Just be sure that your weight placement doesn't adversely affect the action of the lure. Generally, weights placed on the belly forward of the hook screws work best.

After sorting and customizing your lures, Wells and Coan both recommend tuning them. You can do this in a swimming pool or on the water. (You do not need especially clear water to tune a bait - just watch the line where it enters the water.)