I try everything I can think of, and I usually figure something out that works. Usually, but not always, I twitch and pause the bait. Sometimes they want it dead slow and steady.

Son, you don't work them, they work for you

Like anything else. Situation dictates procedure. Use a crankbait appropriately for what's in front of you at the time. Often times staying in contact with cover and deflecting the bait works well but not always. There is a time for an aggressive presentation and there is also a time for a more subtle one. Usually there is a sweet spot in the tempo for various cranks. Using the right one for the situation that you have at the time is key.

sweet water & sweet spot retrieve

Cold water crank very slow,warm water you can try all speeds.Make sure its bumping into something.Only way ive caught em without bumping something is on schooling fish,then they will bite anything you throw at em !

+1

You gotta bang em around a little. Rip em through grass, knock logs and rocks, and scoop bottom. They need the deflection to trigger reaction bites.

I work mine like a rented mule when I'm in a CB mood. Not to say it's a fast retrieve all the time, work them like the tool they are, until the fish tell you what they want. Hitting cover or bottom will draw strikes most the time if the fish are active and it'll sometime make them active if they're not. I love ticking the outside edge of the 'drylla to pull them outta hiding.

Finding schools that are inactive and pulling an erratic presentation through them can start them up, rip & stop style.

I've had time where I work a CB like a topwater, sitting still or waking it, then short rips to get it under a foot or two to wake up stagnant fish.

Very versatile tool that can be worked many different ways

As someone said, contact is key! Make sure you are always feeling a bump with each wiggle the bait gives. I will usually start out with erratic stop and go retreives if im fishing an area I think has fish. If not, I go to the "dummy" way and just burn that sucker thru the water or cover.

Again, I guess I am the ONLY person that fishes CBs in open water with great success. I have taught several people how to do it. It just depends on how you set your CB up when you tune it. I tune mine so that when you pause them and restart them, you get the bait to HUNT (Rick Clunns term) and catch a LOT of suspended and inactive fish that way. Oh well, I guess others don't know how to do this simple trick to do open water CBing. I must take exception to an earlier comment that when fish are schooling just throw anything out. I have found these fish to be VERY selective, sometimes and you have to imitate what they are chasing. SOMETIMES, they bite everything, but not all the time. Hope this helps.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

No you ain't
I do it regularly as noted. I say, work them like crazy when needed!
Open water cranking can be great for drawing schools which otherwise would be active