What gear ratio is preferred for mid to deep cranks? I've been messing around with the 7.2 and then to the 6.3 but not sure if I can tell much of a difference

6.3 or 5.1 for me.

6.3 or less if you are throwing the big 'uns!

6.3 for mid
5.1 for deep

5/4/1 on deep cranks

6/4/1 Square bills

Although I have another Square bill rod with a 5/4/1 when I need a slower presentation .

Some people will tell you to use a 5.0:1 for deep cranks but after re-tying 10-12 times you end up gearing down into the fours because of how much line is on your spool. I use a 7 gear for pretty much everything except for 8-10XD's where I'll utilize a 6 gear and mayyyyyybe a 5 gear if I'm throwing 10XD's exclusively.

I like a 6 gear in the 150 or 200 size reels. That keeps your ratio up if your a bomber or if you like to long line. I fished with Keith Combs once and he said he uses high speed reels for all cranking, everything really. I think it becomes more personal choice than it does actual effectiveness. It's said that low ratio reels help with fatigue but they never did anything for me. Deep cranking is a beat down on me regardless of what reel I use.

5:1 for deep cranking

Why are you re-tying 10-12 times? I don't have that problem with the line I use. I have a tendency to crank fast and have a hard time cranking slow, so I need the lower gear ratio to do that for me.
A Lews Super Duty wide spool holds a ton of line and works great for deep crank baits like the DD22 and deeper.

You must use a lot of line to retie, or a small capacity narrow spool reel for just a dozen knots to make a huge impact on effective gear ratio. A wide high capacity spool (like wide 200 size reel) virtually eliminates the issue.

Figure 12 feet for 12 knots, or 4 yards. Even a 100 size reel typically holds 120 yards of 12# test, which is rather common when cranking. That's a 3.3% change in line capacity, probably not very many wraps on the spool, so I think you may be exaggerating the loss of 12 knots tied. Use a 12-15 foot leader, tie 6 times, then replace the leader; that should put you taking ~6 feet off, then putting it back via a new leader.

I agree


I agree and also line waste per knot that I tie is way less then 1ft per knot.

I use 5.6 for all crank baits.