Gear ratio for deep cranks

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.