I’ve heard the term “pump the crank” used when other fishermen are fishing with crankbaits. Can you explain what they mean?

You will find that the crankbaits are incredibly buoyant. That makes these buoyant crankbaits top choice for digging along the bottom of the water. You would usually hold the rod tip down at an angle so that it can send a message with a forceful throb. When you’re casting out, try to make sure that is a good long one and hold the rod down. Ok here comes the part where you “pump the crank”. Be sure to sweep the tip of the rod in a slow motion one or two times in order to help “pump the crank” down. You want to steadily reel until you feel that the crankbait has started to bump hit along the bottom or is bouncing off of things in the water. This is where you will want to take a moment and retrieve a bit; especially if this is an area you feel that you could get snagged easily, as you do not want to be hitting things or getting caught. By doing this it will allow the crankbait to float up a little bit. This is where the high buoyancy comes in handy as it helps to avoid those snags. When you feel that you have allowed the crankbait to float up enough then you can slowly start reeling again. You do not want to loose all of your bottom contact. You can then resume the sweeping or reeling, which is until you hit the bottom or bounce off of things again.