Good cross?

Back when I used to coon hunt a lot, I had this Nite ch. plott female named Maggie. I bred her to a Gr. Nite ch. male and every pup made coondogs. Two made nite champions and both were run over on the highway within a month of making nite champions. The others went to coon hunters who just pleasure hunted but they were tickled pink with their dogs. I made the same cross thinking this is a sure shot and only one dog turned out. I could not figgure it out.
Still I believer that is your best shot on getting good dogs. There are so many varibles tho that nothing is gaurenteed. Like T dog mentioned there are dogs out there male and female that are prepotent on stamping their traits on their offspring. I have a female and I think I could breed her to a poodle and come up with hogdogs.
Overall tho your best bet is to breed the best you can find or have to a equally good mate with similar traits and hope for the best. Also if a dog is weak in one area make sure the dog you are breeding to is strong in that department. For example I have a plott female that is what I call medium to cold nose. She finds a lot of hogs for us but when I am going to breed her it will be to a really cold nose male.
The most important thing I believe is you have to hunt them. The best dog in the litter is normally the one that gets hunted the most.