William Snee Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 I am getting ready to order some rat-l-trap lures for bass. I currently use a chrome with blue back on one lake. The water is brownish to slightly stained.The other lake is green colored water that mixes with slightly stained water coming from canals. I have a 2015 catalog which is full of lures that display many color patterns. Just having a hard time choosing which ones to purchase. Any help is appreciated. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted January 2, 2015 Super User Posted January 2, 2015 No doubt Rat-L-Traps are effective & classic baits and that chrome & blue back is good almost anywhere, anytime. However my advice to you is, if you don't already have one, buy one 1/2 ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad in Sexy Shad color. Fish it when you feel a lipless bait will work and see how it goes. And don't forget to stop your retrieve intermittently and to let the bait fall (on a semi tight line) as this is where the bait Excels. The standard Rat-L-Trap falls like a stone, but the Red Eye Shad descends with a nice little shimmy that bass can not resists. Good Luck A-Jay 2 Quote
MassBass Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Im looking forward to using red lipless baits in the early spring. Ripping it around weeds. Im gona get some redeye shads. Definetly one in the orange craw color. One of the best lures ever invented, and they are fun to fish and cover water. I kill stripers with silver color scheme rattlebaits. Quote
Super User Raul Posted January 2, 2015 Super User Posted January 2, 2015 Choose the colors YOU LIKE, actually in low visibility conditions colors matter very little, bass do not need to see the bait in order to strike it. 1 Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted January 2, 2015 Super User Posted January 2, 2015 Gold w/ black back, On the small rivers around here a redish, orange belly is hot at times, as is a Tilapia. Quote
Super User Angry John Posted January 2, 2015 Super User Posted January 2, 2015 check out a few diffrent ones as the action is a little diffrent. The spro lipless are very life like looking and the luckycraft 500 also has a very good action. Quote
Super User Catt Posted January 2, 2015 Super User Posted January 2, 2015 Gold black back orange belly Red chrome Toledo gold Quote
desmobob Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 I fish in very greenish-colored water. I've had excellent luck with Firetiger and Chartruese Crawdad. Tight lines, Bob Quote
pbizzle Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 And don't forget to stop your retrieve intermittently and to let the bait fall (on a semi tight line) as this is where the bait Excels. The standard Rat-L-Trap falls like a stone, but the Red Eye Shad descends with a nice little shimmy that bass can not resists. A-Jay The Storm Rockin' Shad also "rocks" on the fall. Both are GREAT baits though. Quote
Super User fishballer06 Posted January 3, 2015 Super User Posted January 3, 2015 Chartreuse shiner. End of story. Quote
Brnnoser6983 Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 Stimulate what's around. If there are Perch get perch, but a silver or chartreuse are always a winner in most lakes. Quote
Hattrick7 Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 I would also pick up some knocker traps while you're at it. It gives off a different sound than the regular beads and it can mean a few bites vs a lot of bites. Color wise the chrome blue is a must. I agree the sexy shad is also good. I'd try one with gold in it also. Quote
Super User smalljaw67 Posted January 3, 2015 Super User Posted January 3, 2015 Lipless cranks have an array of colors and guys that have a lot of experience with them are able to fine tune color patterns that are most effective in their waters but the good part is beginners only need a few colors that will work anywhere. Keep it simple, chrome, chrome with black back, chrome with blue back, and a colored chrome like royal shad or blue shiner. Once you have your chrome baits you can leave it like that or add a forage color like Tilapia, sunfish, perch, or whatever forage your water has or you could go for bright color like chartreuse blue sparkle or chartreuse shad but make sure you get the chrome colors first and foremost. I say that because even if they are hitting a bright color or forage pattern, you can always get them on a chrome color, for example when fishing Cordell super spots, my buddy was hammering fish after fish on Jimmy Houston Summer Sunfish, I didn't have it and every other color I tried just wasn't working, they wanted that sunfish pattern. Well after I looked through my box, the only thing I had with a few of the same colors was a royal shad, so I put that on and I was catching fish too, not at the same rate but I was getting them, and it wasn't a one time thing, I've had a lot of days in which one pattern of lipless was doing well but we were always able to find one of the chrome patterns would work so I now make sure to have more chrome colors than anything else. Quote
jbw252 Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 I agree with the suggestions for the chrome variants of the Rat-L-Traps. Kudos to A-Jay for suggesting my favorite lipless crankbait - a Strike King Red Eye Shad in Sexy Shad color. A great bait with a proven history. 1 Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted January 3, 2015 Super User Posted January 3, 2015 The feature that makes the Red Eye Shad so effective is the nose down fall. A color that has been good for me is Orange Craw. Quote
MassBass Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 The feature that makes the Red Eye Shad so effective is the nose down fall. A color that has been good for me is Orange Craw. Is the "orange craw" color actually red? It looks totally red online. I haven't seen the lure in person. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted January 3, 2015 Super User Posted January 3, 2015 Yes, it looks red to me. Quote
Super User Fishes in trees Posted January 3, 2015 Super User Posted January 3, 2015 My current thinking on Rattle baits is that brand is more important than color. I don't own every brand out there, but I do own Traps and Spots and the Yo-Zuri Drum and the Spro Aruku Shad and the Strike King Red Eye Shads and the predecessor the Diamond Shad, and the Bagley Shad-a-lack, and the Lucky Craft ones and I know I'm leaving out several. My current favorite is a discontinued bait, the Berkley Frenzy, in a kind of shiny, shad color. I've thrown enough of these baits that these days I start and stay with the Frenzy. I have 4 of these baits left, down from a close out purchase of 10. When I run out of these baits, then I will resume my rattle bait experiments. Quote
Super User Scott F Posted January 4, 2015 Super User Posted January 4, 2015 Is the "orange craw" color actually red? It looks totally red online. I haven't seen the lure in person. They are a deep orange color. That one, the orange craw, has caught more fish for me this year than any other bait except for pointers. If you are buying lipless cranks, do yourself a favor and get at least one Red Eye Shad in Orange craw. If you only buy one, you'll make another trip for a few more. Believe me. Quote
papajoe222 Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 I have three favorites. Chrome/blue back, Sexy Shad and Red Craw. I will throw a Cotton Cordell gold/black back in stained water, but that isn't very often. Quote
timsford Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 All these colors listed above are good. Lipless baits are one of my favorite ways to fish. My absolute favorite is the orange belly craw redeye shad. I fish it like im stroking a jig. Let it sink to the bottom and rip it up a foot or two like a crawfish trying to escape Quote
TorqueConverter Posted January 4, 2015 Posted January 4, 2015 I am getting ready to order some rat-l-trap lures for bass. I currently use a chrome with blue back on one lake. The water is brownish to slightly stained.The other lake is green colored water that mixes with slightly stained water coming from canals. I have a 2015 catalog which is full of lures that display many color patterns. Just having a hard time choosing which ones to purchase. Any help is appreciated. Every shade of red that exists on earth and then one that matches the body of water's common forage item. Quote
Super User scaleface Posted January 4, 2015 Super User Posted January 4, 2015 I fish a 200 acre lake from a small john boat. I can hear rattle baits through the hull. I like to vertical jig them. Rattle traps have worked best for me. I can actually hear the fish hit it on the drop. Red Eyed Shads are cool. When they fall I hear them go tick tick,tick but have not done near as well with them as with Traps. Chrome and blue has worked best . Quote
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