Lip-Less Crankbaits

[Robertqq]

Hello,

 

I do small Pond fishing; mainly Crappie and some (small) Largemouth.

Occasionally, a mis-guided Smallmouth.

 

Have been reading a bit on those LipLess Crankbaits.

Have never used, and would like to ask the following:

 

a. when, and why, would you use, rather than the (more common ?) ones with the plastic lips ?

 

b. do these lipless ones float, sink, or you can get either kind ?

 

c. advantages, and dis-advantages, of each ?

 

Thanks,

Bob

[scaleface]

Are you bank fishing these ponds ? I have never used Lipless cranks bank fishing. They catch fish but I would be  hung up constantly. 

[smalljaw67]

Lipless cranks are your typical Rat-L-Traps or Cordell super spots and there are a ton of others. For the fishing you do I'd look at the 1/8oz Rat-L-Trap and they sink but the brand Rat-L-Trap does make a floating version but probably too large for your tackle so go with the 1/8oz model that sinks and they sink fast. Advantages are versatility and speed, you can work these a number of ways but you can also cover a lot of water which is perfect when fish are scattered. disadvantages would be that they snag easily and that would be the only thing I list for that. The reason you would use this over a regular crankbait is a regular lipped model is set to run at a certain depth, you can fish the lipless at any deth you want simply by counting it down to how ever deep you want or if you want it shallow just raise your rod tip and reel fast and it is a shallow runner.

[Robertqq]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the information and explanations.

Just what I wanted.

 

BTW:  I fish off of a dock at the Pond.

"decent" depth; perhaps 8 to 10 feet.

 

Regards,

Bob

[sprint61]

Burn and rip them through grass make sure to vary your retrieve seems to help.

[Brnnoser6983]

Have never used, and would like to ask the following:

a. when, and why, would you use, rather than the (more common ?) ones with the plastic lips ?

b. do these lipless ones float, sink, or you can get either kind ?

c. advantages, and dis-advantages, of each ?

Thanks,

Bob

A)I like to use a lipless when there is grass or cover, but I have about 2 feet of depth to work with. Pulling a lipless through cover is going to give you a bad day. And your only going to catch salad fish.

Lipless don't always have the depth of say a DT 10. So if you are trying to stay in a deeper sweet spot I'd go with a lipped lure.

B. not sure

C) As in A, you won't get as deep in a specific target zone as long, and weeds are going to be a big deciding factor. But I think a lipless is an important tool as any in your arsenal, and should be looked at. Practice throwing it with different retrieve patterns (burn it, slow, dead twitch) and get comfortable with it.

[Choporoz]

I catch as many crappie as LMB on a 'small' silver and blue rattletrap...If I could only have one color, that'd be it

[ClackerBuzz]

i'm with scaleface and won't use them from shore anymore. i did use them from the bank years ago but quickly learned 1: they get snagged easy 2: if the bass are going to chase a rattletrap they will just as easily chase a lure that won't get hung up ie a spinnerbait/chatterbait/swimjig.

 

i use them as search baits on large water b/c you can cast them a mile and cover alot of water. and it's easy to get them un-snagged from a boat.  

 

if you have lots of weeds I would use a chatterbait b/c the vibrating blade literally shakes weeds off so you don't 'waste' a cast every time you touch weeds like with a spinnerbait. just rip ur rod tip hard and they will shake the weeds off 90% of time. spinnerbaits are like static cling when it comes to weeds.

 

however when around rocky shoreline i use a spinnerbait b/c it deflects better.  the chatterbait heads wedge into rocks more easily than spinnerbaits.