Bill Lewis Floating Rat L Trap...Not Floating?

[BooyahMan]

Hey guys, recently tried out a floating BL Rat L Trap and found that it doesn't float back up on slack line, it suspends. This would be neat in itself but I purchased it with the idea of fishing it in 1-2 feet of water only over top of growing pads. Is the lure taking on water? Also, are these lures supposed to have a very very tight wobble? It didn't seem to have much action upon retrieve but I am used to fishing lures with wide wobble so I possibly am just not used to it. 

Cheers!

[gulfcaptain]

What's your water temp?  They ones I have do float, but raise slowly and they have a very tight kick.  Look at the width of the top of the bait, there isn't much there.  The tight vibration and wiggle is the action it's supposed to have.  But the water temp will make a difference on how fast it floats up.

[fishballer06]

Like captain said, water temperature effects the buoyancy of all objects in water. But yes, they can suspend depending on the water temperature. They're lighter, so the wobble is different to them.

[BooyahMan]

Interesting, I didn't think the temp would have that drastic a difference. I don't have an actual water temperature but I would guess 40/low 40's.

[the reel ess]

The suspending Husky Jerk slowly floats up in cold.

[gulfcaptain]

20 hours ago, BooyahMan said:

Interesting, I didn't think the temp would have that drastic a difference. I don't have an actual water temperature but I would guess 40/low 40's.

Look at Megabass's I Slide 185

Megabass	Length	Weight	Class
I-Slide 185	7-1/4"	2oz	*See Note Below

*Action is dependent upon water temperature:

50°F - Slow Sinking 
55.5°F- Suspending 
59°F - Slow Floating 
68°F - Floating

The water temp has a big influence on this bait's characteristics.  Same goes with a lot of suspending and slow floating baits.  Also if you changed your stock hooks out with something heavier, then that will also change the baits bouyancy.

[Jigfishn10]

37 minutes ago, gulfcaptain said:

Look at Megabass's I Slide 185

Megabass	Length	Weight	Class
I-Slide 185	7-1/4"	2oz	*See Note Below

*Action is dependent upon water temperature:

50°F - Slow Sinking 
55.5°F- Suspending 
59°F - Slow Floating 
68°F - Floating

The water temp has a big influence on this bait's characteristics.  Same goes with a lot of suspending and slow floating baits.  Also if you changed your stock hooks out with something heavier, then that will also change the baits bouyancy.

It's amazing how peeps don't understand this concept and brush the 411 aside. Seeing it in writing is eye opening and makes a huge difference to a suspending lure. It's unbelievable what 5* does!

Great post gulf! 

[0119]

I just bought 4 floating rattletraps.  Their web site says they don't float and only sink about 12" which is why I bought them.

[scaleface]

Does your Trap have a lip . I just purchased   a floating  lipped Rattle Trap . bleeding shiner . Its like new  but has poor hooks . 

[gulfcaptain]

6 hours ago, 0119 said:

I just bought 4 floating rattletraps.  Their web site says they don't float and only sink about 12" which is why I bought them.

Nothing about them sinking or only running 12" but that would make since though considering they are supposed to float and the angle they run would only really lend itself to run about a foot deep.

 

Bill Lewis' legendary invention, the Rat-L-Trap, is recognized as the most popular, and consequently, the most imitated lure. The Rat-L-Trap's tight wobble allows that bait to dance identically to a panicked baitfish. Dual-frequency rattle chambers imitate the vibration of a school of minnows. In fact, analysis by leading bio-acoustic research teams confirms striking similarities between the sound of actual baitfish and the Rat-L-Trap. These sounds are the 'Dinner Bell' for predator fish.

Bill Lewis	Length	Weight	Class
Floating Rat-L-Trap	3"	1/3oz	Floating

[Bluebasser86]

I have a few old suspending traps that go down about 1-2 feet and suspend. They're a killer over shallow grass early in the year. 

[smalljaw67]

I have floating traps and I never used them in cold water. I'll say this, being able to stop and rip the bait in 2' of water generates a lot of strikes, I don't think the fish are used to seeing a lipless crank stop in shallow water.

[Ginosocalbass]

Mine suspend. Or I add weight to suspend them.  Look at the sebile flatt shad su.  They are a silent alternative for a floating trap

[RAMBLER]

I bought some of the floating "traps".  Two of them sink.  I e-mailed the company and they asked a few questions (don't remember the entire conversation).  After all was said they asked me to send them back and they would replace them and refund shipping costs.  They wanted to find out why the lures sank.  But, I played with them in a bucket of water and watched how they sank.  I had no line tied to them so that may make a difference.  They sank slowly, nose down, with a little "shimmy" and when they hit the bottom they remained standing nose on the bottom and the tail end straight up.  I weighed them and found that the floaters weighted 11 grams, the sinking floaters weighted 13 grams.  The more I played with them, the more I thought of those (bluegill colored) standing nose down in a bed and I wonder what a bass would do about that.  Twitched slowly and standing on their nose might be more than a bass could stand.  I don't normally fish beds, but this might be fun.  I have not had a chance to get out and try them, but I wonder if they will stand on top of weeds.
 

[0119]

12 hours ago, gulfcaptain said:

Nothing about them sinking or only running 12" but that would make since though considering they are supposed to float and the angle they run would only really lend itself to run about a foot deep.

 

Bill Lewis' legendary invention, the Rat-L-Trap, is recognized as the most popular, and consequently, the most imitated lure. The Rat-L-Trap's tight wobble allows that bait to dance identically to a panicked baitfish. Dual-frequency rattle chambers imitate the vibration of a school of minnows. In fact, analysis by leading bio-acoustic research teams confirms striking similarities between the sound of actual baitfish and the Rat-L-Trap. These sounds are the 'Dinner Bell' for predator fish.

Bill Lewis	Length	Weight	Class
Floating Rat-L-Trap	3"	1/3oz	Floating

I just went on to their site again and it says sink no deeper than 12".....

[BooyahMan]

Some interesting information guys, thank you! I'm going to play around with them for now and see what happens once the water starts warming up some. I can find a way to make use of a suspending lipless crank, it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. 

[primetime]

All the floating traps I have (2) float and I have not caught a fish on them yet...Really have not tried them much but they also make a suspending model as well...I decided to try the floaters after having success on the Sebile Suspending flatt shad but for some reason the floater just feels wierd to fish...Very light obviously...

I plan on trying it more this year over emerging weeds. I have not tried mine in the cold, purchased them from TW, and they float like a Floating Rapala would float on the pause and the few times I tried them last year I used them like a wake bait and would pause them and they would float to the surface. They only run maybe a foot or 2, if you go to fast they turn to the side but I figure they are a good way to fish the weeds easier, they are no doubt hard to cast on heavy gear, if they are floaters they will feel very light compared to the standards....

[Cisco the dog]

On 2/3/2016 at 8:31 AM, 0119 said:

I just went on to their site again and it says sink no deeper than 12".....

My rattle trap was performing perfect after about half an hour I noticed it wasn’t floating inside the sink I pulled it out and it was full of water. I don’t think it supposed to do that and it’s affecting the actual rattle

[the reel ess]

I have one that floats. But it's not extremely buoyant. And when I reel it any speed, it goes deeper than 2'. Also, I haven't caught anything on it.

[Jigfishn10]

4 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I have one that floats. But it's not extremely buoyant. And when I reel it any speed, it goes deeper than 2'. Also, I haven't caught anything on it.

I thought it was just me, I never had any luck on these either.

[the reel ess]

8 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

I thought it was just me, I never had any luck on these either.

It weighs and even sounds different.