school me on lipless crankbaits?

[ohihunter2014]

what size and style of lipless crankbaits do you guys like? I went to the store today to buy some tackle and looked at ratl traps and they are quite expensive and vary a lot. will a cheaper lipless crankbait perform the same as a expensive ratl trap? I seen a lot of bleeding shad and then some red and black ones but wasn't sure whats the best to get. some were also just plain silver and very bright it didn't look natural to me. I mostly get smaller 2-3lbs bass and sometimes we land 5-6lbs if that helps with what to get.

[npl_texas]

I really only throw 1/2 ounce varieties. I throw the Rat'l Traps and RES's.  I throw the mostly chrome and sexy shad because that's what's in the lakes I fish.

 

 

[ohihunter2014]

17 minutes ago, npl_texas said:

I really only throw 1/2 ounce varieties. I throw the Rat'l Traps and RES's.  I throw the mostly chrome and sexy shad because that's what's in the lakes I fish.

how do I go about finding out what's in my lakes? I fish lake erie and a few larger reservoirs.

[NorthwestBasser]

I use Rat I Traps and red eyes, depending on where I am fishing I'll throw chrome/blue back or a craw pattern. I also have some lucky craft lipless. In my opinion, there are some things in life where you shouldn't go with the "cheapest" option, like mattresses and lipless cranks. Doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive, but you get what you pay for...

[bigturtle]

I throw a very wide variety of lipless cranks. my 3 most commonly used are 1/2oz cotton cordell super spot, 3/4oz lucky craft LV500 and 3/4oz lucky craft LV500GP. I mainly fish these in 6-10ft of water, and I usually burn these things with twitches incorporated into the retrieve. 

[Raul]

"Traps" expensive ? Whada ........ ?

[Fishes in trees]

My 2 favorite lipless cranks are the old Berkley Frenzy - in a shiny thread fin shad color and a Cotton Cordell Spot - also in a shiny color.

[Catt]

Rat-L-Trap

1/4, 1/2, & 5/8 oz

Gold, black back, orange belly

Copper

Crawfish reds

[roadwarrior]

The Red Eye Shad is a superior product.

 

 

[Spankey]

I throw mostly a Rat-L-Trap. Got hooked on that brand years ago. Hard to convince me anything is better but I have patterns on Super Spots and Red Eyes that are productive. I'm a river rat and have settled on the 1/4 oz. Mini Traps. Feel it's the all around trap size for me. 

 

Ive posted this many times. And this is only my opinion. Not gospel, and not trying to push it. But if I were to only have three with me it would be a chrome with black back, chrome with a blue back and a gold with a black back. If I had to start out buying a few those would be it. 

 

Dont know now where you are looking but most Traps are $4.99 - $5.50. In my area Wally World has little to nothing. Buy the patterns you want on line. What's nice about a Trap it's easy to fish/ swim it to match contour. Just try it. 

 

You could check Wally World for some. The Spots were $1.50 and Traps were $3.00 on clearance sale Check it out. I believe Rapala is doing away with the Rattling Rap. See they have been on sale also. The $1.96 bin at Wally has a lot of these Spots in it also. The patterns do float my boat but they will catch fish. 

[LBASS01]

I really like the Booyah hard knocker and one knocker!

[sll]

I always preferred the Rapala Rattling Raps.

[scaleface]

I mostly use lipless baits off-shore in deeper water . The RES drops well . It does what a trap cant .

[ohihunter2014]

thanks guys. the 2 i found at a sporting goods store was like $9 for the ratl trap and the off brands were about $4.

[scaleface]

Just now, ohihunter2014 said:

thanks guys. the 2 i found at a sporting goods store was like $9 for the ratl trap and the off brands were about $4.

 Nine dollars is outrageous for a Trap . 

[Cgolf]

I use mostly RES and the newer rippin raps. I have a few traps, but previously didn't do well with them. Now that I have stepped up my lipless game I am going to give them a toss again to see if I can build some confidence in them.

[reerok]

1 hour ago, ohihunter2014 said:

thanks guys. the 2 i found at a sporting goods store was like $9 for the ratl trap and the off brands were about $4.

 

The website we can't mention (xLandxBigxFishxDotxCom) has the original Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps on sale for around $4 right now.  Same for the Red Eye Shads.  It's a good time to load up.  Both are excellent and serve their own purpose.  RES sink really well so I like to rip or yo-yo them off the bottom and let them flutter back down - prepare for the hit on the fall.  

 

I'm also an Ohio fisherman and my lakes (a bit south of you - all in the Muskingham Watershed District) have mostly shad and bluegill forage so those are the colors I tend to use.  

[RoLo]

I throw the Rat-L-Trap, Aruku Shad and Red-Eye Shad.

If I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with the Spro Aruku Shad 75 - chrome blue

I prefer the 5/8 oz size because it provides a longer cast, it's easier to slow-roll near bottom

and it's not dwarfed by the treble hooks.

 

Roger

[shovelmouth83]

i love the rat l trap. i like to use the sexy shad and the chrome blue back. 1/2 oz in both.

[Fishin' Fool]

Keep in mind one knocker types of lipless cranks when you build your collection.  There are just some days when that cadence is all they want.

https://www.bassmaster.com/tips/selecting-right-lipless-crankbait

[Jaderose]

$9 for a trap?  I would stop supporting that store

 

[Senko lover]

Cotton Cordell Super Spots can be purchased for like $3 at Walmarts and they're a heck of a lipless crankbait. I'd recommend the Red Eye Shad though - hard to beat that lure.

[GreenGhostMan]

I haven't been able to catch many fish on lipless cranks, yet I still try and throw them in hopes I'll eventually figure them out.  I have a few of each of the below.  All are 1/2 oz unless noted.

 

SK RES

Super Spots

Rat l traps

booyah hard knocker and one knocker

spro aruku shad jr.

H20 xpress rattlin' T (5/8 oz)

H20 xpress LCR (3/8 oz)

 

Since I haven't caught many fish on these baits, I don't really have a favorite.  If I had to choose, it would probably be the 1/2 oz spro, just because its smaller than most 1/2 oz, but still can launch it or the booyah one knocker.

[Spankey]

3 hours ago, GreenGhostMan said:

I haven't been able to catch many fish on lipless cranks, yet I still try and throw them in hopes I'll eventually figure them out.  I have a few of each of the below.  All are 1/2 oz unless noted.

 

SK RES

Super Spots

Rat l traps

booyah hard knocker and one knocker

spro aruku shad jr.

H20 xpress rattlin' T (5/8 oz)

H20 xpress LCR (3/8 oz)

 

Since I haven't caught many fish on these baits, I don't really have a favorite.  If I had to choose, it would probably be the 1/2 oz spro, just because its smaller than most 1/2 oz, but still can launch it or the booyah one knocker.

Don't be afraid to fish a Rat-L-Trap on the fast side. 

[ohihunter2014]

okay I went to the store and grabbed a craw color red eye shad by strike king and a rat-L-trap in bleeding shad cause that's all they had and I had some dicks coupons to use by tonight.

 

Now for the life of me I couldn't find a size on these telling if they are 1/2oz or what. how do you know what size these are? the red eye had several different colors but only one size but the rat-L-trap had bright chrome colors, a very large (IMO) craw color and some very small other colored shads. IMO I got the medium size trap.

 

did I make the right call tonight?