Lipless crankbait vs lip crankbait

[juicebass]

When would one choose a lipless over a lip crankbait? Isn't the purpose to deflect and cause a reaction strike. Won't you lose that with the lipless?

[ThePolkFolk]

When I find a bottom that isn't too snaggy, I like to yo-yo a red eye shad off the bottom. Also just easy to follow bottom contour in general with lipless.

[Scarborough817]

early in the season is generally when i throw a lipless it has a nice tight wobble because of the flat sides and i feel that's something bass look for since it's a little more subtle than a big plus that move a lot of water 

[Spankey]

A lipped bait is designed to run to a certain depth. Lipless you have control of depth and action of the bait. As someone mentioned yo-yo ing of the bait. I find lipless baits a big part of my fishing. They are a good search bait.

[Deleted account]

I find myself using a lipless in colder water, around grass, or when fishing varying depths, and a crankbait when fish are concentrated, chasing bait, or around wood. Of course there are exceptions, and times when either will work.

[Cgolf]

Honestly I will try both and stick with the one that works best. I let the bass tell me what they want, because every time I think I have it figured out they tell me that I don't have a clue;)

[Spankey]

To OP you don't need to spend a fortune to get started with a few lipless baits. Keep color patterns pretty simple. In my mind I really only need 3 patterns but have many others that work great. The SK Red Eyed Shad are a big favorite here. I'm a bit more old school and am a Rat-L-Trap guy and Cotton has a Super Spot that has time proven patterns as well. Spots are a bit cheaper but good baits. I believe it's a bait that can't be fished wrong. Fast, burn it, slow, stop and go, yo-yo....if things are right they'll get bit. 

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, cgolf said:

...I will try both and stick with the one that works best. 

 

We should just cut and paste this as an answer to every question. 

[scaleface]

Lipless baits snag easily. I avoid using them in heavy cover .  On relatively open points , which I  fish a lot , I will use both . A diving bait that will dig into the bottom and a lipless bait which will sink  I will usually hop the lipless bait . The fish will prefer one over the other .

[Paul Roberts]

Lipped baits are generally buoyant and have a specific diving depth making them easier to control depth and speed with. They are also much more snag resistant than lipless.

 

Lipless baits sink like rocks. They require a bit more "visualization" to know where in the water column they are. They snag pretty easily, esp in wood. They glom up with weeds that lipped baits can walk through. Lipless are best in open water, and sparser weeds and weed edges. They have GREAT attraction and triggering, so are worth getting to know.

 

Contact can be a major trigger with any bait and lipped cranks excel at this, mostly bc they are relatively snagless if fished deftly. Contact can be used with lipless baits, but is much safer on more solid objects and substrates. They are in danger around twigs and branches. They can be ripped from sparse vegetation though, which is essentially the same trigger as a crashed or ripped lipped CB.

 

You should have both (and, no, I'm not just aiding the bait monkey). Cranks give you great control. Lipless simply have great triggering (bass eat them) even in open water, can be fished fast, and can cover a range of depths in one cast -the reasons they make great a "search baits". 

[Clinton john]

Lots of good info here.

 

I use both but tend to use the CB more around thick grass and wood or when the fish are telling me to slow it down are want a certain movement.

 

I use the trap more around open flats and points or channel drop off's and change the size to match the size of bait fish the bass or eating their.

 

My favorite time and place for a trap is on Sandy flats when the schools show up to slam shad in the early morning and late evening, match the size and color of the trap to the shad, burn it throw and hold on for deer life.

[Cgolf]

10 minutes ago, A5BLASTER said:

Lots of good info here.

 

I use both but tend to use the CB more around thick grass and wood or when the fish are telling me to slow it down are want a certain movement.

 

I use the trap more around open flats and points or channel drop off's and change the size to match the size of bait fish the bass or eating their.

 

My favorite time and place for a trap is on Sandy flats when the schools show up to slam shad in the early morning and late evening, match the size and color of the trap to the shad, burn it throw and hold on for deer life.

 

If you through some reeds up on that sandy flat, it is a magnet for all gamefish, especially bass, pike, and musky. Both lipless and SB work equally well in the reeds as long as you work them carefully to not snag a stalk. Then it is just a case of which action they want on a given day and you don't need to bounce the bait off the reeds to trigger strikes. I truly think that they don't see many cranks in that kind cover so that is why they crush them.

[Clinton john]

We have enough problems with gator gar down here don't need any more toothy fish down here then what we got now lol.

 

For us down here we throw SB cranks at reeds all the time and your right they do hold some good bass, not much reeds in Toledo Bend, but down south Louisiana where I was born and raised got plenty of reeds in the marsh.