School Me On Lipless

[Msl819]

It won’t be long where I am before we are starting an early spring, pre-spawn pattern.  I am curious about lipless.  I will be fishing around grass, fairly shallow water, with scattered lay-downs and stumps.  What say you guys?

 

1.  What combo do you prefer to throw a lipless on?

2.  What are your go to lipless baits?

3.  How do you fish them?  Are you a burner?  A bottom hopper?  A grass ripper?

4.  Any special secrets you’re willing to share?

 

 

[Cgolf]

We don’t have grass on the lakes I fish but I fish them shallow all the way out to the inside weedline in 10-14 fow. I generally am a straight in retrieve with a pause added in once in a while, but will do what is needed to get bit. Even fish them in and around reed beds. 
 

 The best rod I have is a MH moderate st Croix premier, and I have tried many others. Baits 1/2 ounce red eye Shad and the 6th sense quake series in the 70 and 80 sizes are my firs5 choices. The 6th sense suspending quake showed a lot of promise last year and will see the water more this year. 

[cyclops2]

I tear the lips off of a Rapala floater.  Makes the speechless also.

[Sphynx]

Don't overlook the humble Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, I probably fish those and a Cotton Cordell Super Spot as much or more than any other lipless, this is a year round favorite of mine, and I almost always have one tied on. My favorite rod/reel/line are a St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass Crank rod, I think it's 7'3", I pair this with a Shimano Curado K 7 speed reel and 12lb FC, I like a Palomar knot but be careful about burning the FC by not wetting the line. I probably catch more fish burning and throwing in an occasional stop to my cadence than any other technique, but the actual speed they want on a given day varies, I like to toss it over any kind of chunk rock, or rip rap, bang it off the tops of these; along weed edges and if you can get it to just hang up on the tops of the grass until it reaches up too high and ripping it free will get you clobbered more often than not. I don't really like the Bill Lewis or Cotton Cordell for yo yo techniques, they tend to get hung up pretty easy, but Lucky Craft, 6th Sense and a bunch of others work pretty well with that in colder/finesse type conditions...it's a great lure and it'll catch you a pile of fish if you put in the time to learn it.

[papajoe222]

I throw mine on a 7'3" MH Mod rod using 15lb. Abrazx. In cold water, I stick with a straight retrieve and throw in a pause or a quick rip here and there. I stick with a Rat-L-Trap or a Cordell Super Spot and keep them high in the water column. As the water warms, normally after the spawn, I'll switch to a yo yo style retrieve using a Quake or Red Eye Shad and I'll also switch to a Mod/Fast action rod. The rod switch is more for ripping the bait free from weeds as it does a better job of that than the Mod action rod.

[Msl819]

Of the below rods, which would you most often choose?

 

7’1” M - Fast TFO Tactical Elite

873 CCR

844 MBR

7’3” H Glass Jackhammer Special

 

I don’t and won’t throw them enough to have a dedicated set up so it will need to be a double duty type situation.

[scaleface]

The all around 7 foot mh works well with lipless baits and most other baits I toss .

[GRiver]

I use a MH rod, with straight retrieve and a twitch now and then. I’ve never used the yo yo style retrieve that papajoe222 said he used, I’m gonna try that next time. 
I have few Bill Lewis “ rattle traps” and I just bought two Boohya “one knockers” that I can’t wait to try.

[Captain Phil]

There is no wrong way to fish a Rattle Trap.  It's one of the most effective bass lures ever created.  I throw my Rattle Traps with a 7/1 Shimano reel and 20 pound Big Game mono.  Lately, I have experimented with brad and I like it because I can feel the lure vibrate in the rod and I lose less fish with brad.   I have caught bass ripping a Rattle Trap in the dead of winter and in the heat of summer.  One of the longest bass I ever caught came on a Rattle Trap.   I couldn't weight it because it wouldn't fit in my Skeeter's live well and I didn't want to harm the fish.  

 

If nothing else works, a Rattle Trap will always get me a fish.  I jerk the rod every few handle cranks to mimic a wounded fish or a deflection.   Rattle Traps are fish finders.  If you are into trolling, there is nothing better.  Around here, we look for eel grass.  A fast moving Rattle Trap pulls fish out of that grass like a magnet.  There are days if you are not fishing a Rattle Trap you aren't fishing. 

 

 

[Deleted account]

10 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

I tear the lips off of a Rapala floater.  Makes the speechless also.

I knew they were made in Finland, Ireland, and Eastern Europe, now Colombia?...

[scaleface]

Most of my lipless fishing is in deep water, hopping it like a worm . A Red Eye Shad is the only lipless I fish like that .When  fishing from a john boat ,   the bait can be heard when  lifted off the bottom and can be heard making a ticking sound a ticking sound when its falling . The boat hull acts like an amplifier . Then I can hear the bass hit the bait before I ever feel it , if I feel it . Its some of the funnest fishing I do and three out of the last four years    my largest bass  has been caught with this method . I'm especially fond of the tungsten two tap but also employ the regular and silent models  . 

 

The quarter ounce size will slay white bass using the same method along with drum, channel, and blue cats . Its so much fun that I'll ignore largemouths and put dozens, maybe even a hundred in the boat .

[Bankbeater]

I fish lipless on a 7' mh/f rod with 15# mono.  I have collected a few different brands over the years, but most of the time I will be fishing with a Rat-l-trap or a Super Spot.  Different brands sound different in the water.  While one lipless brand may not be getting any bites, another brand may get bit like crazy.

[Catt]

Everyone is aware of ripping Rat-L-Traps out of grass but the technique that made Traps popular was fishing standing timber.

 

That's still my #1 way to fish a Trap & accounted for my PB. 

 

Tackle I prefer a 7' Medium, fast graphite rod, 6.8 or 7.5 reel spooled with 20# Berkley Big Game.

[DitchPanda]

I use a 7ft medhvy mod fast falcon bucoo trapcaster primarily. For baits I use 1\2oz Cordell spots for straight retrieve and 1\4oz red eye shads for hopping. Line of choice is 15lb big game.

[Spankey]

My St. Croix Premiere Series Crankbait Rod (moderate) has had a Rat-L-Trap tied on it much of the time I've owned it. Older Shimano Currado reel. Real shame they discontinued these rods a while back.

 

For the most part I fish the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. But do fish a few RES and Spots. Basically the same reaction bait to me. My first bass of the season on many years has come off of a rattle bait. A Rat-L-Trap bait has saved the day on many occasion and kept me from a possible skunking.

 

 

[Mbirdsley]

When yo-yoing do you let the lipless fall all the way to the bottom.  Or just let it fall a few feet mid water column and start retrieving again ? 

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, Mbirdsley said:

When yo-yoing do you let the lipless fall all the way to the bottom.  Or just let it fall a few feet mid water column and start retrieving again ? 

I cast , allow it to sink to the bottom  , then lift and drop as if I was worm fishing . My lifts are a little bit higher than I normally do with a worm .

[BlakeMolone]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Everyone is aware of ripping Rat-L-Traps out of grass but the technique that made Traps popular was fishing standing timber.

 

That's still my #1 way to fish a Trap & accounted for my PB. 

 

Tackle I prefer a 7' Medium, fast graphite rod, 6.8 or 7.5 reel spooled with 20# Berkley Big Game.

One of the lakes I fish is loaded with standing timber and giant bass, do you usually just use the half ounce size? Do you fish them in standing timber all year? Any other pointers? Lipless baits are something I haven’t had a lot of success on yet but I’m going to give them a fair shot this spring.

[Deebo]

1 hour ago, Mbirdsley said:

When yo-yoing do you let the lipless fall all the way to the bottom.  Or just let it fall a few feet mid water column and start retrieving again ? 

I yo yo trying to stay in the 15-10 ft column.  Most of this is In 50+ fow but they suspend in that range. So that method definitely works.  I use a heavy trap like the lv500 for that purpose 

[Sphynx]

14 hours ago, Msl819 said:

Of the below rods, which would you most often choose?

 

7’1” M - Fast TFO Tactical Elite

873 CCR

844 MBR

7’3” H Glass Jackhammer Special

 

I don’t and won’t throw them enough to have a dedicated set up so it will need to be a double duty type situation.

I prefer a moderate rod, this style of rod works well for a number of other techniques, it also works for mid depth crankbaits, and some folks I know like throwing chatterbaits and spinnerbaits on them too, that said your choice in line has a big effect on which rod works best, if you fish mono I'd definitely go with a faster tip to help combat the line stretch on long casts, if your using braid you might want a bit softer action, it will also depend on which hooks you run on your lipless, thicker hooks want more power to penetrate lips, thinner lips can get by with less, they even make Rat-L-Trap in like 1/4oz sizes that work great on a spinning rod, the technique is so versatile that the world is pretty much your oyster on this, you almost assuredly own a rod already that will work great for this, you just might need to modify your hooks/rings/line to complement it well and your off to the races.

[Catt]

4 hours ago, BlakeMolone said:

do you usually just use the half ounce size? Do you fish them in standing timber all year? Any other pointers?

 

1/4, 1/2, 5/8, & 3/4 

 

Yes sir you can fish standing timber year long.

 

Look at structure first & then the timber. Look for creek channels, cuts, the biggest trees, clusters of trees, tree lines forming a point. I generally stay in 10' of water or less.

[BlakeMolone]

Really appreciate it, my PB came out of a large cove full of standing timber this past November and I cannot wait to hit it again from my float tube when the water warms up and the fish get a little more aggressive. I’m going to grab 5 or 6 traps, do some map research, and hit it hard this spring.

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

When yo-yoing do you let the lipless fall all the way to the bottom.  Or just let it fall a few feet mid water column and start retrieving again ? 

That depends on what’s on bottom! There’s usually an ancient log down there somewhere. I fish them on bottom in winter and reel them most other times. I like to randomly drop the rod or pop it during the retrieve. I’ve got some nice smallies in the 4 -5 lb range with rattle traps. One of my best ones was in November on a mud bank near a cliff, pictured below (long time ago) 

 

 

another thing I’ve heard but never tried: if you’re fishing a stump field and getting stuck, take the back hook off 

[rtwvumtneer6]

Admittedly, a lipless is not a strength of my mine.  I've played around with a bunch of brands but always seem to go back to the 1/2oz RES, and the 2-tap.

 

When I do fish them, it's dictated by the conditions, and how active the fish are. 

 

For open water I used a 7' M/F for a long time, but if you're looking for one rod to cover all your trap needs, the Falcon Deep Runner 7'3" MHMF works great for me.  There's a 7' model they call a trapcaster that I imagine is very similar.

 

[papajoe222]

12 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

When yo-yoing do you let the lipless fall all the way to the bottom.  Or just let it fall a few feet mid water column and start retrieving again ? 

If I'm marking fish at a certain depth, I'll count it down to that depth an yo-yo it from there, but the majority of time I let it fall to the bottom.

23 hours ago, Msl819 said:

Of the below rods, which would you most often choose?

7’1” M - Fast TFO Tactical Elite

873 CCR

844 MBR

 

I'd go with the 873 which, I believe, is a crankbait rod.