King of Lipless Crankbaits

[spartyon8]

My go-to was a Red Eye Shad until the Berkley Warpig came out. A chrome/blueback Warpig is a killer for me. Since getting into painting lures, I got to try some Raid Level Vib knockoffs and really like the nose heavy head. Makes yo-yoing or jigging methods better. 

[Jason413]

On 3/22/2024 at 2:21 AM, NorthernBasser said:

Lots of good ones out there. This fella has become my favorite over the past few years. 13 Fishing Magic Man in Regurgitated Shad . Sadly, Rapala has bought them out and looks to be discontinuing their baits. 

 

 

13 Fishing for me as well.  Epic shad and Greenie were good in clear water.  

Not long ago a few places had all 13 Fishing lures on clearance, I loaded up.  Big fan of them.

[Peacedivision]

LV500 for me. Burn and pause or yoyo off the bottom it gets bit.

[Aaron_H]

7 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I have had two DD's on a rattle bait. One on the SK red eye shad 3/4oz in sexy shad color & my current PB on a SK red eye shad tungsten 2 tap 3/4oz in crome/blue back color. Guess what bait is the king of lipless crank baits in my opinion? I do change out the factory hardware. 

 

Ahh I'm terrible at this game. Spro Aruku Shad?

 

I also swap out the hooks on the RES for higher quality EWGs, it is one of the few baits I trust the split rings on, and I like that it comes standard with an oval line tie. I have caught some nice fish on the stock hooks, though, including this (at the time PB) 8lb 9oz. She jumped quite a few times and had some strong runs, but the stock hardware kept her pinned, just don't care for round bends much these days.

 

 

[Dwight Hottle]

@Aaron_H I agree with you totally on the hooks. In my opinion the round bend hooks suck on hook ups & keeping fish pinned. I much prefer a hook point that bends inward rather than straight up. The Mustad Triple Grip or KVD elite trebles are a good choice as well as the Owner ZoWire STX trebles my favorite. I switch out all jerk bait & crank bait hook as well as swim baits for these two choices. 

[Aaron_H]

2 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@Aaron_H I agree with you totally on the hooks. In my opinion the round bend hooks suck on hook ups & keeping fish pinned. I much prefer a hook point that bends inward rather than straight up. The Mustad Triple Grip or KVD elite trebles are a good choice as well as the Owner ZoWire STX trebles my favorite. I switch out all jerk bait & crank bait hook as well as swimsuits for these two choices. 

 

Agreed. The Mustad KVD short shank EWGs are 90% of what I swap to these days, but quite a few of my baits still have Gamakatsu EWGs on them which are pretty solid hooks, as well. I haven't tried the Zowires. As for round bend vs EWG, I'll take every little advantage I can get to keep those big fish pinned.

[@reelChris]

Lately, I've been picking lipless baits on which ones will stand up to being smashed into the trolling motor mid cast.  I can tell you from several experiences that red eyed shads and warpigs cannot.

[ReggieT]

Somehow the old pic was deleted...just reposting.

STILL haven't SLUNG a one of em!!!!😬🤓😭

[Bigbox99]

These baits have diffrent attributes.  It's not a case of which lipless is best as if they are the same type of bait.  They are more like lipped cranks in that some are better for shallow water and others are better in deeper water/on the bottom.  I favor the shallow running ones with a burn and pause retrieve over grass.  For that I use the Super Spot because it naturally wants to rise and stay up in the water column.  I hear the rattling Rapala is also good for this. 

 

There are also bottom bouncers that want to sink super fast and stay down more easily.  This is something I will be getting into this later winter/early spring.  I've used the Ripping Rap for this in the past but will be expanding to other baits.  

 

There is also the factor of how the bait falls.  Some will glide, some will wiggle belly down and others will turn on their side and flutter.  

 

You really need a collection of the things and throw different baits to see what the fish want.  If you are just starting out and fishing shallow I would recommend the Super Spot, Red Eye and Rattling Rapala.

[ReggieT]

48 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

These baits have diffrent attributes.  It's not a case of which lipless is best as if they are the same type of bait.  They are more like lipped cranks in that some are better for shallow water and others are better in deeper water/on the bottom.  I favor the shallow running ones with a burn and pause retrieve over grass.  For that I use the Super Spot because it naturally wants to rise and stay up in the water column.  I hear the rattling Rapala is also good for this. 

 

There are also bottom bouncers that want to sink super fast and stay down more easily.  This is something I will be getting into this later winter/early spring.  I've used the Ripping Rap for this in the past but will be expanding to other baits.  

 

There is also the factor of how the bait falls.  Some will glide, some will wiggle belly down and others will turn on their side and flutter.  

 

You really need a collection of the things and throw different baits to see what the fish want.  If you are just starting out and fishing shallow I would recommend the Super Spot, Red Eye and Rattling Rapala.

Great advice and sounds like good experience as well. Not just starting out...just rusty as an old fishhook and outta shape! LOL

[MAN]

Just a chrome blue or black back rattletrap.  My fish can't decern these from any other lipless that goes swimming by. 

[Jigfishn10]

On 3/19/2024 at 1:57 AM, Munkin said:

Kinami Rad shad

You still have that?

All time best lipless crankbait I own

Years ago I got this from Janns Netcraft....Almost positive I have a #2 treble on the belly and #4 at the rear

[Smirak]

The one I’m digging right now is the Jackall TN70.  Don’t know what color it is, some type of shad, but that thing just flat catches fish…

[woolleyfooley]

Haven’t seen anyone mention the spro aruku shad. I don’t fish a lot of lipless crankbaits here, but I have a few rattle traps, red eye shads and a few spro aruku shads. I’d say I like them all equally, but take that with a grain of salt as I don’t fish them much.

[ReggieT]

8 hours ago, Smirak said:

The one I’m digging right now is the Jackall TN70.  Don’t know what color it is, some type of shad, but that thing just flat catches fish…

Smirak,

Looking @ some currently via EBay...man they're mighty proud of em huh? lol

I may buy a couple of shad colors like the SS Shad or SG Threadfin Shad

BTW...I see you're over in HSV...my wife does some Telework on the Arsenal about twice a week.

 

Have you ever fished in that water around Ditto Landing?

Man... that's some great-looking sloughs, creeks, ripraps, backwaters, and bridge structures!

[Smirak]

Oh yeah man - I fish at ditto quite frequently. I’m a kayak fisherman, so I like to hit the little creeks, sloughs, etc. Also, don’t mind taking it on the main river either. 

[ReggieT]

1 hour ago, Smirak said:

Oh yeah man - I fish at ditto quite frequently. I’m a kayak fisherman, so I like to hit the little creeks, sloughs, etc. Also, don’t mind taking it on the main river either. 

Awesome man!

What are some productive patterns for Ditto....Bank fishin' wise?

[Smirak]

If I’m not in my kayak, I try and pitch the docks at the marina there. I haven’t been there in about a month or so, but when the drought is tough (like this year), Aldridge creek gets super skinny, super fast: honestly, never had good luck in the creek. I fish the “bow” created by Hobbs Island and it’s good fishing, but very little to no bank access…

[ike8120]

I mainly fish the Rapala Rattlin Rap in various colors. Going to try the 6Sense Duke.

[bassmanpat901]

On 3/19/2024 at 11:10 AM, A-Jay said:

Duo Realis G-Fix ~

Most productive when fished like a blade bait.

A-Jay

I have fallen in love with these too! Smokey Bone color is one of my go to’s! 

[primetime]

Strike King Red Eye Shad in chart perch pattern or gold sexy shad 1/2 oz. and gold Spro Aruku Shad. Smaller size which I think is 3/8. 

 

I still have a ton of the older Xcaliber xrk 25 & 50 One Knockers which I have always done really well with.  All colors seem to catch fish. 

 

When in doubt I throw Chrome colors or something in chart pattern. 

 

Also have some Reaction Strike lipless cranks in 1/4,1/2 and 3/4 with multiple line ties and are mostly silent, they seem to have sand inside based on the subtle sound and they work awesome. I am sure they are probably still around. Luckily stumbled across them years ago at a liquidator and purchased a ton of them since they work so well. Just change out the hooks and they work great especially on a lift and drop retrieve. They stand upright on bottom perfectly. 

[primetime]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:55 PM, ReggieT said:

Hey Guys,

 

I've always been a fan of the Original Bill Lewis Rattle Trap and did well with Rapala Rattlin Rapala.

Starting amp up for some heavy spring bass fishing.

 

Tell me what is your favorite/most productive lipless crankbait, color, size, and best time of year tossing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next time you are making an order on tackle warehouse, this is a fantastic lipless crankbait worth picking up. I have a bunch I grabbed about 10 years ago from Reaction Strike at a liquidator and after using them on a few trips I purchased about 30 of them in all sizes. I tend to throw these more than the old Xcaliburs (now booyah) which are considered gold.  They are mainly silent, have a slight rattle which is almost the sound of sand but a bit of a deeper sound. They sink faster, cast a mile, and stand perfectly on bottom so you can fish em like a jig or chuck and wind and rip out of weeds. I love the 2 line ties as well. They come with cheap hooks so I change mine out to better ones, mostly Triple grips or owners.  I believe Castaic/Reaction Strike is an OEM and makes baits and lures for other companies, so much of their stuff is slept on. Granted, some of the other baits they make are poor quality imo, but this is a worthy investment of $7.99. Both sizes are good, they are different weights than the standard sizes which I think helps with the action. Sometimes less noise is the ticket. 

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Castaic_Baits_CXV_Lipless_Crankbait/descpage-CCL.html?from=gshop&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7se8BhCAARIsAKnF3rwv3yjyYqiOLHYZf44U5U9ms3W17YeZs3D6Naltr-3wKc0SqUDKcsUaAgEfEALw_wcB