rat-l-trap and lipless crankbait what's the difference?

[fisher of bass]

i have a couple of traps,[never caught anything on them], i want to try to get better at cranking this year, strike kings red eye shad looks appealing, is there a difference  :-[ tia

[Oscar O.]

rat-l-traps are in the category of lipless crankbaits. Same with the strike kings. both lures are made by different companies and thats about it, they might have a difference in shape also. Some dont even have rattles, but i have never used those.

[smallieking]

i like the rat-l-trap the most   it definetly puts out the most vibration among mostly all lipless cranks   the ratl trap is special because its head( where u tie on the line) is alot wider  so it displaces alot more water then other lipless cranks  

[=Matt 5.0=]

Now's the time to throw one!

I like in no specific order

Strike King red eye shad

Yo Zuri Rattlin' Vibe

Cotton Cordell Super Spot

Bill Lewis Rat L Trap (although the hooks are garbage)

Rapala's Rattlin Rapala

Some are louder than others. The Yo Zuri in my opinion puts out the most noise. You can hear it from the boat.

[RiskKid.]

The lipless crankbait is a category of crankbaits.....the rattle trap is one model made by Bill Lewis Co. It is one of many brands although I think it may be the original lipless crank. The Red Eye Shad is just another model made by Strike King. Folks will have different preferences although most agree that this is an effective bait especially in the spring.

I would try a few different brands and see what you like.....BTW....hooks on the rattle traps are not very good and you would be well advised to change them out.

[garry77]

There is no difference so to speak.Rat-l-trap is just a brand name of lipless crank.They all probably work but the rat-l-trap seems to be one of the favorites.

[mynameis....andimabassaholic]

i use lip less crank baits all the  time on a river here in IL, my favorite situation to use them would be when the bass are on weedy flats, and ripping your bait through the weeds gets some good reaction bites, i was also looking at the strike king red eye shad and from what i found is that they only make a 1/2 ounce, my favorite personally is SPRO aruka shad

[Marty]

The lipless crankbait is a category of crankbaits.....the rattle trap is one model made by Bill Lewis Co. It is one of many brands although I think it may be the original lipless crank.

Nope, it was preceded by the Spot.

[Whitebassfan]

I prefer cotton Cordell's because their cheap compared to other lipless crankbait brands like the bill Lewis rat l trap

[Sam]

We have to modify our lipless cranks like the pros.

 

First, upsize the front hook to a size 3 Gammy Extra Wide treble hook.

 

Then, if you are fishing in structure or grass, remove the rear hook. This minimizes hang ups.

 

You need three colors: bluegill, shad and crawfish. This will cover all three seasons, with the summer being left out.

 

I thought the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap was the first of its kind. Glad to read about the other one that preceded Bill's invention.

[BigAngus752]

Quote

 

Okay, now I'm dying to know if the OP has caught any fish on a lipless crankbait in the past nine years since he posted this!  

[scaleface]

There is a big difference between the Rattle Trap and the Red Eye Shad . When the RES is allowed to fall , it  still has  a wiggle and tics , the Rattle trap lies on its side .  The RES is one of my favorite deep water lures because of that . Traps nor Spots were the first lipless baits . Bayou Boogies and Pico Perches are much older . Heddon Sonics may be older too .

[burrows]

Red eye shads are effective and aruko shad but my favorite is the cotton Cordell super spot. I have never had any luck on the original rat L traps either.

[primetime]

Bill Lewis has about a dozen versions of the rattle trap, one knockers, colors, different hi pitch sounds, nose weighted etc. When I think Rattle trap, I think cordell spots and the original model since they were the first I got into and caught fish.

 

The cordell Spot is one of the better lures for fishing grass since it is buoyant compared to others, plus they make a suspending model, for a high pitch lure for ripping grass its really good.

 

There are actually alot of differences between brands and styles etc. In Fisherman once did a huge breakdown of which models fall like a spoon, flutter, good for jigging, grass, sounds, cycling..It was a good read, I am sure you can find it.

 

I find you can usually get extra fish if you throw a one knocker or a lower or higher pitched sound after fishing a trap, the bill lewis traps are good for burning imo, Red Eye shad has that nice natural shimmy on the fall, The Spro Aruku Shad is nose weighted helping the trebles avoid weeds, plus it rests on bottom nose down which works in winter. Reaction Strike XV series is also tungsten weighted in front for same action, 2 line ties for fishing different depths..

 

You only need a few but certain models like the Lucky Craft Version which corrects itself in grass is considered a premium version, the Jackall TN seems to always be popular, but I throw the ones I mentioned, the Sebile Flatt Shadds silent, Suspending & sinking, but one of my favorites is the Live Target Shiner, I consider most live target lures to be gimmicky with exception of the Frog & Mouse, but that shiner is awesome here in florida. Has a similar sound as the Yo-zuri/Excalibur lures and is actually one of the best for shallow water imo.

 

I started using the Red Eye Shad Two Tap after seeing a picture I think Bluebasser posted where the lure was destroyed, and so far I have to say, it is just a good lure that must sound different because it seems to be an improvement on the red eye shad and that is pound for pound maybe the best overall?

[WRB]

Spots and traps were the early lipless lures that everyone remembers but the first was Bayuo Buggie followed by the Heddon Sonic, both pre date spots and traps.

My favorite back in the 70's was Smithwicks Water Gator and today I am using Yo-Zuri 3D Vibes because of it's unique swimming action on the fall and good prism colors.

Bill Lewis Rattle Traps are the hallmark lipless with more sizes and colors then all other combined.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

I much prefer the RES to the original trap because of the fact that it shimmies on the fall instead of spiraling. I catch tons of bass ripping a RES off the bottom and letting it settle back down. Also really like the Booyah One Knocker (formerly Excaliber XRK50), when the bass are wanting a straight retrieve around rocks and grass I seem to do better with this one.