trapin the bass

[FL_fisher]

Has anyone else been having good luck with lipless rattletraps lately. I went fishing tuesday and caught 16 bass .Alot of them were little but I caught some nice ones the biggest was 31/2.Then I went fishing wednesday in a different lake and I caught 15 but these were much better in size .Alot of fish 2lbs and I caught one 4.2 .The ones that came off right at the boat are the ones I wish I caught .I lost  two right at the boat one was in the 5lb range the other I didnt see but Im sure it was just as big. I was using a pretty little lipless rattle trap I should of put bigger hooks on it because the one that are on it are pretty small I think that is why they came off. Any way it was still  fun and I had a good time. ;D

[FL_fisher]

oh and the times I went fishing were 6 to 8:30

[Lummer]

FL_Fisher, I assume you are in FL, approximately where are you and what color rattletrap where you using?

I am in south florida and I really have not experimented much with rattletraps but thinking about giving it a try...

[FL_fisher]

lummer :Im in central fl I was using a pearl color with a black back.The lake was pretty murky and I was fishing big weed beds in  3 to 5ft of water.

[Grey Wolf]

I've also have had good success lately on traps here in ohio with baby bass and bone/green colors.

[George Welcome]

There is no question that the trap can be one of the best producer during these hot times. The bass are feeding in the AM and in the PM on shad. If the shad don't hit the surface they will be just below and the bass know it.

[Sam]

Walked down to the James River in Richmond, Virginia and threw a silver with a blue back Rattle Trap and snaged a 4 pounder off the bank.

She was beautiful, too.

So I guess those Rattle Traps do work.

[SBM-RL]

ya ive had some sucess on rat L traps lately my biggest 3lbs 12ozs but ive caught many in the 3 lb range on them lately

[Marty]

How little was your bait? Maybe it wasn't the hook size, but sharpness. Some of those baits, such as the industry leader, come with terrible hooks.

[Kana]

oh me too me too...  japanese bass dont see the original ratl trap often, unless im throwing it.  i hit the river on monday and was throwing the 1/8 oz.  in crawfish pattern.  i caught a few when no one esle was getting bit!  recently i lost my only 1/8 oz that i had in the shad pattern, so my dad sent me 2 in every color and size!  not that they work all the time but when they do, they catch fish.  only down side, the hooks  suck a****S so i have to replace them all （and not all at once either!).  i have found that ive been catch most my fish parrallel  to the bank, close to weeds,if not in them, from 6am till about noon.

the most consistantly productive retreive is a stop and go.  i found a small school, thay wouldnt take in a straight retrieve.  i had to "kill it"  for them to hit it.  there have been sometimes i have to retrieve at a medium pace for a bite. but not as common as giving the bait some iregularity.  good luck.

[FL_fisher]

Kana: how big do those japanese bass get? Whats the biggest you have caught over there?

I went fishing agian today but this time I went early sorta. I didnt get on the lake untill about 8:30.I caught the first fish on the 3rd cast and I caught 7 more all in the 13/4 to 21/2 range untill 10:00. All of a sudden they quit hitting the rattletrap. I fished for a little after that then I saw  something floping in the water so I went to see what it was and it was a snakebird somehow it got its bill stuck in a rope tied to a dock.It was floping around in the water so I trolled to the rope and pulled the bird to me and them things pull like a 10lb bass I cut the rope off its bill and it swam away.I only fished about 30min after that  when I got to the ramp some people told me they didnt even catch a fish and another only caught 1.

[FL_fisher]

Marty: The bait I used wasnt real small. I didnt have any problem today, the hooks are sharp sometimes fish just getaway.

[Hamlet]

The most consistantly productive retreive is a stop and go. i found a small school, thay wouldnt take in a straight retrieve. i had to "kill it" for them to hit it. there have been sometimes i have to retrieve at a medium pace for a bite. but not as common as giving the bait some iregularity.

When you stop the lure, do you just stop reeling for a second or do you bow the rod to the lure and really let it sink?  I've also read some articles where they say you should move your rod side to side to make the action more eratic,...ever do this??

[FL_fisher]

Iv been catching a lot on a steady reel but sometimes you need to let it sink .When I do this I give the rod a little jerk and let the trap sink a little and then reel .Repeat a few times during a cast.

[Kana]

FL, the biggest i caught so far here in japan is the beast in the pic, she was about 8 pounds or so.  but there are bigger, by far, and are often caught!

about the stop on the retreive, basically i retrieve then give a jerk and wait about 3 seconds so  the trap just sinks, then i start the retreive again.  its worked so far...