Crankbait Lips

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I am just starting to pick up crankbaits after years of neglecting them. What do you choose for the varying conditions and how does the million of different type of lips effect the bait? I understand they will either create a tight or loose wobble according to the size. But when do you use which kind and under what conditions like muddy or clear and so on? And what are some of your favorite brands and models?

[guitarkid]

I'm no expert believe be, but I heard the pointed lips such as bombers are meant to go threw grass and junk easier. The coffin lips are meant for deflecting off of cover such as timber and the likes. the short square bills are mostly wake baits.

How ever like I said I am no expert, but this is just stuff I have picked up around BR.

              -gk

[fishfordollars]

I like the Bagley balsa lures, the Lucky Craft LVR selection, and Bill Lewis rattle-trap.

Traps are great for fishing grass, and the square lipped lures will deflect off cover well. For the deeper lures I like the Norman DD-22, and the Rapala DT-16 and DT-10 for fishing the points and drains that are not covered in grass.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Thanks fellas, that's the kind of info I was looking for.

[Stringjam]

Lip design generalities are just that - - generalities.  I really don't pay much attention to them.  

I have just as much success fishing heavy cover with round-lipped cranks as square.  I think, for a large part, it's just something that gets repeated over and over and over (especially from outdoor writers) until everybody believes it as fact.  Much like many other concepts in bass fishing.    

It makes me wonder how the Bagley DB3 has managed to become the finest deep nasty brush crank ever made with that obviously inferior round lip.   ;D  Same for the round-lip KB1......one of the best brush cranks you can throw.    

The lip angle has more to do with the action than how wide it is....the straighter the lip angle, the tighter the action (there are obviously other factors in the design that also contribute to the action).   I have crankbaits with enormous lips that have a very tight action, and cranks with narrow lips with a wide action.....there's way more to it than just lip shape.

My suggestion - - don't base your purchases on a lip style.  Just because somebody puts performance tires on an SUV doesn't mean it's going to handle great.  

Best thing to do is buy a good series of crankbaits and fish the paint off of them.....you won't go wrong with the Rapala DT's in any depth range you need to cover.   My simple suggestion.

Oh yeah, don't be afraid to throw them in nasty cover - - even with those (gasp!!) round lips.  

 

[BARON49_Northern NY]

Crankbait fishing is a lot of fun and what you need to do is to set up a box with baits that run at certain depths. This way you can cover the water column from top to bottom. Start with sub surface lures like a Mann's -1, then get some baits that run in the 3 to 6 foot level like Bombers or Rapalas DT 6's. For the deeper waters from 8 to 12 feet, Rapala DT 10, Fat Free Shad Jr work well, for the deepest water 15+ it is hard to beat a Norman DD22 or a Manns 20.

Give this a try and you can expand your arsenal to cover the waters you like to fish the most, like squared billed balsa for fishing laydowns and wood cover, rattle traps for fishing in and around weeds, etc.

[Marty]

The lip angle has more to do with the action than how wide it is....the straighter the lip angle, the tighter the action (there are obviously other factors in the design that also contribute to the action).

Also, the straighter a lip is, that is, more parallel with the body, the steeper its dive and the greater the depth. Note how much the lips of very shallow-running baits are angled downward.

Also, all other things equal, the closer the line tie is to the end of the lip, the wider the wobble.