Take No Lip In The Fall!

The fall is about schooling bait and hungry bass. To me that spells LIPLESS. Pro Rippers, Rattle Traps, Rippin’ Raps, Rattlin’ Raps, Red EyeShad, are just a few of the many types of lipless crankbaits available. Everybody has them in their bag because lipless cranks flat out catch fish all year long. But in the fall, when bass are gorging on shad, knowledgable anglers always have a rod ready with a lipless crankbait.

The first thing to you need to know about optimizing the fish catching performance of a lipless crankbait is the sink rate of the bait you are using. A 1/2 ounce rattle bait will sink 1 foot per “Mississippi”. Once you attain the desired depth, in order to keep it in the zone, you need to slowly reel with rod tip down. Adding a jigging motion to your retrieve will also help keep the bait down. When fish are aggressive, you may want to burn it in, adding a few pauses now and then.

There is really no wrong way to fish this bait but in the fall, when water is clear, natural

colors work well. Some iBass360 Pro's favor the stop and go technique or a reel, pause and sweep retrieve, which just happens to work well in clear, open water where bait is present. When fish are aggressive, a quick retrieve ticking the tops of, or ripping through the grass, will get you bit. Some will let it sink too the bottom then rip it up and let it fall like a jigging bait. It really will depend on where the bait are in the water column. Just experiment and you will find the ticket.

Regardless of what retrieve you use, it is important to have the correct rod when throwing rattle traps. A 7 ft moderate fast action rod helps on the hook set, allowing sufficient time for the take without letting them take it too deep or ripping the treble hooks out of the mouth. So this fall, tie one on and Live the Passion of lipless crankin’!