08-11-13, 11:47 AM | #1 |
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About lipless cranks
I have several lipless cranks and use them from ice out to near spawn time. But once the spawn is over, they rarely see any use until the following spring. I'm wondering if I am making a mistake. I guess the reasoning for this is it seems the only time you read about them being used in magazines and on line is during spring time. I never see anything about their use once the spawn is on. You see the pros using them a lot during early to mid spring, but I never see them use them after that.
This morning I was thinking about my area lakes. The fishing this year has been far less than stellar, and I blame it on the extremely heavy weed kill the Conservancy Districts performed on all the area lakes, which has made it hard to find any healthy live weed beds anywhere, and the decaying matter is still clouding up the water something awful. My lakes are generally fairly clear, but this year, visibility is about 18 inches or so. Maybe a little more depending on what part of the lake you are fishing. Finding fish under these conditions is pretty darn tough. They are smaller natural lakes which are not stream fed. There are no old road beds, rock piles, river channels, etc that you would see on man made impoundments. Therefore, weed beds are the main structures that hold the fish. Without the weed beds, knowing where to start is more guess work than anything else. The bass I have found are few and far between. Find a lay down and you'll only find one or two bass at best. So this morning, I was thinking about what would make a good search bait for these conditions. So far crank baits and spinner baits have been the best producers. But then I had a thought. Why not throw a brightly colored lipless crank. Maybe chrome/black back for example. With the flash and vibration of all those noisy bb's, maybe that would be the ticket. Then I started thinking, maybe lipless cranks are not a one season and done lure. Maybe I am dropping the ball by not using them more often throughout the year. The only time I have used them in the summer is when I see bass chasing schools of shad or bait fish at the surface. Am I missing out on some thing, or do you put your lipless cranks away after the spring fling?
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08-11-13, 12:23 PM | #2 |
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i fish them in the spring like you. during the summner i really do not use them. but i will always have one tied on in sept thur nov. i use it for fishing the jumps. i throw 1oz chrome and black or blue . i use that heavy of one so i ca throw it a mile to hit the jumps. if i don't they will go down by the time i get there. it is a killer bait . i just throw a rattle trap. has always work for me if it ain't broke don't fix it
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08-11-13, 01:53 PM | #3 |
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I use them year around. Work excellent snagging submerged grass and ripping free. I have good luck with them on the outside of pad fields.
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08-11-13, 02:00 PM | #4 |
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Spring and fall for me. Summer I don't even think about them - maybe that's a mistake...
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08-11-13, 03:00 PM | #5 |
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Part of the trouble with me using them year round is that the milfoil grows so think and to or near to the surface that a lipless cranks wouldn't stand a chance. But with the heavy weed kill this year, that shouldn't be an issue.
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08-11-13, 04:14 PM | #6 |
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Agreed in thick weeds not an option,yet I use them year round chrome n blue lazer eye is one the best baits one can use on ky lake.I also use pointer in american shad and the one knocker,while they are at their best in spring,they can be used as a search bait for either bass or grass,fall and schooling what is the dicfference in a trap retrieved quickly with rod held high over a speed shad or trap?We as anglers place a + on square or flat cranks yet put the trap away,same thing bump it into bridge pilings etc.I have floating traps that work well on suspending bass,yes with and without diving lips,they run about 3 ft at best when without yet work well.So give some a try when doldrums hit and cant get bit,drag it across a flat,rip it out of thin grass,bump it into pilings.
I have one tied on in every T,and every time I go out. |
08-11-13, 06:15 PM | #7 |
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They work good on schoolies and when the shad are all balled up in the fall, too.
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08-11-13, 07:47 PM | #8 |
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I too have on tied on year round. As said before, thick grass, weeds and pads are not the places you want to throw lipless, but cast parallel to a weed or grass line, especially if there is deeper water close by has been productive for me. It causes a reaction strike for those fish waitin' just inside the line of vegetation.
Plus, these things cast a mile and will cover alot of water at any depth.
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08-12-13, 09:51 AM | #9 |
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I use them from my first outing unitl my last outing. It's a great search bait and fish will eat it all the time. I just change colors most of the time from spring to summer to fall.
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08-12-13, 01:48 PM | #10 |
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Never had much luck on them after spring... but that's only because it gets to weedy once late spring and summer get here!
As far as being an effective search bait in the murky conditions I think it's worth a shot! I do however think that they are a little fast moving for a bass to get a good look at one to hit it, but it can't hurt! They also pick up weeds like no other, so if not productive in finding fish, you could just have some luck finding the weeds!
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08-12-13, 07:40 PM | #11 |
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Yes it will find weeds,yes fast its a reaction strike,drag one across a mud flat,or toss a country mile,ive given up the smaller ones use mostly 3/4 and 1 oz pointers and 1 oz 1 knockers,throw on 30 pd braid as dont want a wiper to swipe one.It can and will bring in a 35- 40 pd black drum.
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08-12-13, 07:50 PM | #12 |
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any fish on ky lake will eat these things all year. lol. i dont even tie them on around home unless its spring.
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09-20-13, 07:02 PM | #13 |
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I have a dedicated Trap rod that always has one tied on. The lakes I fish really don't have the weed growth-in fact very little-so it is always worth making a few casts with one. Regardless of the time of year it is a great search bait.
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10-26-13, 04:41 AM | #14 |
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I love traps for year round fishing. The thing for fishing traps in cold water or clear water is you will usually want to be putting some speed to the retrieve and during the summer try slowing down the retrieve. Traps and grass are the ticket, find deeper grass that you can fish over the tops of or downsize to 1/4 oz. trap and it will usually tick over the tops of the weeds on the retrieve.I like red, orange colored traps in the spring, chrome/blue, chrome blk when it's sunny, white traps when its cloudy and overcast. Chartreuse traps burned over grass for smallmouths.Red eye traps for yo yo retrieve or when your dropping down primary points with a slow retrieve. Red zone or floating traps during the summer around inside or outside weed edges.switch up brands when your catching fish, noise difference usually picks you up a couple more bites.I like gold tinted colored traps in fall. Baitfish don't usually swim in a straight line, don't be afraid to move your rod tip around as you retrieve your trap. The closer you fish to grass with a trap, the greater the chance of having success with them.I always have 2 trap rods one with 14 lb test for regular traps and 10 lb test for 1/4 oz. traps. You can use 14 with a 1/4 to fish it, the thicker line will make it ride higher in the water column for fishing over weeds. You can remove the rear hook and put a small willow leaf on it like the Lewis spin traps. That allows to fish higher through the water column at a slower pace. On cloudy overcast days, I like a darker colored trap with a dressed tail rear treble hook.
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10-30-13, 12:20 AM | #15 |
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Well, look who showed up. Great to see you, Ivan!
Forgot to say that for all around, year long fishing-especially when it is sunny-a chrome/blue back Trap is tough to beat.
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10-30-13, 07:58 PM | #16 |
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Rod,It is good to see you posting here. Yes a chrome /blue and a gold trap is all you really need. Buy a couple different brands in those 2 colors and you will catch fish.Chrome for sunny days, gold for low light conditions.There is one more and that is the #27 Lewis trap for the spring time.I don't know what there is about that one, it flat out works in clear water during the spring. They discontinued #27 for quite a while and it was a struggle trying to find an alternative that worked nearly as well.
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10-31-13, 08:57 AM | #17 |
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I make my own remove rear treble and place a willow leaf on,and if one uses braid can run even higher in the water column.Grass is almost topped down south like 1 ft to 1.5 under the water and can run an altered trap like that burning it between grass and top,willow leaf creates lift.
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11-06-13, 07:50 PM | #18 |
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I'm in the same boat as you Keith.
I fish the hell out of em in the Spring, but it seems like once they're done suspending on the ledges.....it's all over for lipless
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11-11-13, 08:18 PM | #19 |
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Traps are good right now when the schooling smallies are crashing baitfish. As the water continues to cool I fish them like spoons.
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11-11-13, 08:30 PM | #20 |
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Guys, now that the first fronts of fall are starting to blow through it is time to pull out those lipless baits if you haven't already. Once the water temp starts to fall they start feeding to fatten up for the winter. Match the hatch, throw shallow and hang on!
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11-11-13, 09:44 PM | #21 | |
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Quote:
I used to hate the stupid baits and would throw them and hang them up and lose them. Never caught a fish. Then I got one from a client, had it custom painted (Padilla's Nightmare), and started catching fish on them. Would catch most species on them throughout the year. Now I pretty much have one rigged up all year long. |
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11-12-13, 04:47 PM | #22 | |
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Quote:
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11-16-13, 01:28 PM | #23 |
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My lipless crank season begins Jan 1 and ends Dec 31, how about that ?
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11-17-13, 07:20 PM | #24 |
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Hmmm....maybe I have been too limited in my lipless throwing??????
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11-22-13, 12:19 PM | #25 |
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How large of a selection of traps do you "devotees" carry? I believe in 1/4oz & 1/2oz in a high flash (blue back/silver sides), low flash natural color (painted bluegill or shad) and a high contrast bright (firetiger). That covers it for me.
oe |
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