The Lipless Crank Bait

With the coming of spring, well in a few months for us New Englanders, it's time to bring out one of the ultimate springtime baits for bass. This is a truly versatile bait as it is made in many sizes, shapes, and patterns and each manufacturer's rattle has a distinct sound. On any given day one particular rattle may be your ticket to a full live well.
First photo. Sizes and weights range greatly, (top to bottom) 6" Cordell King Shad,silver scale,at 4oz., 4"Rat-L-Trap chart. perch, at 2oz., 4" Gag's Grabber, bunker pattern, at 1.5oz., Cotton Cordell suspending Spot, 1/2oz., Excaliber Xr50 lemon-lime, at 5/8oz., unknown make, gold shiner, at 1/2oz., Renegade mini, goldfish, at 1/8 oz.
each of these rattles, the largest with a thunderous crackle to the smallest with a sound like salt in a shaker. As with any bait, the proper rod, reel and line is needed to maximize the qualities of each lure. For the Cordell King and the 4" Trap I use a 7 ft. Ex-Heavy Shimano Convergence Rod, an Abu Garcia 6501C reel, spooled with 65lb. Power Pro braid. For the Mini, a 7ft medium Fenwick spinning rod, Shimano Sonora 2500 reel, and 10lb. Berkley Ironsilk. ( Ironsilk is discontinued, and a suitable replacement would be McCoys Mean Green, in 8lb. test.)
For each manufacturer, there are many patterns as you can see by the numerous depictions. There is quite literally a color combination for every water condition, temperature, and sun condition. on moderately sunny days in shallow to medium deep water, a natural pattern, as seen in the second photo are optimal. (top to bottom) Custom painted lure in sunfish pattern, 1/2oz., Cotton Cordell, bream pattern, 1/2 oz., Cotton Cordell, bass pattern, 1/2oz., Berkley Frenzy, bluegill pattern, 1/2oz.,
For the brightest of days, usually those that follow a weather front, metallic golds, blues, and silvers are best in shallow to medium depths. in stained water at any time bright colors like chartreuse, white, and lime green excel. On overcast or rainy days, dark solid patterns, reds, blues, browns do well. Remember, this is a general guide, as with any situation experiment and let the fish tell you what it wants!
Third photo. There are considerations of shape also. The dispersion of vibration from this bait, which is tremendous and causes the rattles inside to make so much noise, is also differentiated by the fish due to the shape of the lure body.
Look closely at the outline of the six lures shown, ignore the color and you can plainly see the difference in all of them. Even if they all had the exact same rattle, the body shape would make their hydrosignature very different, and the name of the game with this style of lure is vibration! This is the first thing you will notice when you fish this bait. The easiest retrieve follows a pattern like this; cast the lure out far as possible, this will be easy as their compact shape launches through the air like a missile. When the lure hits the water, count one second per foot,(on the sinking models, some suspend, some float) when you reach the desired level, sweep the rod back horizontal to swim, or up vertically to jig, and reel in between sweeps, the first sweep will tell you all you need to know about the baits wonderful dinner bell vibe that calls fish to the feast! If the water is cold, try simply slow reeling the line in until you feel the bait vibrate, then retrieve it steadily, when the bait stops dead, it's usually a strike. (top to bottom) Real life privateer lures, chart. perch, 5/8oz., Matzuo red foil, 5/8oz., custom painted lure, sunfish, 1/2oz., Berkley Frenzy, bluegill, 1/2oz., Real life privateer lures, Gold shiner, 3/4oz., Excaliber Xr50 red craw, 5/8oz.
Fourth photo. (as not to bore you with repetition, I will number the lures I have previously described. Top to bottom) 1) , 2) Rapala silver shiner, 1/2oz., 3) Cotton Cordell, gold shiner, 1/2oz., 4) Strike King, red craw, 1/2oz., 5), Real life privateer lures, baby bass pattern, 5/8oz., 6).
I like to start the season out with the lipless crank bait casting over newly emerging grass beds, letting the lure sink to the tips of the grass than ripping it free, sinking, and ripping again. This emulates a shad or bluegill, even a crayfish darting out of cover, which is a fatal mistake, then dipping back into the grass. The strike will usually come when the bait rips free of the grass.
Summer can be productive with a shallow or floating presentation, for shallow, after casting, as soon as the lure hits the water, reel fast over weeds and grass, (over, not through) ripping the lure free if you feel the bait tick the vegetation. Floating is a very new presentation for me. I purchased four lures on E-bay from a seller called 'Real Life Privateer'. I fully expected them to sink as most all lures of this type do. but these floated just below the surface, and when I reeled them in, they swam about six inches underwater, and I got slammed by a two lb. bass the first cast! since then, I have used this unusual lure with great success. They can be found at: www.reallifeprivateer.com. you will find the owner easy to deal with and very fair in price. I have other lures from him I will review in another post.
Photo five. (top to bottom, left to right) 1) Kinami rattler, blue/silver shiner, 3/4oz., 2), 3) Real life privateer lures, harlequin, 1/2oz., 4) Lew's speed lures, (a Bass Pro Shop brand, nice lures) crawfish pattern, 7/16oz., 5), 6) Cotton Cordell, pot belly Spot (the sides bow out, unlike most of these kind of baits, giving this lure a unique vibration, rare lure.) 1/2oz., 7) The Producers, chartreuse craw, 5/8oz., 8) Yo-zuri, Rattlin' Vibe, ghost shiner, 5/8oz.
If you are not familiar with these style of lures, you are missing a unique fishing experience. They work on salt or freshwater species and if you use a few different brands you will find they each have specific sounds and actions that will appeal to you, and to the fish. So far my favorites are Cotton Cordell Spots, which are easy to find and inexpensive, and Real life privateer floaters, as there is no other lipless crank bait that fills this niche in the water for this type of lure, so far as I have been able to find. Good fishing God bless, Mike.