Rat-L-Traps

Been tossing this one for years....I've tried many different lipless crankbaits and there are none better.

For covering water fast it's a great lure and comes in a variety of colors and sizes. I'll use other lipless baits but I always find myself coming back to the rat-l-trap.

When it comes to rattle style baits, these are the original and personally the best overall. The rattles in this thing drive the bass nuts, extremely noisy to draw fish in from a long ways away. The colors are amazing. I have two problems with this bait though, the hooks and paint. The hooks are cheap in my opinion and always change these out for Gamakatsu round bend trebles. Also, the paint chips pretty easily, from the hooks and bass. Even with hardly any paint on it they still produce so its not a big deal, more of a confidence thing. This is the original and best, in my opinion, Rat-L-Trap on the market. (THEbassmaster)

I love my Lucky Crafts, Sebiles, and Super Spots but Rat-L-Traps still put fish in the boat. I think each lipless has a situation when its best and the Rat-L-Trap is best burned. Other are better yo-yoed, slow rolled and ripped out of grass but when I need to burn something in shallow water that's when a Rat-L-Trap shines. They come through cover good on a fast retrieve and seem to sing when burned. I use them in scattered grass 4ft or less and when fishing shallow gravel flats or scattered brush. When Boyd Duckett used a Rat-L-Trap in the classic he was burning it in shallow water with scattered grass. The rattle trap doesn't go the deepest or shallowest but it runs just right in shallow water on a fast retrieve. I don't know if its the recovery or what but when you are burning a Rat-L-Trap and its occasionally scraping the bottom and there are fish around its seems almost automatic you will get a few bites. I am not crazy about the hooks but they are OK when sharpened and the finishes do scrape off when fishing a Rat-L-Trap fast in shallow water but a chrome that's beaten up seems to be the best anyway. But Rat-L-Traps are durable and cheap so you don't care to abuse them a little more and they can be cast a mile making them great search bait. I don't know if its the colder water or if so many people throw them fish wise up but I do best on them in the spring especially early. You should own one but this is how I fish them and if you dont have a few get a couple when you crawl out from under your rock. sb-mrbassky1

This is one of the original lipless cranks and it is still fished today because it works. Much like the CC Spot, this lure is great at high speeds. It does lose some action when fishied slower, which I think could be improved. This lure is extremely effective when fished yo yo style in colder water. Because the lure does not fall straight up and down, this lure really gives the fish that erratic action that they respond to. SN name: bd pettit