Stringjam

I've used them with some success - - - I've never really burned them, but they seem to react just like a normal Rat-L-Trap once the action is initiated. I got them for "finesse" fishing flats.......letting the lure sit on top and then pulling it under for a few feet, etc.....

Avid, The Ebay store is the only place online that you can buy them, but you probably won't see this model there - - - don't hesitate to email the owner (Herman Oswald). Here's a great guy to deal with and you can just tell him what you want and he'll work it in. His finish work is always beautiful. These are cedar baits if I remember correctly, and dive about 5' - with so much kick and roll they're almost unstable! I love em' for when I really want to get noticed...they come through heavy cover and deflect extremely well. Very unique, and something bass don't see a lot of (flatsided plugs especially). There's a member on this board (BIG M) who told me he would make any body style and any wobble I wanted - - and his work looks absolutely beautiful as well......I'm definitely going to pull the trigger on some of his baits pretty soon and try them out.

Take off the treble hooks and put a fairly short-shank single hook on the back (I use a circle type of hook) - - some baits will lose balance of behave negatively to this...some work fine.

Catching Concepts KC2's, the widest wobbling crankbaits I've ever used - - these things dance like a fat lady chasing a Twinkie. Lee Sisson Slim Willies (diving and shallow) = one of the best and most ignored wide wobbling crankbaits out there. As far as other favorites: Almost any bait from Bagley with an angled lip, indluding those little Honey Bees....those can be some fish catching little dudes. Wiggle Wart Arbogast Mud Bugs and Original Bombers Ever Green Combat Flat Poe's 200 (way under-appreciated) Jackall Geronimo Magnum As far as deep cranks: Lucky Craft Flat CB D12 (I WISH they would bring this design up to a 15'-16' diver) Competition Cedars / Poe's 400 and 400 Plus Jackall Muscle Deep 15+ (probably about the widest) Competition Cedars 4500 LR (for up to 20+)......definitely wider than a DD22, casts farther, and dives about 4-5' deeper.

I got mine from Sayaka603 on ebay

I've caught more fish than I can count on a Wiggle Wart in clear, cold water - - - so I'm not sure how much I would follow rules of thumb - only experimentation on the water seems to sort that out. Sometimes it doesn't even matter what you're throwing - - as long as you present it correctly and put it in front of fish.

I think a lot of what makes a productive vibe is how you fish them. If throwing them out and cranking them in fast is as far as you go with it, then the differences between lipless baits is going to be pretty slim, since they all have a fairly similar action and profile at speed. However, when you start slowing them down and fishing using other techniques with them - the differences between the vibes really starts showing up. We have a lot of steep rocky banks and deep structure around here, so something I tend to do a lot of is fishing vibes on the BOTTOM. Just like a blade bait or a soft plastic, and there aren't many vibes that are designed to do it well. The ones that are "nose stand." When you let them sink to the bottom they sit there on their nose with the tail stuck up in the air. Here's some that nose-stand: (left to right, upper then down) Spro Aruku Shad (same design as an Ever Green Buzzer Beater, only the Ever Green flops over on it's side when you let it fall) Jackall TN 70 Mamiya-OP Hunting Vibe Jr. XPS Rattling Shad (previous version, now disc.) Shimano Scorpion "A" Air Viper Risebacker Sound-Lo, or Sound-Less (the hi-sound rattling versions fall over because of the weight of the rattles) (BTW...a Cordell Spot also stays up pretty well) You can also drop these lures vertically and use a subtle popping action with your rod - - the lures will appear to be "tapping" their noses against the bottom, like a fish feeding off the bottom. Another attribute I look for is one that allows me to elicit the bait's designed action at a very low speed. The best vibes I've used so far that start dancing as soon as you give them a tug are the Jackall TN70, Mamiya-OP and sound-less Risebacker. The Cordell Spot is also very good. Sorry for being so long-winded and analytical......but I find that when discussing what is the "best" lure - - the situation the lure is used in, and what it is designed for needs to be addressed. There's no need to purchase a very expensive lure that is designed to do something that you don't intend to do with it. And FWIW, the only vibe I've used with a completely unique action and something really different to show the fish is the Shimano Complex Undulator. Widest wobbling vibe I've ever used. BTW - - - T-Rig - how do you like the Tsunekichi Vibe? I've had a hard time trying to track one of those down - they usually sell the second they hit the 'Bay.

I have used a buttload of vibes from the big mfgs to the obscure small Japanese companies - searching for my favorite vibes.....so here they are: Shimano Complex Undulator Air Viper Risebacker CORDELL SPOT Spro Aruku Shad Mamiya-OP Hunting Vib Jr. Jackall TN-70 Yes, that's a Cordell Spot right there by other lures costing about 6 or 7 times as much. The Shimano has an action completely unlike any other lipless bait out there - almost like a shallow flatsided lipped crank.

I like to fish them down steep banks/bluffs just like a jig or blade bait. It helps to have a lure that nose-stands to do this (Spro Aruku Shad, Jackall TN, Cordell Spot are excellent pics). Sometimes you can upset the balance of a lipless by hooks/hook placement and get some interesting results. I have a Mamiya-OP Hunting Vibe Jr. that I can get to act crazier than a Pointer (I removed the front treble and replaced the back treble with a single hook). It looks more like a real fleeing minnow than any lure I've ever used.

Pretty much what Avid said. I think the Wiggle Wart is one of the greatest crankbait designs in life, and when fish are eating crawfish this is almost always the crankbait I reach for. Around here, they're most productive during the pre-spawn - but I'll use them anytime the conditions call for it.

Are the baits copies of the RC? I was looking through their cranks the other day and noticed one of their baits looked like a DEAD-ON copy of an Ever Green Combat Flat (a great crank in itself). Does BPS pay a license fee to do this or are they straight-up ripping off designs? There are some baits I really like from BPS - - - their previous version of the XPS Rattle Shad (lipless crank) was a very nice design with a unique action, and when you dropped them to the bottom they would nose stand better than any bait I had at the time. The new XPS Rattle Shad doesn't do it - - but it is a good bait nonetheless, with a nice hard-kicking action (kind of like the Spro Aruku Shad).

Competition Cedars 4500 LR - - problem solved. You'll get about 4' deeper than the average DD22 with a bit harder tail kick and roll, and it's actually EASY to get down there and fish all day. My favorite TRUE 20' diver in life. The Mann's 20' will not approach 20' - - you'll need the 30' for that, and IMO there are much easier baits to achieve those depths with and not have to get carpal tunnel surgery. Try a Jackall Muscle Deep 15+ or a Competition Cedars 4400 for the mid-teens zone (that's where the Mann's 20+ gets). Not that there's anything wrong with the Mann's, but there's no need to work that hard anymore.

Yup - - - hula grubs are hella good! 8-)

I believe Royal Shad is just a color(?) for a Cordell Spot - - but if you're just asking whether or not Spots are good lipless baits, yes - they rock! I have a a buttload of lipless baits from various mfgs (including expensive buggars from Shimano, Lucky Craft, Custom Lures Unlimited, Ever Green, Jackall, Air Viper, Duel, Yo-Zuri, Cultiva, Daiwa, etc..) and the spots hangs sufficiently and even outperforms many of them. Another really good lipless, especially for the price, is the Spro Aruku Shad.

I like a DT grub of some sort, like a Yamamoto or Garland Hyper Tail - - especially when I am letting the bait fall a lot down ledges - lots o' tantalizing action.

RAPALA SHAD RAPS. Another good one(s) are the Deep-X series from Megabass - - they really are a beautiful thing. Back to the original thread......a few favorites (how could I possibly just pick one?): Super-shallow: Rapala Shallow Fat Rap (alas....gone and getting more difficult to get on the 'bay) Smith Hutley Hong Rong Lucky Craft Flat CB SR (what were they thinking when they disc. this one????) Shallow: Lucky Craft RC 1.5 Jackall Geronimo Magnum Ever Green Combat SR Catching Concepts FPC2 D-Bait Mid: STORM WIGGLE WART Rapala Shad Rap Poe's 200 Lee Sisson Slim Willie Deep: Competition Cedars 4400 (improved Poe's 400 Plus) Jackall Muscle Deep 15+ Catching Concepts DC2 Bomber 3/4 oz. Fat Free Shad SuperDeep: Competition Cedars 4500 LR Lipless: Cordell Spot (hangs with the best of em) Air Viper Risebacker (sound-lo or sound-less....the sound-hi won't nose-stand because the weight of the rattles) Shimano Scorpion "A" Mamiya-OP Hunting Vibe Jr.

I remember (several years ago) when Bill Dance aired an episode of "The Thing" (a skirted hook in front of a Pork-O). After seeing "The Thing" underwater I just had to have some of those Pork-O's.....caught some nice bass and lost one to a big muskie. Hmmm....I'd completely forgotten about those things - - wonder if that old jar is still laying around.... :

Hula Grubs have been lost somewhere down in the ever-changing world of soft plastics fads, but they have been one of my most consistent baits since I started fishing with them years ago. My favorite is still the Bobby Garland DT Hyper Tail Hula. Rigged with a very light weight, they're also one of the killin'est "swim" baits in life.

T-Rig - I am quite certain one day you'll own every piece of enthusiast hard bait made. You make a crankbait addict proud.

Great jig design - - works equally well on smallies, spots, and largemouth. That jig originated around here and became extremely popular when the Eakins started tearing it up in area tournaments.

The Storm Wiggle Wart is one of the great crankbaits in life - - and the Storm Chug Bug is one of the greatest topwater lures in life, so they do have their gems.

+1 I'm not going to say scents don't work for a certain purpose (like making a fish hold on however much longer), but I believe they are absolutely useless as an "attractant." It has been proven that largemouth cannot follow "scent trails." My most productive plastics in life are nothing but poured plastic - that's it.....and I've pulled fish all the way to the boat without setting the hook with them. Look at how successful rubber skirted jigs have been as well - - put one of those rubber skirts in your mouth.....agh!!!!! Until these scent makers PROVE scientifically that a scented lure catches more fish than an unscented one, I'm not going to waste my time.

Deep cranking is the bomb - - if you get good at it you will put some big strings in the boat that the C-Rig boys won't - - but, as was mentioned earlier, the right gear is needed to do it all day. I use an 8' graphite stick with a slow action (actually a saltwater rod I bought at a BPS outlet store... ;D). I used to use fiberglass rods until I finally figured out that I hate them. They're very heavy and sloppy, and there are things you can get your bait to do with a graphite stick that you can't do (or are way more difficult) with a glass rod......like the way a Jackall 15+ will flop around on itself if you drop it a bit of slack and pop it. Practice - - that's the only way to get there and gain confidence. One day you'll pull up on a point an nail a 20 lb. string and you'll be set.. BTW....the DD22 is a good bait, but by far not the only one. I prefer the Poe's 400 Plus, Competition Cedars 4400 and 4500LR, Bomber Fat Free Shad, and the Jackall Muscle Deep 15+.

I fish water that, at times, you can see the bottom at 20'. I have also fished braid with and without leaders in it for the past decade, and I have absolutely no doubt that braid DOES deter strikes if fish are pressured or in very clear waters. Your mileage may vary - - just my experiences......90% of the time, I have a leader on in water like this.

Braid straight to the hook is great as long as visibility or high pressure is not involved. I prefer to use a double-line clinch knot when tying both braid and small diameter monos. You basically double your line through the eye (like you would if you were starting to tie a Palomar), and then tie a normal clinch knot with the doubled line (don't go back through the loop, however, with the mono - - no need). I find myself using leaders most of the time - around 8' or so of various copolymers depending on the conditions. Just the way I like to roll...