Ive been hearing that rattle baits rule the waters during the pre spawn. What about the rest of the year?

My favorite summer bait last year was a Rat-L-Trap. They stopped producing for me about november. I've heard they're a great cold water bait, but that hasn't been my experience. My experience is pretty limited though. I've only been seriously bass fishing for a year now. Lipless cranks will produce a lot of fish though, so make sure you throw them.

I almost always have one tied on.   Some days it gets thrown alot - others not so much.  May through September though, if you've got grass that hasn't grown to the surface, its always worth a few casts.  Some days, a Minus-1 is better than a rattle bait because it floats.