Is it usually 1 feet per second for all sizes and weights? Let's say I wanted to fish 15 feet deep... do I just count 15 seconds before I start retrieving? 

 

I've had a lot of success with lipless cranks but it just dawned on me that I never really know *fore sure* if the depth I'm targeting is true. Anyone with a depth-finder ever test this out? 

 

why not just drop it in the water and count how long it takes to fall a certain distance?

Is it usually 1 feet per second for all sizes and weights? Let's say I wanted to fish 15 feet deep... do I just count 15 seconds before I start retrieving? 

 

I've had a lot of success with lipless cranks but it just dawned on me that I never really know *fore sure* if the depth I'm targeting is true. Anyone with a depth-finder ever test this out?

Nope, 1 ft/sec for a 1/2 oz bait.

Each make / model's fall rate may vary with design and it may have little to do with the bait's weight.

 

Baits that shimmy (SK Red Eye Shad) definately fall slower than the baits that do not.

 

 Both the slower & faster fall rate baits have their place.

 

Some days it's the shiimmy that trips their trigger; other days it's that quick drop that triggers the feeding / strike response.

 

And don't go soley by the water temps.  Colder water doesn't always mean a slower fall rate is best when it comes to lipless baits.

 

If you have them, try them both -

 

A-Jay

Each make / model's fall rate may vary with design and it may have little to do with the bait's weight.

 

Baits that shimmy (SK Red Eye Shad) definately fall slower than the baits that do not.

 

 Both the slower & faster fall rate baits have their place.

 

Some days it's the shiimmy that trips their trigger; other days it's that quick drop that triggers the feeding / strike response.

 

And don't go soley by the water temps.  Colder water doesn't always mean a slower fall rate is best when it comes to lipless baits.

 

If you have them, try them both -

 

A-Jay

This exactly...

 

The Redeye Shad has a nice slow, shimmy fall.  But the Rapala Rippin Rap, has a very fast fall, with not much shimmy or erratic-ness to it.  Meanwhile the RatLTraps fall is somewhere in between.  All three being of equal weight.  So yes, the rate of fall, and the manner in which it falls, is nearly entirely a function of bait shape and design.