Have you guys had any luck with these? I've used one a little, but keep going back to the regular one because I need it deep most of the time. I can see a use for the floater though. I'd like to make it closer to neutrally buoyant. Has anyone done this with bigger hooks?

I've never seen one but don't really understand the point. They don't dive themselves so how does it run?

Never modified one, but the floaters certainly do dive just fine.   Great for running em at shallow depths when weeds are up near the surface.  They are also good 'starters' to give to novices for using around weeds and wood.  Not sure if they would be the best tool for a job requiring neutral buoyancy, though.

18 minutes ago, riverbasser said:

I've never seen one but don't really understand the point. They don't dive themselves so how does it run?

It's not very buoyant so it dives to a couple or 3 feet on a steady retrieve. I could see how it would work well on shallow flats. And I've tried it a couple times in that situation, but it hasn't been the ticket. It's also 3/8 oz vs the standard 5/8 oz.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEVz57RI5YaOMAYY1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0N2Noc21lBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=rat+l+trap+floater&fr2=piv-web&fr=mcafee#id=1&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fart50.photozou.jp%2Fpub%2F396%2F125396%2Fphoto%2F127391578_624.jpg&action=click

1 minute ago, Choporoz said:

Never modified one, but the floaters certainly do dive just fine.   Great for running em at shallow depths when weeds are up near the surface.  They are also good 'starters' to give to novices for using around weeds and wood.  Not sure if they would be the best tool for a job requiring neutral buoyancy, though.

I have thought it would make a good search bait around spawning flats, but spawn hasn't occurred since I bought one. I will certainly give that tactic a shot come spring.

I have 2 cotton cordell suspending spots and they are great when the weeds are almost to the surface. You can pause them near any structure, and they dont sink fast enough to get tangled up.

14 hours ago, bigturtle said:

I have 2 cotton cordell suspending spots and they are great when the weeds are almost to the surface. You can pause them near any structure, and they dont sink fast enough to get tangled up.

I was going to say just the same. I have a few suspending traps that are deadly over vegetation, or early in the year when I need a slow presentation. 

The problem that I have with the floaters is that I just can't seem to cast them out as far as the sinking traps. 

Floating lipless baits are another tool in your arsenal.

 

It was designed to overcome the problem with collecting weeds and grass as occurs with the regular lipless baits.

 

Good to use when the grass is starting to emerge in the spring.

 

Lipless crankbaits can be used on the Potomac River when regular crankbaits and lipless cranks get caught up in the grass and weeds. 

4 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

The problem that I have with the floaters is that I just can't seem to cast them out as far as the sinking traps. 

Yeah, I weighed one as well as a standard Trap. The standard was 5/8 oz, though they claim to be 1/2. The floater was 3/8. You can cast the standard a country mile, but in shallow water, you lose control over the depth it runs unless you burn it back.

I have a few of the floaters from Bill Lewis which are the same size as the 1/2 ounce and the first thing youlnotice is they weigh almost nothing, so casting distance is tough.  I kind of fish them like wake baits and you can get them to dive 3-4' depending on how fast you fish and they are more weedless than a regular Floating crank in weeds.

 

I have not caught much on them because in order to get them to run right & cast far you need light line and I just have not had a chance to use them much. I do really well on the suspending spot and especially the suspending Flatt Shadd lipless baits, but I did catch 2 good bass one day last year when I was tired of ripping hooks out of grass, so I started waking it super slow on top and they do create a V wake that is unique, and you can pause them which is when I would get hit. In stained water I want to try them and maybe add a suspend dot to get a slower float, they float fast as they are now.

 

They don't have many colors but if you are fishing in water under 4', they look and sound identical to a rattle trap and float out of weeds, my main issue is on 15lb test they seem to run sideways and only cast about 15' feet. I would get one as I think they have potential but take time to learn.

 

put those stick on weighted suspend strips on the bottom between the hooks, more casting distance and will very slowly rise / fall depending on the strip.

Floating traps are awesome. But like previous posters they have problems running straight and casting. 

 

I use the Bill Lewis one. I'll throw it on braided line and use suspend strips or lead tape to help it track straight and suspend. 

 

Use small double hooks to help keep the, weedless and out of shallow muck.  The hook is heavier gauge and will help weigh the bait down.

 

usually work it on a shallow flat or around grass that's a foot under the surface. 

Google brings me here again.

I have a two lipped floating R l Traps.Anybody ever use them .I havent tried them. Dont even know where I got them.

3 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Google brings me here again.

I have a two lipped floating R l Traps.Anybody ever use them .I havent tried them. Dont even know where I got them.

Looks to me like they would be great anywhere a shad rap would be. I figure those run pretty much like a flatsided crankbait?

Mine were replaced by bladed jigs, and sometimes just smaller sinking traps (LVR50/Mini).

I used to run floating traps when I encountered flats with 18-24" between grass tops and surface.

R.I.F. Sorry @scaleface . Yesterday, I totally missed the 'lips' (even with picture). I was addressing lipless floating traps above. Never heard of or seen the kind you show here.

5 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Never heard of or seen the kind you show here.

Me neither. I think I picked them up at a thrift store long ago and were thown in with all the other cranks that I never use. I have seven boxes of crankbaits and still have spares lying around . No more buying crankbaits.

Iyoyas is pretty close. They run partway between a flat sided crankbait and a shadrap. A little more wobble than a normal floater trap or regular trap but the same rattle. Get’s a little deeper than the floater would dive. Best to think of it like a suspending rattle trap for 4-6’ of water. I don’t think I have any downstairs (the floating traps are in the boat though).

@scaleface ,

Quite some time ago I bought a couple of those lipped Rat-L-Traps mail order. When they arrived I noticed the attachment point is plastic and I wasn't sure about the durability so I never used them.

Have a few laying around, or at least I did. Just for clarification, there were 3 distinct baits. The original floating Rat-L-Trap was a Trap that floated and came out in the early 80s. It, at first, had just a single belly hook. The billed versions were Diving Rat-L-Traps, and they came out in two versions, the first around 1991 - a floater (see 'floater' printed on side) and a sinker, which was a sinking model with a bill that fell as fast, or faster, than a standard Rat-L-Trap (think countdown Rapala). The problem they had with them is they were really tough to balance and run right. It all depended on the number of BB shot placed in the bait. There was a "right" number for the bait. Too many or two few, and the baits ran on their side and were nearly worthless. You almost had to get lucky in getting one with the exact right number of BBs to make it work right. I'll have to go look in the garage and see if I can still find mine, or if I gave them away or tossed them.

On 2/13/2026 at 11:41 AM, IYAOYAS said:

Looks to me like they would be great anywhere a shad rap would be. I figure those run pretty much like a flatsided crankbait?

I had that red one back in the day

On 1/30/2017 at 6:00 AM, Sam said:

Floating lipless baits are another tool in your arsenal.

 

It was designed to overcome the problem with collecting weeds and grass as occurs with the regular lipless baits.

 

Good to use when the grass is starting to emerge in the spring.

 

Lipless crankbaits can be used on the Potomac River when regular crankbaits and lipless cranks get caught up in the grass and weeds. 

From what I just heard on the radio, you may not have a good year on the Potomac; one billion gallons of raw sewage from a ruptured 6 foot pipeline recently went into that River.

A couple old floaters with a 1/4 oz trap and a 1/2 oz RES for scale.

Haven't tried them for bass, but gold body/black back Bill Lewis floating traps work amazing for redfish in the marsh. I switch out the trebles for single online hooks and have no issue with them running true. Also have no issue with casting them, but I also don't try to bomb cast them so that may be why.

Anyone fish those suspending IMA lipless cranks? They look great but I've only thrown them a few times and had no luck.