I haven't fished with traps much, as this is only my first year of competative and serious fishing.

This Saturday I have a tournament coming up where traps I heard produce extremely well in the lake and a lot of the locals sware by them.

The lake I will be fishing has a lot of bridges and some of my focus will be there with the trap. Im guessing the sound maybe bouncing off the hard walls might trigger reaction strikes? I'm not too sure but my question is...

When im fishing a trap do I want my rod tip high or low? And when fishing it on casting gear I know it will pendulum back to me so should i let a little line out after the cast?

From what I was told there is a bit of depth near the bridges, around 10-12 feet so I might have to get it down there.

any help greatly appreciated

-mike

p.s. A trap isn't necessarily something I would generally throw, I still think it might be a bit too early, but a lot of reports and talk about the lake I hear the word trap a lot, and that goes from spring to around winter transition...

When im fishing a trap do I want my rod tip high or low?

-either or a lot of guys slow roll a trap or yo yo it or rip and let it fall it just depends on what ya doing.

should i let a little line out after the cast?

-If your trying to get down to a depth and your looking to count it down then yes. at a regular retreive a trap runs about 4ft. you can always count it down to whatever depth.

p.s. A trap isn't necessarily something I would generally throw, I still think it might be a bit too early, (NO YEAR ROUND BAIT!) but a lot of reports and talk about the lake I hear the word trap a lot, and that goes from spring to around winter

A trap is one of my favorite cranks and I really don't think they are used enough during summer months.  People usually use them more in the spring and fall.  I would use a the yo yo approch with longer pauses in the deeper water.  Rod tip down if you are using med action rod, rod tip up if you are using med heavy rod.  See what you like though, that is a personal pref thing.  

AND MAKE SURE TO REPLACE THOSE HOOKS STOCK HOOKS! I like the mustad tripple grips, but others will argue.

Good luck

I have been doing some fishing with these beauties, so I'll pass on what I have learned.

'Traps sink pretty fast, especially the 1/2 oz size.

I usually retrieve with my rod tip up, but I am usually fishing near the top. For that deeper water I would put the pole down, almost touching the water. My best luck was with a varied retrieve. I get a lot of hits just when I am changing speed.

The Trap is a year round bait, but the hook need to go. I change mine out for Gamakatsu, but that is just a personal preference.

Been fishing traps over weedbeds.  I vary the retreive so the bait tickles the top of the weeds.  When it hangs in the weeds I rip it out.  Most of my strikes come after rhe rips.

Kelley

Something else I do is when I go to buy a trap I rattle most of the ones on the rack and pick out the one that has more of a dull lead thud to them they tend to catch more fish. When I reel it in like on flats or general nothing banks I tend to reel a few turns then stop, reel a turn stop jerk the rod, pause and so on. You want the bait to dash and speed up and dart. Slow rolling it like a spinnerbait in stained to muddy water works well use bright colors like clown or firetiger. Clear water I like a bleeding shad or the ones with the mirror insert in them. When I yo yo the lure I just let the bait fall to the depth I want to run it at and start slow rolling it a few feet to take out the slack then raise the rod up and let it fall. Hot spot tends to fall good in this situation. It stays upright and tends not to hang up on the line as much. Rattletrap hooks stink  I like a little wider gap hook Gama on a vibrating bait I am not a fan of tripple grip hooks on this style of lure because many fish you catch with it the bass is just rolling on it and a regular round bend hook tends to snag them better. I have caught a bunch of fish the past year or so on stike king model but all of them have a time and place when they excel. Early in the spring I was hammering them on a 3D vibe so it just depends on what I was trying to do with the bait.

Thanks Chris and everyone, I'm confident my trap will get me a few bites tommorow or at least locate me some fish.

The color im gonig with is Red Crawdad by Bill Lewis, and i have a #2 Gammy on the front and a #4 on the back.

The #2 might be a bit too big but I dont want any lost fish in this tourney I need every fish in the boat.

I put a red one on the front to create a bleeding effect, recommended by Marty Stone. Don't know if it helps or not but we will see.

Also don't overlook blade baits like Gayblade, or silver buddy, sonar, they also can be killer at times and tend to stay deep beter.

Something else I do is when I go to buy a trap I rattle most of the ones on the rack and pick out the one that has more of a dull lead thud to them they tend to catch more fish.

Since you feel this way, have you tried the Yo-Zuri Hardcore Drum or the LC LV-200?  Do you think the knocker plate would have the same effect?