Back in the 1990's I loved throwing the 1/2 oz chrome and blue original Bill Lewis Rattletrap down in Missouri. Lake had stocked Musky and we would hit the dam / rip-rap at sunlight, burning the Rattle trap as fast as we could. Caught quite a few LMB's, and some toothy predators as well!

Don't throw much now a days...too much timber to get snagged on. Rather throw a square bill.

I am of the opinion that dollar for dollar, if you can avoid snapping it off, there is no better value in bass fishing than a Strike King Red Eye Shad in the 1/2oz sexy shad variety. it just flat out catches fish, no matter what water body i seem to throw it in. it is generally the first bait of any type that I reach for. I have a few dozen in different varieties. right now i am throwing the 1/2oz Chili Craw because they are hitting it harder. that will change

i also like the spro Aruku Shad, Lucky Craft LV500, and nomad swimtrex max. most productive color types for me regardless of the brand etc:
1. any shad color with a yellow stripe
2. pro blue/green gizzard
3. red craw
4. Fire Tiger

chrome blue can be great in some places, gold is great on cloudy days or in muddy water
Sometimes I like to throw the 3/4oz RES in some slighty deeper water when they're a little further off the bank
like a bladed jig, sometimes it's not as much about the color as it is your retrieve style
14lb mono or 20lb braid

@scaleface "When fishing in an aluminum jon boat, I can hear the hits when using the rattling lure."

Dane, can you expound on this? Very interesting!!!

I throw the 1/2 oz red eye shad the most and it’s caught me a pile of giant fish.

I also throw the 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz a lot.

I throw the silent damiki tremor and thunderhawk Sgt. quite a bit.

Suspending bill lewis trap and 6th sense quake are useful at times.

I have caught some fish on other lipless baits but those ones are probably my favorites.

Another producer is an old Bayou Boogie.

In cold water they’re great

I get a lot of my lures from yards sales…. Seems everybody has had a Bill Lewis rattle trap. I once got a Plano 3700 full of rattle traps for $3.00.

I had fished with a lot of different brands of lipless cranks, some generic no names, and they all seem to work.

They one that stands out for me is what @Aaron_H said Booyah one knocker… seems that not so radical thump, works here on the St John’s. Blue shiner and ghost ( which is very similar to cooper shiner) works good here too.

I use lipless for trolling too, I use mostly Bill Lewis or what ever for that, stripper don’t seem to finicky.

9 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Yea Buddy.

I was waiting a couple of years to go full on about this one but.......

Both sizes are just a little scarey.

In a good way.

Btw, has anyone figured out why bass eat shrimp ?

A-Jay

First off there are freshwater shrimp in many waters. Secondly the shrimp color seems to mimick the overall coloration of goby’s which is a really good thing! That’s all I got.

I'll be yo-yoing the bait off the bottom. The sound is magnified through the hull of the boat, When the Red Eye shad is falling , it can still be heard as it wobbles. When a bass hit it or smacks it , the sound changes. I can hear the one knocker too. Any rattling crankbait for that matter.

I have a silent Red Eye Shad with a loose weight, that barely makes a noise. I can hear it too. That one is my favorite. @A-Jay y also has one he, said he would go swimming for it.

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

@scaleface "When fishing in an aluminum jon boat, I can hear the hits when using the rattling lure."

Dane, can you expound on this? Very interest

Chrome/black back SK 2Tap (although their chrome is a little less flashy than other companies and I like that about it). I've got it in several colors and they all catch fish, but this one is my most productive.

10 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Btw, has anyone figured out why bass eat shrimp ?

We get shrimp running up the St John’s almost every year, when they do the largemouth bass bite can get tougher. I think they fill up on shrimp.

The stripers follow up the shrimp and work them into a ball near the surface. The birds are the tell tale sign. When ya see the birds make long cast or work your trolling gear close without going through them with the boat.

I’ve never caught anything with any size to them, but others here have caught 24” plus. Me …. Around 15” is the biggest, but most are smaller.

I've probably caught the most fish on an old 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap in crappie pattern. Other brands and colors may have caught just as many or more fish, but I've just always done well with that one so I keep tying it on.

Back in the day when my only hardbaits were jerkbaits and traps, I had success with bottom hopping the RES, LV500, and straight retrieving the og bill lewis. But as time went on the blade bait took over as my number one for hopping and swim jigs/underspins replaced the straight retrieves. I probably need to revisit the one knocks and silent versions for hopping.

@Jigfishn10 appreciate the sugar shad comment. The best days I've ever had with a trap, was an early season sugar shad slow roll, felt like I picked off every fish and the biggest fish off of breaks near spawning flats. Eventually, I lost it to a northern pike, I need to keep an eye out for some replacements.

scott

11 hours ago, stk44 said:

TW and 6th sense website, It looks like a lot of the colors have gone away.

Many 6th Sense lures on TW have fewer colors offered recently. One lure had over 20 color at one time over 20 color options and now only has four. Luckily the options still available cover any situation I need them in, but the Monkey always wants more options.

43 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Many 6th Sense lures on TW have fewer colors offered recently. One lure had over 20 color at one time over 20 color options and now only has four. Luckily the options still available cover any situation I need them in, but the Monkey always wants more options.

Yes. Kind of sad. The snatch 75x is limited to 3 colors on TW.

I throw a Lipless crankbait a lot. I’ve caught bass on multiple brands but I’ve caught the most and biggest bass on the original chrome Bill Lewis Rattletrap. Also threw a Hammer Trap some last year and did well.

2 minutes ago, LonnieP said:

I throw a Lipless crankbait a lot. I’ve caught bass on multiple brands but I’ve caught the most and biggest bass on the original chrome Bill Lewis Rattletrap. Also threw a Hammer Trap some last year and did well.

What retrieve do you use most with the rat l trap? Do you use various retrieves until you find what they like that day, or have success with one particular retrieve over others? Im throwing the mini trap tomorrow at the pond

4 minutes ago, Harold H said:

What retrieve do you use most with the rat l trap? Do you use various retrieves until you find what they like that day, or have success with one particular retrieve over others? Im throwing the mini trap tomorrow at the pond

Most of the time a steady retrieve. Sometimes I’ll pause and sweep the rod

2 hours ago, softwateronly said:

The best days I've ever had with a trap, was an early season sugar shad slow roll

I really don't know why they discontinued them. They were such a good lipless. SK Diamond Shad was too, but they didn't have the paint jobs they have today.

EDIT

This thread really didn't help my cabin fever ... .

I've never caught a fish on a lipless. I own probably 20 of them and have fished them. There are just many other baits that work much better for me that I have no confidence in traps.

@Harold H The rattletrap design makes it better as a forward moving bait. It doesn't yo-yo as well as others. You can do it, but it doesn't have the same shimmy as a RES. For ponds and shallow flats a rattletrap is a straight line reel it in bait. Vary the speed, give it a burn, let it hang up on some grass but keep reeling until it pops, hang it on some grass and pop it free with the rod tip. Throw it up in 6"-12" of water near the shore and burn it parallel to the bank (bass will sit shallow facing shore this time of year ambushing in the warm water). Try them all until you see what the fish want and where they are hanging that day.

16 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

@Harold H The rattletrap design makes it better as a forward moving bait. It doesn't yo-yo as well as others. You can do it, but it doesn't have the same shimmy as a RES. For ponds and shallow flats a rattletrap is a straight line reel it in bait. Vary the speed, give it a burn, let it hang up on some grass but keep reeling until it pops, hang it on some grass and pop it free with the rod tip. Throw it up in 6"-12" of water near the shore and burn it parallel to the bank (bass will sit shallow facing shore this time of year ambushing in the warm water). Try them all until you see what the fish want and where they are hanging that day.

Can confirm burning it in shallow water. Had a 4lb bass bite it that way on Thursday in the heaviest wind

35 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

I've never caught a fish on a lipless. I own probably 20 of them and have fished them. There are just many other baits that work much better for me that I have no confidence in traps.

To be real with you, probably a good thing. When you do start catching on them, it’s disease!

39 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

I've never caught a fish on a lipless. I own probably 20 of them and have fished them. There are just many other baits that work much better for me that I have no confidence in traps.

You can't just come in here and hurt me like that.

2 hours ago, Rockhopper said:

I've never caught a fish on a lipless. I own probably 20 of them and have fished them. There are just many other baits that work much better for me that I have no confidence in traps.

Many lipless have a good wobble when you let them fall on a semi-slack line. Have you tried fishing it like a blade bait? I like doing that in cold water.

I also have good luck popping them out of grass flats in the spring. Once water temps get above 55ish degrees I start leaning more towards lipped cranks.