What is your favorite lipless crankbait? two categories, bottom hopping and retrieved higher in the water column. Which ones do you fish around grass, open water, and riprap banks. Brand, size, colors.

I only have experience with Heddon Sonic, and Bill Lewis Rattle traps. I haven't fished a Sonic since the day I bought my first Rattle Trap in 1977. I bought a LV 500 for bottom hoping, but haven't had a chance to use it. My best colors have been silver blue back, and baby bass.

Lipless cranks are my tackle addiction, close to 100 of them currently. I have them organized by general sound profile: rattling, knocker, and silent. And with the rattling and knocking categories they are organized by pitch or volume. I use a knocking bait a lot in the fall, as the water starts to cool a bit, rattle bait a lot in the spring and summer, and silent whenever the fish are pressured or I'm in high visibility conditions. But I'll admit a lot of this is probably more in my head than the fish's.

Straight retrieve: Rat-L-Trap is the king, Rapala Rattlin' Rap for a more subtle sound (inasmuch as subtle can be used with regards to a lipless). I like the Rapala a lot in late summer, especially the 07 size in bluegill.

Hopping, yo-yo, burn/pause, etc retrieves: Thunderhawk Sergeant (rattling and silent versions), Booyah One Knocker, SK Red-Eye Shad/2-tap. The Thunderhawk is a good combination of features, has a great shimmy on the fall and sits nose down on the bottom every time much like the Jackall TN, great vibration. Rotating hook hangers help keep fish from locking up the trebles and getting leverage. Red-Eye Shad needs no explanation, and people can dog the Booyah for not living up to the Xcalibur, but in my experience it does very well on a yo yo retrieve and gets hit on the pause more often than on a straight retrieve. Great sound profile. The normal RES is super loud in the water, and it vibrates so hard you can feel it in your bones, definitely one of the more aggressive lipless that I fish. The 2-tap version still vibrates like crazy but it's got a high pitch knock, not quite tinny but in that ballpark, whereas the Booyah One Knocker is a much deeper sound.

I have a bunch of others that I play with to see if they're worth it, the H2OX 5/8oz RT/Medium profile lipless is a good one as long as you upgrade the hardware. The 6th Sense Quake suspending has been interesting playing with a burn/pause retrieve.

Need to throw the Bill Lewis Hammer Trap more here soon, that one seems promising. They just came out with a knocking version too that I'll end up ordering.

I try to keep colors to basic categories, but I'll admit I probably have too many variations at this point. My go to colors are gold, bluegill, and some sort of shad pattern.

Rat-L-Trap: Blueberry perch, chrome/blue back.

Rattlin Rap': Bluegill, baby bass.

Thunderhawk Sergeant: Shad, Bait, Gold, Bone, Bluegill.

RES: Bluegill, Gold/black, Blue gizzard shad.

One Knocker: Flashy Momma, Copper Shiner, Bling.

Best, I think, is a personal preference.

For a straight retrieve, either burning it or running it over the tops of weeds, I'm a Rat-L-Trap or Diamond Shad (no longer in production). For a yo-yo retrieve, a SK Red Eye Shad or Hammer Trap and for a big profile that'll stay high in the water column, I like a Cordell 3in. Super Spot

When I say bottom fishing, I dont mean yo yoing, I mean fishing it like a jig.

TN60 was my favorite for the bottom fishing in the winter for years. The Duo Nitro 55 is catching up though. It falls slower than the TN60, yet fast enough to get a reaction and has more shimmy than the TN. The front of the belly is wide enough to stand teh bait up, yet it doesnt stand up as well as a TN.

For yo yoing, its got to be a RES. The 3/8s fall slow and the 1/2s are good at covering water. Theres a dizzing array of colors and along with several rattle profiles. That gives you the opportunity to get the right vibration and profile.

I rarely just retrieve a lipless straight in, but If I had to choose 1, it would be the Duo Nitro.

There should be a suspending/slow sink category as well. I rely on the SV70 all winter and it gets em good.

If we're jig fishing it, a 2 inch. Berkley Warpig is my go to.

Silver with a blue back or the black back. The rat-l- trap or the Booyah one knocker. I use both the same way, straight retrieve or yo-yo, which ever works at the time.

In that order; Jackall TN, Booyah One Knocker and old Sugar Shad.

Most of the time I'm hopping them off the bottom and use a Red Eye Shad.Caught a few big bass on points with them. I use the rattling, two tap and silent versions in all three sizes.

I just noticed silent Red Eye Shads are discontinued. How long has that been? I dont keep up on tackle well. Now I'm afraid to bounce them off the bottom.

I have too many lipless crankbaits - the red eye shad out catches them all 10:1 for me. Green or Blue Gizzard shad color. Throw the 1/4 oz a good bit.

Strike King RES 2 tap for hopping

6th Sense Quake or Thud for straight retrieve

Don't know about best, but over the years I've had a few favorites: the first lipless I ever caught a bass on was the Rattlin' Rapala, hopping it across the bottom in the fall, later I started fishing the Clackin' Rap, then the Jackall (sold as Illex here) TN60, and lately it's been the LV 500, specifically in NC Ghost Minnow and Aurora Black.

I also have a couple of Red Eye shads but I only fished them a few times. I have to give them another try.

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I just noticed silent Red Eye Shads are discontinued. How long has that been? I dont keep up on tackle well. Now I'm afraid to bounce them off the bottom.

That is the reason I have so much tackle. As soon as I find a bait I like I buy a bunch of them just because I figure they will quit making them! I think tackle companies make baits according to "trends" and "marketing".

I throw a Lipless crankbait a lot and always have one tied on. I’ve caught a lot of big bass using with the Bill Lewis rattletrap with a straight retrieve. I’ve been using the Hammer Trap the past year and been catching a lot of fish with that too. If I want a yo-yo retrieve I’ll tie on a Spro Aruku shad.

Thanks for the replies. I'm surprised not much love for the Lucky Craft LV 500. The Tactical Bass'n Bait Monkey talked me into buying one, so far no luck, but haven't used it much. It's the most expensive crankbait I have ever bought. Anyone try the Rapala Snare 50? It gets good reviews on TW. I fish for big bass that do not get any pressure. Most will have never seen any lipless crankbaits. Getting something they haven't seen is not an issue. Rattle Traps have worked well, but I want to try something that works well bottom hopping. I may just stick with the Rattle Trap. If it ain't broke why fix it.

Crankbaits are something I really wanna get down, both lipless and squarebills, and will be putting in time with them this season.

I have a small handful of lipless to start…Rippin’ Rap(3), Rattlin’ Rap(2), Red Eye Shad(1), Original Rat L Trap(1). Colors are a mix of mostly flash and baitfish with one craw pattern, one brighter pattern(blk/chart/orange). I am in high anticipation for their use!

Not really a lipless, but for bottom hopping a blade bait like a dimiki vault, silver buddy, or steel shad. Also try any of the tail spinners for bottom hopping.

For lipless, I have tried many and the LV 500 wins for bottom hopping and the OG Rat-l-Trap works best for a straight retrieve where I fish.

Strike King RES 2 Tap tungsten 1/2 & 3/4 oz $5.99-10.99 Chrome colors straight retrieve along bottom slow cranking with occasional sharp pulls or rips. Also rip them after they hit the water then fast retrieve. Also yo yo retrieve with big drops.

Duo Realis G fix tungsten in 1/2 or 3/4 oz $16.99 for a smaller profile bait. Work really well over grass for shallow bites or deep jigging. Bone color is my favorite

Spro Aruku shad 1/2 or 3/4 oz $12.99 for yo yo retrieve. This bait always lands upright on the bottom if your jigging. Gold finish.

Original rattle trap if you want a different rattle profile than the three above.

@rboat mentioned you can also try blade baits as a substitute also lower priced if you'r losing baits to snags.

1 hour ago, rboat said:

Not really a lipless, but for bottom hopping a blade bait like a dimiki vault, silver buddy, or steel shad. Also try any of the tail spinners for bottom hopping.

For lipless, I have tried many and the LV 500 wins for bottom hopping and the OG Rat-l-Trap works best for a straight retrieve where I fish.

Same for me up North. Grass and weeds choke out quick makes it hard to fish cranks on many lakes. But when I am able to bottom hop the LV-500 or a Vault are my go-to's.

@Dwight Hottle Except for the Duo Realis baits, the other three you listed comprise probably 90 percent of my lipless crankbait usage. None of us can truly say what is the best lipless because I doubt a significant number of us have tried every single one, but we can say what works for us. The Strike King RES, the Spro Aruka Shad, and the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps are mainstays for me. Similar to the Rat-L-Traps, I have had similar results with Cotton Cordell lipless cranks as well though I have used them much less than the Bill Lewis lures.

Good old Bill Lewis original or Rapala Rattlin Rap. On the original I like blue chrome with a touch of orange

Yo Zuri Drum and Rattling Vibe

If you fish really clear water try downsizing to a 3/8 or 1/4 and silent versions. I have a few hundred lipless and they all work in different situations. Spro has their Aruku Shad on sale a few times a year. I posted about a recent sale several weeks ago. You can get them around 4 dollars during these sales. The 3/8 size is great for clear water or lakes with a lot of pressure. Cotton Cordell Spot is also very cheap. Does not cast well and is lighter, better suited for skinny water.

Not all lipless vibrate well at slow speeds which is important when the water is very cold.

Many good ones already mentioned. Nishine Simcoe (silent version) is a standout as well.

I have several brands but mostly I use a Rat-L-Trap, Cordell Spot, and RES. There's too many snags on the bottom of the lakes I fish, so I keep the baits in the water column. If the bass ignore a straight retrieve, then I'll retrieve the bait for a few feet then stop to let the bait drop down. After two or three seconds I start up the retrieve again.

RES,Cotton Cordell spots and Academy lipless are about all I throw in traps . They all work well