I picked up some rat-l-traps today and saw that they now have floating traps.  Maybe they had them for a while..i dont know. Anyways, i guess they are supposed to have a depth from 3 inches to 3 feet when burned.  Kind of got me to thinking what the regular rat-l-traps run at?  I guess I never thought they ran deeper than 3ft.  Im using 1/2 oz. traps by the way.  What depth do these usually run at?

Sorry, thought i was in the tackle forum when i wrote this :-[

well im not that good at bass fishing yet. but i have been fishing a rat-l-trap since my uncle bought me one 8 years ago. i have always heard that a rat l trap will sink 1 foot per second but i may be wrong.

yeah, standard traps are sinkers, they will sink to however deep you want them.

1/2 oz.. trap - 2.5 to 3..5 foot retrieval depth.

I usually run mine around 3-4 feet, depending on condition's I may go deeper with a slower retrieve or burn faster with a more shallow retrieve...heck I have even been known to jig one strait up and down real deep.  They go as deep as you let them sink.  Also keep in mind, the longer cast you make, the deeper its going to go.

1/2 oz.. trap - 2.5 to 3..5 foot retrieval depth.

X2; I can get to 4-5' by kneel-n-reeling  

1/2 oz.. trap - 2.5 to 3..5 foot retrieval depth.

X2; I can get to 4-5' by kneel-n-reeling

Paul "Catt" Elias

You can fish traps as deep or shallow as you want. When I fish with LBH in that super-clear water I will count it down until it reaches the grass in 12-14' of water and keep snapping it out. It is one of those baits that you can do anything with.

Apparently I fish rat-l-traps differently than most, because I fish them at any depth I want.

The Rat-L-Trap to me is a countdown lure, and the 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap sinks roughly 1-foot per second.

The beauty of a lipless plug is that it won't dive any deeper once you begin cranking, but runs at a reasonably stable depth.

Regardless of the depth, if I want to the trap to hug the bottom, I just stop reeling after a given number of cranks,

wait for the plug to reestablish bottom contact, then resume cranking.

In this same manner, you can run the rat-l-trap 30-feet deep if you so desire.

While some plugs like a bandit 100, will rise over brushpiles when stalled, the rat-l-trap sinks fast when its paused,

and this gives the angler full depth control. Of course, rod-tip height will alter the running depth,

and needs to be incorporated with most lures, but really isn't necessary with a rat-l-trap.

Roger

Apparently I fish rat-l-traps differently than most, because I fish them at any depth I want.

The Rat-L-Trap to me is a countdown lure, and the 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap sinks roughly 1-foot per second.

Roger

I fish the Rat-L-Trap in the same manner.

Apparently I fish rat-l-traps differently than most, because I fish them at any depth I want.

The Rat-L-Trap to me is a countdown lure, and the 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap sinks roughly 1-foot per second.

Roger

I fish the Rat-L-Trap in the same manner.

Me too.

, but really isn't necessary with a rat-l-trap.

Roger

Apparently I fish rat-l-traps differently than most, because I fish them at any depth I want.

The Rat-L-Trap to me is a countdown lure, and the 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap sinks roughly 1-foot per second.

Roger

Same here. Although I rarely try to fish it deeper then 10-12 ft.

I fish the Rat-L-Trap in the same manner.

Apparently I fish rat-l-traps differently than most, because I fish them at any depth I want.

The Rat-L-Trap to me is a countdown lure, and the 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap sinks roughly 1-foot per second.

The beauty of a lipless plug is that it won't dive any deeper once you begin cranking, but runs at a reasonably stable depth.

Regardless of the depth, if I want to the trap to hug the bottom, I just stop reeling after a given number of cranks,

wait for the plug to reestablish bottom contact, then resume cranking.

In this same manner, you can run the rat-l-trap 30-feet deep if you so desire.

While some plugs like a bandit 100, will rise over brushpiles when stalled, the rat-l-trap sinks fast when its paused,

and this gives the angler full depth control. Of course, rod-tip height will alter the running depth,

and needs to be incorporated with most lures, but really isn't necessary with a rat-l-trap.

Roger

This is pretty much the way I fish them also.

KVD talks on another site about winning on a lipless crankbait.

Also keep in mind your rod angle.  With a 7' rod you can change the depth the trap will run significantly by raising or lowering the rod.  

Another consideration is line size.  Just like any crankbait, the smaller diameter line the deeper it will run.

3 ft depth is average for rattletraps from what i've found.

I went out yesterday and burned a red RatLTrap to catch 13 decent fish. I like to fish them 2 to 3 but it all depends on the bite.