Lipless cranks do we really need anything else? 2025
cgolf reply :
Over the last few years I have found mysef fishing lipless cranks more and more. From up shallow to the deep weed line for smallies and walleyes. They seem to deflect as well as a square bill and are effective through pretty much the whole season.
Deep Weedlines: Used to throw DD22s, deep little Ns, Rap Dts, and cranking raps. Haven’t thrown them in 2 years.
up shallow: throw minnow baits and square bills a lot less and just change brands of lipless instaed of styles of baits.
Docks, reeds, etc: almost exclusively lipless now, but this makes sense since a lipless can be allowed to drop into the strike zone of fish relating to cover vs a billed bait that needs a few feet to get to depth.
Not or sure if I am relying on lipless too much, but they seem to do it all. The guy that owns the cabins we rent up north swears by lipless for walleye at night and doesn’t even use live bait anymore. For me a lipless reminds me a a tube baits versatility. I still pack and use other baits, just not as much.
OkobojiEagle reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 1:17 AM, cgolf said:just change brands of lipless instaed of styles of baits.
expand upon this please...
oe
flyfisher reply :
i throw them relatively often but don't do well with them for some reason. I'll switch to another type of bait and do better. So for me, yeah i need other baits lol
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 1:24 AM, OkobojiEagle said:
expand upon this please...
oe
I have a few brands of lipless I throw and have found some to catch them when others wouldn’t. Each brand seems to have its own characteristics that can make them the hot bait of the moment. What those moments are, I haven’t figured out.
1/2 ounce Red eye shad My most consistent lipless by far, if the bite is tough the 1/4 ounce model has been hot.
1/2 ounce rippin rap Not the most consistent bait for triggering strikes, but when the fish are on it they are really on it.
1/2 super spot New bait for me and even though this years bite was not a crank bite, the fish I caught on it smashed it hard.
Around 1/2 ounce Glo Pro soft lipless Another new bait for me that caught fish and it seems to run lower in the water column than other like sized baits which is really nice on deep weedlines.
1/2 ounce Bill Lewis traps, starting to use more and catching fish on them. They do seem to run higher in the water column for me.
That pretty much covers what I use, and will be trying more 1/4 ounce baits next year.
JoshFromBolo reply :
I love lipless cranks in lakes/big bodys of waters. But using them in a creek or pond with algae, and lots lots of grass? no sirrrr
BassWhole! reply :
Lipless are certainly both versatile and underutilized, but I for one wouldn't think of fishing them (or any other lure) exclusively. I will agree that most anglers could select 4-6 lures and catch fish all year in most places, and we all own too many lures though.
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 2:59 AM, reason said:Lipless are certainly both versatile and underutilized, but I for one wouldn't think of fishing them (or any other lure) exclusively. I will agree that most anglers could select 4-6 lures and catch fish all year in most places, and we all own too many lures though.
I haven’t used them exclusively, but they get a lot more play than the used too. Shallow rivers I don’t use them much because I like a floater there. I also think they suit my fishing style which is why I use them more often.
I need to start working other styles again next year to make sure I don’t overuse lipless and miss out on fish.
Having too much confidence in a lure can be a bad thing. Until I though of this the other night I didn’t realize how quick I was to grab a lipless vs something else.
Mike L reply :
I haven't thrown one in years and don't miss it.
Mike
the reel ess reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 1:17 AM, cgolf said:Over the last few years I have found mysef fishing lipless cranks more and more. From up shallow to the deep weed line for smallies and walleyes. They seem to deflect as well as a square bill and are effective through pretty much the whole season.
Deep Weedlines: Used to throw DD22s, deep little Ns, Rap Dts, and cranking raps. Haven’t thrown them in 2 years.
up shallow: throw minnow baits and square bills a lot less and just change brands of lipless instaed of styles of baits.
Docks, reeds, etc: almost exclusively lipless now, but this makes sense since a lipless can be allowed to drop into the strike zone of fish relating to cover vs a billed bait that needs a few feet to get to depth.
Not or sure if I am relying on lipless too much, but they seem to do it all. The guy that owns the cabins we rent up north swears by lipless for walleye at night and doesn’t even use live bait anymore. For me a lipless reminds me a a tube baits versatility. I still pack and use other baits, just not as much.
I don't use deep divers much anymore. Where I fish is mostly too grassy and shallow over most of the lake. Some of it is too shallow and grassy for the lipless crank. On a long cast if I don't catch one right away, I reel in a pound of grass. I do have a floating Rat L Trap but I've had no luck with it. But the Spot is deadly anywhere 3' or deeper all over this place. I still use lots of other baits though.
LonnieP reply :
I love Lipless Crankbaits. I always have one tied on.
soflabasser reply :
Lipless crankbaits are very effective lures for bass but there are many times another lure will do a better job.
Log Catcher reply :
I haven't caught anything on a lipless crank bait in about 50 years. The only lipless bait I ever caught fish was a Bayou Boogie. I know a lot of people on here never heard of them. I have some lipless baits in my tackle box but if they were gone I wouldn't miss them.
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 7:47 AM, soflabasser said:Lipless crankbaits are very effective lures for bass but there are many times another lure will do a better job.
Don’t disagree, but it’s nice to have a crank or two on the deck you can throw in a lot of different spots. I also know that I don’t have enough knowledge to tell when a deep diver will whack em better than a lipless, because I am not on the water everyday to get a good gauge on the fishes changing moods, so a lipless is a good bailout when you don’t have a clue what they are doing.
When on my yearly fishing trip trip I am pretty good at adjusting to the mood of the fish as the week goes on, but unfortunately that is only one week a year.
WRB reply :
You all are forgetting the down side with lipless lures, low strike to landing bass %, they top the list! 90% of my lipless hooked bass are on the front treble hook and lightly hooked bass. Any LMB over 3 lbs is a breath holding fight. Occasionally a bass engulfs both trebles but not very often. Structure spoons only have 1 treble hook and a heavy spoon to shake loose but my strike to catch ratio is higher with structure spoons then lipless.
Tom
Russ E reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 9:29 AM, WRB said:You all are forgetting the down side with lipless lures, low strike to landing bass %, they top the list!
This is the reason lipless cranks are not my go to bait.
I will use them if I feel they are the best bait for conditions.
Hooking a bigger fish on a lipless crank is a challenge, trying to keep it from jumping and spitting the lure back at me.
the reel ess reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 8:23 AM, Log Catcher said:I haven't caught anything on a lipless crank bait in about 50 years. The only lipless bait I ever caught fish was a Bayou Boogie. I know a lot of people on here never heard of them. I have some lipless baits in my tackle box but if they were gone I wouldn't miss them.
My first two or three lipless cranks. They're still made, BTW.
https://www.heddonlures.com/product/bayou-boogie-3/
Mobasser reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 9:29 AM, WRB said:You all are forgetting the down side with lipless lures, low strike to landing bass %, they top the list! 90% of my lipless hooked bass are on the front treble hook and lightly hooked bass. Any LMB over 3 lbs is a breath holding fight. Occasionally a bass engulfs both trebles but not very often. Structure spoons only hove 1 treble hook and a heavy spoon to shake loose but my strike to catch ratio is higher with structure spoons then lipless.
Tom
I use lipless cranks, but have had more fish get off than any other bait. I always sharpen the hooks too. I think it's just the nature of this type of bait.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Can't crawl a lip less slowly through the rocks like a lipped crank, or stop and go to get the slow float up. I wouldn't want to fish one in trees where I fish a lipped crank. I love lipless baits, but I need the lipped baits too, no matter how much I don't like fishing them.
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 9:29 AM, WRB said:You all are forgetting the down side with lipless lures, low strike to landing bass %, they top the list! 90% of my lipless hooked bass are on the front treble hook and lightly hooked bass. Any LMB over 3 lbs is a breath holding fight. Occasionally a bass engulfs both trebles but not very often. Structure spoons only hove 1 treble hook and a heavy spoon to shake loose but my strike to catch ratio is higher with structure spoons then lipless.
Tom
On the fence on this one, only because I lost a 6 plus pound smallie at the net, Coangler flinched when the lure popped out, net had been underneath her. Other than that I have lost very few fish on lipless. Could be because on average WI bass run lighter? I did have one trip with over 90 bass and a 30” and 40” class Muskies without losing a fish on lipless baits.
Really hope I don’t lose a ton of bass now on lipless to even things out;)
We do have a time during the summer up here where a lot of bass get off no matter what you do. It is like they have a mouth of a crappie, it is super frustrating.
On 10/22/2018 at 10:37 AM, Bluebasser86 said:Can't crawl a lip less slowly through the rocks like a lipped crank, or stop and go to get the slow float up. I wouldn't want to fish one in trees where I fish a lipped crank. I love lipless baits, but I need the lipped baits too, no matter how much I don't like fishing them.
Totally agree. I do like them over rip rap from shore, they deflect very well, but it only works if the fish are chasing a bait reeled back quickly.
Best bait for me in rocks has been a Bandit 100. A sleeper bait over shallow rocks has been the strike king shallow square bill. Not a lot of hits while being retrieved, most on the pause. It seems to be a slow riser on the pause.
Catt reply :
I'm of the belief, if it's working why try to change it!
I very rarely lose fish on em but I don't fish em like everyone else. I use mono & a medium heavy moderate fast rod. Ya wanna absorb some of the
initial shock of the strike & the shock of a run.
I am kinda prejudice because my personal best was caught on a Rat-L-Trap!
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 11:09 AM, Catt said:I'm of the belief, if it's working why try to change it!
I very rarely lose fish on em but I don't fish em like everyone else. I use mono & a medium heavy moderate fast rod. Ya wanna absorb some of the
initial shock of the strike & the shock of a run.
I am kinda prejudice because my personal best was caught on a Rat-L-Trap!
While I use braid, I also use a moderate action rod as well and one is even fiberglass, clunn Wright McGill stick.
I gave up on on trying to uprade my older graphite rids when I found that a majority of mid and high end rods are either fast or extra fast. The extra sensitivity I gain, isn’t enough to cover for all the thrown cranks. I wish St Croix in particular would add some more moderate action rods.
Catt reply :
Many anglers wrongly assume being a versatile angler means being able to use a wide variety of lures & techniques.
What ends up happening is the angler becomes mediocre with a lot of techniques & a master of non.
In my pea brain a versatile angler is one who truly understands a lure/technique to the point where they can fish effectively it under any condition.
burrows reply :
No you can’t fish a lipless crank in every situation “lipless cranks do we really need anything else?” Yes we do. I went threw a stage where I was having a lot of success with lipless cranks and started buying all different styles of lipless cranks all colors of the aruko shads and red eye shads plenty of super spots but I quickly realized that i was wasting a lot of money on a bait that I couldn’t use in every situation. It’s good to master a lure like a lipless but to suggest that’s all you need we’ll thats just absurd.
Todd2 reply :
My biggest Smallie came on a lipless at Dale Hollow a few years back, but if I was gonna pick one lure to throw for the rest of my life, no way would it be a lipless crankbait.
Jigs, paddletail swimbaits quickly come to mind.
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 5:55 PM, Burrows said:No you can’t fish a lipless crank in every situation “lipless cranks do we really need anything else?” Yes we do. I went threw a stage where I was having a lot of success with lipless cranks and started buying all different styles of lipless cranks all colors of the aruko shads and red eye shads plenty of super spots but I quickly realized that i was wasting a lot of money on a bait that I couldn’t use in every situation. It’s good to master a lure like a lipless but to suggest that’s all you need we’ll thats just absurd.
It was written knowing it wasn’t true, but at least for my waters if I had to pick one Crankbait style for the rest of my life this would be it. It does most things I need on the lake. It has been a trend though for me using them in new situations and having more success than what I used in the past.
So I will still keep throwing jerk baits, spy baits, deep divers, etc and maybe try to figure out which lure works best when.
When doing the fish when I get a chance, usually weeks in between, and have no clue what the fish are doing I will likely go with a lipless as a search bait until I find fish.
scaleface reply :
I need lipless , shallow , med and deep divers .
Bankbeater reply :
This past spring lipless crankbaits were my go to bait. The bass were tearing them up. As the temps warmed up the bite on the lipless died off, and switched over to jigs and plastics.
cgolf reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 7:24 PM, Bankbeater said:This past spring lipless crankbaits were my go to bait. The bass were tearing them up. As the temps warmed up the bite on the lipless died off, and switched over to jigs and plastics.
I do realize now I screwed up the title. In my original post I talked about comparing lipless to other cranks, and said it is the tube of cranks.
What I meant was lipless being my go to for crank bites, but I am never putting down soft plastics, because there are so many places that no cranks can be fished.
You guys can flame me now on this one lol, but for sure has been an interesting conversation.
Now I know why i get in trouble with the wife, because I always assume that she knows what I am talking about;)
NYWayfarer reply :
Do we need anything else? Yes, I need a floating bait.
I guess I could buy a floating lipless...
ItsHardwick reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 6:27 PM, Todd2 said:My biggest Smallie came on a lipless at Dale Hollow a few years back, but if I was gonna pick one lure to throw for the rest of my life, no way would it be a lipless crankbait.
Jigs, paddletail swimbaits quickly come to mind.
Yeah this. Texas rigged creature bait, or senkos would be my choice if I had to choose. I catch more fish on them than anything else and it’s not close.
I do throw a lipless quite bit a though.
soflabasser reply :
One of my favorite ways to fish a lipless crankbait is as a search bait or running it over areas where the aquatic vegetation is not on the surface.Also like fishing lipless crankbaits near man made structure but fish with other types of lures if there is too much aquatic vegetation or snags.
BaitFinesse reply :
On 10/22/2018 at 1:24 AM, OkobojiEagle said:
expand upon this please...
oe
Lipless cranks sink on the pause but rise on the retrieve. Some lipless cranks are easier to keep up top running just under the water such as the Super Spot and others are easier to keep down deep like the Rippin Rap. Then there are countdown baits that will hold their depth once the retrieve is begun assuming a normal line recovery rate such as the Red Eye Shad.
There is actually a lot of variety in lipless cranks. Some baits are easier to keep shallow while others are easier to keep deep. Some wiggle on the fall while others will turn and flutter or glide.
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