Weight: 1/2 oz (without hooks)
Body Length: 3/4 inches
Type: Hard Plastic. Lipless. Rattling. Sinking.
Diving Depth: Can be counted down to any depth.
Note: These lure bodies come WITHOUT hooks or split rings.
Without any diving lip, the action of this lipless crankbait comes mainly from the internal weighting and the angler-imparted action. It has a very tight shudder or flutter, similar to the tight-swimming body movements of shad and sunfish. In addition to its powerful vibrating swimming movement, this lipless rattling crankbait also has a great shad or sunfish body shape. The body shape also allows bass to easily mistake it for a crayfish. It fits right into the food chain.
It has a great swimming action when retrieved at any speed from slow to medium to fast.
When paused, it sinks perfectly horizontal. It does not nose-dive or spin or foul the line with the hooks when it sinks. This is a common fault with other lipless crankbait brands - they spin when they sink and foul your line - but this lipless crankbait does not have that fault. It maintains a natural horizontal body position on the fall. It maintains its natural look and posture whenever paused and when allowed to deadfall momentarily (a great strike trigger). Many other brands of crankbaits do not do this well or at all, but this one does.
CONSTRUCTION
These crankbaits are plastic, with a durable finish, and made in America in the same factory that models, molds and paints a number of different hard plastic bait brands sold by various US tackle vendors.
If this crankbait look like one of your favorites, or looks the same as crankbaits found in catalogs, online and in tackle shops, it is because this same model crankbait is sold under several different labels and brand names.
ABOUT THE RATTLES
The internal chambers of this lipless rattling crankbait contain many ball bearings that rattle noisily on the retrieve and the sound resonates in the chambers. The internal chambers also shift the rattles to the rear of the bait during the cast to make for smooth, long and accurate casts.
The rattling noise made is moderate - not too loud yet not too soft. The sound can best be described as a chatter, and it can be heard rattling under water when the crankbait is still a good distance away from a boat. Many persons wonder why rattling lipless crankbaits work since they are so noisy? People feel the loud rattling noise is unnatural - but that isn't true. Most anglers do not know that the noise made by this lipless rattling crankbait is quite close to the noise made by shad, herring, sawbelly, blueback or alewife schools swimming tightly together. Few anglers have ever heard the very loud wriggling, writhing noise made by a school of such baitfish, but it is true. I have heard the noise made by tightly swimming schools of shad (herring, alewives, etc.) on occasion. The
sounds of shad schools can even be heard above the water when conditions are right. The chatter of this lipless crankbait is remarkably similar to the noise made by such schools. The noisy rattling made by this lipless crankbait is a natural dinner bell for bass!
HOW TO USE
No doubt you've used lipless crankbaits before, and you're familiar with the common approach of chucking it out there, withthe option to count it down to a specific depth, then winding it in steadily. In addition, here are a few other, less common yet productive tactics to try with this lipless crankbait:
- Drop Back Tactic. The genre of lipless crankbaits is unique among hardbaits (topwaters, jerkbaits, crankbaits) because it is the only hardbait category that's primarily a sinking countdown bait. Not all lipless crankbaits are created equal when it comes to this trait, however. Some brands sink way too quickly and unnaturally to appeal to fish as they fall. Some brands careen into a tailspin and foul your line when they sink. The lures for sale here possess none of these faults found in some other lipless brands.
The lipless crankbait here has a perfect horizontal fall and flutters as it slowly sinks when paused. So where you may countdown other brands simply as a means to get them deeper, you can also let this one pause, slowly fall and flutter as a key part of the presentation. This is especially powerful when you miss a strike. Just stop, let it fall and flutter, or twitch it. You may shake it like you shake a worm. Odds are high that you will get another chance at a strike as you drop back this bait to the bass that bit it or its buddy.
Also when bass follow the lure to boatside but do not strike, simply let the lure drop and flutter all the way to bottom. Chances are the bass will follow it down and pluck it off the bottom. Just let it fall and let it hit bottom. Then wait for the bite. If not, just raise and let it drop back to bottom a few times. There's an excellent chance you can convert many missed strikes or follow-ups into fish landed with this drop back tactic.
Even when a fish follows another type of bait to the boat - a topwater, jerkbait, floating crankbait, there's no way you can throw one of those baits back on a following fish, but if you keep this lipless crankbait tied on another rod, you can throw this in where the follower was last seen (or in the direction it was headed), and simply let it drop back to the bottom, popping or shaking it every so often. Due to the perfect slow-falling, fluttering action of this lure, you stand a great chance of enticing fish that chased other baits to the boat.
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Use It Like a Jerkbait. Everyone who owns a plastic-lipped, slender minnow-shaped jerkbait has caught fish ripping or jerking and then pausing it. However this retrieval tactic is not used when it comes to lipless crankbaits. The problem is, ripping or jerking and pausing a lipless crankbait won't work with many other lipless bait brands since they twist and spin and foul the line when ripped and paused, and don't suspend horizontally. However, the slow-sinking crankbait for sale here behaves beautifully when you use it just like a jerkbait.
You can rip or jerk and pause any of the colors for sale here. However, my favorite colors for this tactic tend to be the reflective white pearl or hologram finishes. Reason is, when a pearl-bellied or hologram pattern flips and flashes its bright sides when twitched, ripped or jerked, that sudden flash is often what drives fish wild - when the lipless crankbait flashes its belly and sides at fish.
A nice way to visualize this tactic as you are doing it, is to think of the flat-sided bait rattling and vibrating along, trying to keep its bright belly and sides hidden (the typical "dark back light belly" camouflage effect). Now when you rip or jerk it, think of that like flipping the lights on in a dark room. Any following fish get a sudden flash of reflective sides and belly. Then pause, which is when you get bit. It is an irregular action that works so well because bass have not seen such flipping/flashing action at all in a crankbait. Yet baitfish do it all the time, especially shad and herring flip on their sides constantly.
No one ever said fishing is rocket science, but it truly is an art. Try retrieves using long slow jerks or short sharp snaps - and everything in between. This is one of the few lipless rattlebaits you can use like a jerkbait. Yet unlike long, slender jerkbaits, it has the perfect shape, deep-bodied profile and natural flipping action of shad.
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Pendulum Fall. When bass are suspended or simply schooling over structure (points, channels, ledges, etc.), I'll tend to position the boat over a high spot or over the shallowest spot, and cast toward deeper, open water. Then simply let the lipless crankbait pendulum fall in toward me. The key is how far to let the crankbait sink at first. When I let it get down to where I think the fish are, I'll give the crankbait one flip. This is an attention-getter. It signals something is not quite right. It's just like a shad in trouble that flips up on its side, making an attempt to right itself. I then let it fall again and give it two flips. Then let it pendulum fall in toward me again. All the while it is coming back to me in a pendulum arc, and give it three
more flips. Just pop it quick, to give it a short, erratic, struggling movement. It moves at most one foot when you flip it. It's just an attention-getter that shows bass something is not right. I basically let the crankbait swing back in to me, through the fish, above the cover, over the structure, and pop it once, twice or three times. On its way back in, as the bottom becomes shallower, it's advantageous if the crankbait bumps into brush or anything else as it gets closer in and closer to the bottom. That obstacle impact is a great strike trigger. More often than not, the crankbait will get nipped as it bounces off anything in its path. Once it reaches bottom, yoyo it up and down as you reel it in the rest of the way back to the boat.
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Don't Forget to Bluff. Along bluff walls, simply move the boat in close, cast horizontal to the bluff, engage the reel and allow the crankbait to freefall down the sheer face. Just give it a pop or you can gently shake it like you would shake a worm, as
it falls along the bluff face, making it rattle, and picking up suspended bass as it shakes and sinks in an arc back to and under the boat. This is a great mid-summer tactic, and the most productive bluffs often have slivers of shade close to the wall where bass suspend and wait in the shade.
HOOKS TO USE
Note: These lure bodies come WITHOUT hooks or split rings.
Many anglers tend to have extra treble hooks and split rings. And many anglers prefer their own certain hook model to replace whatever hooks come stock on a lure anyway. That's why I offer you these crankbaits without any hooks or split rings. You'll need to provide your own treble hooks (two) and split rings (three) for this lure. There are three popular hook configurations for this lure:
- #4 Belly; #6 Tail. There are many different brands of lipless crankbaits of this size (3 inches) and weight (1/2 oz). Most brands tend to come with a #6 tail treble and #4 belly treble. These are the most popular factory-installed hook sizes across many brands. If you desire to go with this configuration (#6 tail; #4 belly), I suggest the Mustad Triple Grip trebles sold separately in Bassdozer's Store. The Mustad Triple Grip lives up to its name. The uniquely-angled hook points to grip bass very well. Also, the Mustad Triple Grips sold separately in Bassdozer's Store have long shanks that keep the hooks further away from the bait, exposing them better when fish bite. This specific pairing of Mustad Triple Grip hooks will not marry or tangle each
other too often with a #6 tail and #4 belly.
- #4 Belly; #4 Tail. Many anglers feel that a lure manufacturer has some sort of optimum action or perfect balance in mind when the manufacturer puts specific hooks on a bait. To the contrary, I have not found it to matter nor anything "magic" about the factory-installed hook sizes on many crankbaits. For bass fishing with baitcasting gear, and going for better-than-average bass such as in tournament competition, I prefer to upsize the tail treble on lipless crankbaits to a size #4. Most manufacturers install a #6 on the tail, but I have yet found a single bass that somehow favored a smaller, weaker #6 versus a larger, stronger #4 tail treble. Upgrading to the #4 on the tail helps hook and land more and better bass. In the next section below, I
describe the "Rigging Kit" (sold separately in Bassdozer's Store) which contains the pair of #4 VMC treble hooks I often use.
- #2 Belly; #4 Tail. Anglers in Florida, Mexico, Texas (for example), or many other lakes and regions where big bass are common, often opt for even bigger hooks on this bait, upgrading the belly treble to a #2. The bigger hooks tend not to detract from the lure action or number of strikes you get, and will hook and hold bigger bass. The weak link in this set-up can become the figure eight hook hanger molded into the crankbait body. A bigger bass (and use of heavy tackle, especially braided lines) may or may not affect the #2 belly treble hook itself, but pressure of a big bass on heavy braided line can also twist or pull the hook hanger out of the lure body. Nevertheless, the benefits of a larger #2 belly treble still outweigh the risks, and most
anglers who upgrade to a #2 belly and #4 tail treble should not normally experience problems.
HOW TO RIG
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Rigging Kit (sold separately)
With the #4 hooks I recommend (sold separately), the hooks are not able to marry each other. This provides for fault-free casting wheret he hooks are unable to tangle on each other during a cast, which can causes many wasted casts during the course of the day. With the hooks sold separately in the Lipless Crankbait Rigging Kit, the hooks are spaced enough apart so they cannot catch on each other during a cast.
For your convenience, I sell exactly what you need to best rig one lipless crankbait in a separate kit.
The separate Rigging Kit includes:
- One each #6 X-Strong Stainless Steel Split Ring (for nose)
- Two each #4 X-Strong Stainless Steel Split Rings (for hooks)
- One each #4 VMC Red In-Line X-Strong Cone-Cut Treble (for belly)
- One each #4 VMC Black Nickel X-Strong X-Short Cone-Cut Treble (for tail)
All ready to rig, and comes in a convenient, labeled plastic clamshell.
For those who wish to buy lipless crankbait rigging components in larger packs, I also offer:
- 50 packs of #6 X-Strong Stainless Steel Split Ring (for nose)
- 50 packs of #4 X-Strong Stainless Steel Split Rings (for hooks)
- 10 packs of #4 VMC Red In-Line X-Strong Cone-Cut Treble (for belly)
- 10 packs of #4 VMC Black Nickel X-Strong X-Short Cone-Cut Treble (for tail)
All the above hooks and components are sold separately in Bassdozer's Store.
Note: These lure bodies come WITHOUT hooks or split rings as shown below:
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Red Eye Bass ~ No Hooks
A subtle-looking "finesse" crankbait color that's not loud or flashy. It blends in naturally with many underwater environments. A fine color for clear water. Imitates baby bass, small crappie and panfish for example.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Alewife ~ No Hooks
Whether you call 'em sawbellies in the southeast or alewives in the northeast, bass love to feast on this tasty member of the shad and herring family. This crankbait color has a thin black back, pale green chartreuse high on its shoulders, a pink flush along its sides and an overall gold sheen. Goes great with a chartreuse white feather-dressed tail treble hook.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Herring ~ No Hooks
For thirty years, I have favored this classic style of hard-to-find "antique" herring color pattern. Nowadays, herring have bee stocked in large impoundments crisscrossing the country. However, this seldom-seen herring color originated in the northeast Atlantic coastal states where herring are native and make spawning runs up freshwater rivers. This classic herring pattern has a light blue back, a light pink side stripe, a creamy white belly, with no red chin splash.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Purple Shimmer ~ No Hooks
This is a non-descript paint pattern that resembles a shad with a bad rash! However, that irregular blotchy and distressed look of a shad in trouble can be just what bass want to target at times.
Hologram Foil Finish. Refracts or separates sunlight (or any ambient light) into the full spectrum of many individual colors. The colors being refracted constantly change and flash as the lure moves through the water. The holographic colors reflect the present water and light conditions and also provide the illusion of an excited baitfish that is "flushing" and emitting color signals.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Junebug Yellow ~ No Hooks
If you think this looks good on the computer screen, just wait till you see it for real. An "instant classic" color that looks like a bullseye for bass attention.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Smokey Joe ~ No Hooks
This classic crankbait pattern is as old as the hills. It's timeless in that Smokey Joe has always caught bass and always will. The pearl white belly is highly reflective. Jerk or rip it, and the belly throws an awfully bright flash that triggers strikes. To use it like a lipless jerkbait, the sudden white flash and suspended pause, is a terrific tactic with this color.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Midnight Shimmer ~ No Hooks
Jet black dripping with reflective dark purple, green and blue pearlescents. The three dark pearlescents cover much of the body, adding sheens and accents that many other basic black crankbaits lack. One of the most beautiful crankbait colors you'll come across for dark water, dark light and nighttime.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Hickory Shad ~ No Hooks
A solid color pattern with a black and gold pearl back. Very natural-looking so it fits right into the food chain.
1/2 oz Lipless Crankbait ~ Olive Back ~ No Hooks
A beige white or dirty bone color belly, a thin black back and black print detailing over a pale olive upper body. A subtle-looking "finesse" crankbait color that blends in naturally with many underwater environments. A fine color for clear water. An important time for this color usage begins in early autumn. This imitates the green hues that shad often become in early fall. Yes, shad can get watermelon green in fall. And that's not all. Fall is the same period when bass aggressively feed on young-of-year baby bass that are mustering into massive schools of baby bass this time of season. At times, switching to an orange feather-dressed tail treble really lights a fire under bass that otherwise were not hitting hard.
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