These are some tips to help you be successful when fishing lipless crankbaits for smallmouth bass! Lipless crankbaits are extremely versatile and can be fished with a variety of retrieves and used in many different situations. This is where, when, how and the gear that I use to fish a lipless crankbait for big smallmouth bass!
Where - moderate to shallow depth bait - 15fow or less
When - Most effective in prespawn and fall when bass are shallow and feeding heavy. Can work in summer to cover water and find fish, but not as effective as spring and fall How - Use this to locate fish and cover water but also thoroughly fish through a spot.
1. Cast and reel/twitch - Simple approach, best for covering water and shallow flats when fish are up on shallow cover - especially grass
2. Yo-Yo approach - slower retrieve but effective to cover water, trigger reaction bites as well as pick apart a spot. Cast, let sink to top of grass and lift/reel. Goal is to rip free from top of grass and keep bait up in water column
3. Lift and Drop - similar to yo-yo, but slower moving and on bottom. Use for picking apart specific areas and fishing along bottom. Similar approach to a tube
4. Flopping a Trap - Similar to dragging a jig or tube. Shake the slack to make the bait flop or shake and rattle. Great when water visibility isn’t great or fish are lethargic. Prefer baits with rattles over 1 knocker styles for this technique
Gear -
Rod - 7’ to 7’6” Rod with moderate action. I’m using TFO Tactical 74CB MH I prefer MH to help rip bait out of grass and have power for a hookset on end of a long cast. 7’4” rod picks up more line and helps me get a good hook in fish even when moving towards me Reel - 6 or 7 speed gear ratio reel with 14-17lb fluoro depending on how heavy the grass is you’re fishing. Prefer straight fluoro but braid to fluoro leader is also a good option
Baits -
Colors: Craw for dirty/tannic water esp in spring, natural/clean bodies of water
Summer I like chrome or White base. Chrome blue back is goto on waters around me, but when overcast or slight off color water, switch to white or natural because it silhouettes better
Fall - add in bold colors again with heavy rains and dirty water. Chartreuse based colors
RatLTrap - shallower water ~10fow or less in. Flat nose helps it be fished around cover effectively on bottom and rips from grass well, but not great for yo-yo technique
Red Eye Shad - Works well for yo-yo or straight retrieve
Lucky Craft LV500 - Best for dragging or flopping. Heavy bait, small profile, fishes well along bottom and very loud
Duo 68 Gfix - similar to LV500 - best for dragging or flopping. Falls straight down in water column vs gliding to bottom so great for long cast dragging or target fishing. Small profile and very thin body - similar to blade bait where rattles with small movements
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brnowak-fishing/message
