Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 9 - Flipbook - Page 27
The original Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap
has caught countless bass since
it was introduced in 1971. Rattle
trap style lures have no bill (hence
the word, lipless). They create a
sharp vibration when retrieved and
thanks to BB sized shot inside the
lure, they create a rattling noise
as well. The combination of the
vibration and sound triggers bass
hanging out in ambush points
along weed lines or other structure
such as log lay downs, beaver huts,
boulders, or rocky riprap.
The lure excels in depths of two to
eight feet. You can rapidly retrieve
the lure and draw strikes but I
prefer to pause several times when
I retrieve a rattle trap, just for a quick
second. I do this because following
fish will often strike it when it stops
in their face or as the lure begins to
fall like a wounded fish.
Another method is to use a YoYo retrieve, fishing the lure off the
bottom. This technique works best
when the fish are deep.
As for what lure to use? There are a
lot of lipless crankbaits out there in
various sizes but my hands down
favorite is the ½ ounce Berkley
Warpig, which I’ve used to catch
not only bass, but also walleye
and other species since it was
introduced a few years ago.
There’s so much more to talk
about when it comes to catching
summer time bass (soft plastic
baits for example) but we’ll have to
leave that for another time. Until
then, use crankbaits, spinnerbaits
and topwater lures to reel in some
hard-hitting bass during these hot
weather months!
JULY 2023 | 27