Lipless crankbaits and how to keep them out of the snags

Over the last two years I have acquired a lot of knowledge and experience in the use of lipless crankbaits. In stating that, what I aim to do over this two part article is pass on some information that I have learnt through the use of these very effective lures.

In this first instalment I will focus more on the lipless crankbait lure itself, as well as some tips on outfits and rigging. Next month, in part two, I will share a few of my techniques targeting a freshwater favourite - the golden perch – at Lake Windamere and Googong Dam with lipless crankbaits.

Firstly though what is a lipless crankbait and how do they work? Lipless crankbait is the generic name given to a multitude of generally slender profiled, minnow shaped, sinking lures. Although the physical appearance of almost all lipless crankbaits may vary slightly (usually associated with brand or manufacturer) almost all of them have internal rattles, hence the nick names rattlin spot, rattle trap and vibration minnow. The slender profile coupled with the internal rattles and usually some sort of frontal positioned weighting system allow these lures to be cast like a bullet, whilst on the retrieve they exhibit a noisy, nose down, tight shimmying action.

 

Although lipless crankbaits have been commercially available for decades, it’s been over the last few years that the Australian fishing scene has seen a boom in the use of, and fishing success associated with, this type of lure. The Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) are probably responsible for most of the lipless crankbait hype and while, as its name suggests, Bass are the main target these lures are just as effective when chasing Golden Perch and Murray Cod. In recent times, the reports of success surrounding these lures have been phenomenal, to the point where I (like many others anglers I’m guessing?) was convinced that I’d catch more fish just by tying one on! Well unfortunately it’s not that easy but it’s a start, and together with practice and developing confidence in your ability to use these lures you will see more fish coming your way.

 

There are many different brands of lipless crankbait and whilst each of them differ slightly in physical attributes they will all catch fish. The two attributes I place the most importance on are weight and length. Lipless crankbaits range in size from about 35mm (2.5g) all the way up to big 340mm (500g) versions used for Tuna. When targeting Golden Perch I tend to stick to the 50mm(~10g), 60mm(~14g) and 70mm (~17g) sizes, with the 60mm being the best all rounder. When fishing shallower areas (1 to 2.5 meters) I use the lighter lure so as to keep it up off the bottom under a steady retrieve. Use a heavy lure in shallow areas and you’ll have to speed up your retrieve to prevent the lure hitting the bottom and becoming weeded or, even worse, snagged. When fishing deeper areas (6 to 10 meters) I’ll go for the heavier lure so I can keep the lure down near the bottom whilst under a steady retrieve. If you use a light lure in deep water you’ll find it’ll rise up off the bottom (and out of the strike zone) when steadily retrieved, and if you slow your retrieve down to compensate the lure will lose a lot of its action due to the lack of water pressure acting on it. As I said, I find myself using the middle size most of the time and while it’s best suited to depths between 2 and 5 meters it’s a great compromise for any shallower or deeper situations.

 

Most certainly one of the biggest disadvantages with lipless crankbaits, being negatively buoyant, is their unfortunate ability to get snagged. Let’s face it, lures aren’t getting any cheaper and the simplest way to stop losing them to snags is to stop throwing them out there! Right? Well not entirely. To prevent snagging and minimise lure losses I started rigging my lipless crankbaits with single hooks. At first I replaced both treble hooks with single lure hooks and my snag rate definitely decreased, but so did my hook up rate. So to combat the decrease in hook ups I further modified the lure to what I now believe is the best compromise. It consists of a single lure hook at the front and a small ‘jig style’ or ‘assist’ hook at the rear. It doesn’t affect the action of the lure, the hook up rate is excellent and I haven’t lost a single lure to a snag since I started rigging them this way.

 

Whilst lipless crankbaits can be used on either spinning or baitcast outfits, I prefer the latter. Given these lures have plenty of weight casting them on a baitcast outfit isn’t as difficult as some other smaller lures and the accuracy gained through the use of a baitcaster is invaluable in areas of heavy structure. Generally I use a 100 sized low profile baitcast reel on a fairly stiff 1-3kg graphite rod spooled with braided line and a fluorocarbon leader. Line size is generally determined by the situation and I’ll include specific examples in part two. Given lipless crankbaits don’t have a lot of resistance and their action is only slight when compared to a bibbed lure the use of braided line is a big advantage. To be able to feel when the lure is working properly, as opposed to being fouled or weeded, plays a big part in becoming confident in the use of these lures and catching fish.

 

By Matthew Perdrau