You COULD fish mid-depth with plastics and jigs, but for now we’re gonna focus on crankin’, which is money pretty much year-round. Over cover, through grass, bumping wood, covering water, all good. So away we go:
Here’s the deal with the 3DB Squarelip: Japanese precision + wide wobble + SICK 3D prism colors + more flash + big eyes (which I happen to like on all baits) + wave-motion belly ribbing = ketches bass.
Check FLWer Braxton Setzer talkin’ ’bout the bait. He’s talkin’ fall, which everyone does about squarebills, but they ain’t just for wood in the fall. Don’t be hemmed in by conventional bassin’ wisdom:
Here’s the question to ask about this bait: Why would the folks who make Rat-L-Traps make ONE lipped bait? Answer: Because it’s different than what’s already out there.
Like it’s name says, it’s kinda between the 1.5 and 2.0 sizes, and the sound and action are a little different too. Here’s a good video on the bait — plus rod/reel/line setup — by FLWer Brian Latimer, aka B-Lat…who calls the 1.75 “the 4 wheel drive of crankbait fishing:”
Comes in a silent version too.
First of all, this bait was designed by Elitist Johnny Crews, which makes it suspect…because look at how everyone is scared on this ride but him:
What up with that Crews? No one’s that calm on the Jurassic Park ride, man! Weird. Okay, back to the bait: He wanted a bait that was still shallow-running (to 8′) but a bigger body — or as he says in the vid, “a big, deeper-running, shallow-running crankbait.” Okaaaaaay:
Rapala DT cranks (DT = “dives to,” as in a specific depth) are must-haves in the boat, same as the Strike King XDs below. As Elitist Seth “do the Dew” Feider says in this vid, “They’re straight-up fish-catchers.” Tighter, more-subtle balsa action…nothing like it, and MANY good colors:
5. Strike King 5XD and 6XD
Point 1: Some college kid won the Classic this year with a 5XD. Combs, you shouldn’t have told the world about that bait on Conroe man hahaha!
Point 2: That bait and the 6XD have won a BUNCH o’ tourneys over the last 4-5 years so jump on ’em like these crazy Black Friday shoppers:
Oops those are zombies…same thing…. Here’s a crazy-cool Hook n Look vid of the 5XD digging the bottom, and here’s Elitist Mark Menendez talkin’ fishin’ the 6XD:
These dang good AttaX rods don’t cost an arm and a leg ($119.99) even though they have sweet Winn Grips (my fave) and good actions. Not sure how Denali does it price-wise, but I think it’s these guys:
Little yeller fellers are goofing off there, but they get stuff done. Anyhow, here’s Russ Lane talkin’ mostly about the AttaX grips — but remember, he’s a big-time cranker:
I haven’t fished these rods yet, but if you’re crankin’, these softer hybrid rods — “the light weight of graphite [with] the softer power of fiberglass” — supposedly do this: “This innovative blank composition compensates for recent innovations in the fishing industry, like surgically sharpened hooks, zero-stretch lines and high-speed reels, resulting in less pulled hooks and less heartbreak.”
Definitely makes sense. Trey, where’s my sample rod man? I keep runnin’ after the UPS man and he never stops for me hahaha!
Here’s Trey talking about the rods in his melodious gentle tones: