Rattle traps

[pig n jig]

I was amazed by all of the responses saying a rattle trap is their stay away bait and that they don't work for them.

Let me try to get you started on the right path to catch fish with a trap.

1.First thing is reel speed.Most people try to use their crankbait reels for a trap since its a lipless crankbait right ? Most generally you need a faster reel for traps than you will use for crankbaits.

2.Baitfish don't really swim in a straight line.When fishing a trap , move you rod tip slowly right to left or left to right.Another thing is to move the rod tip up and down or pause or alter the speed as your retreiving the lure.

3. you want to keep your lure in the strike zone.Grass and traps work together to catch bass. When fishing grass, you want the trap to tick the tops of the grass on the retreive.

Many people get frustrated when trying to keep the trap from getting snagged in the grass on the retreive.If your snagging in grass you need to change to a heavier line or lighter bait or faster reel speed.

A heavier diameter line will hold your lures higher in the water colum on the retreive.if your having trouble ticking the grass, you may want to go to a thinner line.

Traps come in different sizes and weights.if your using a trap and its getting buried in the grass repeatedly or not hitting the grass at all, you can change the lure weight to adjust to getting the lure in the desired strikezone

Reel speed can help your trap travel at a faster rate so it doesn't bury down in the weeds as easily.I like a retreive rate of 25" or more per turn of the handle for traps.A 6.3:1 gear ratio will usually fall in that range nicely.

know your traps.All are not created equal for there are many different designs with the lipless line up.For example.

A Lucky craft LV500 Max trap will spiral as it falls through the water on the cast.It will foul up on the line easier than anything.You need to start your retreive as the lure enters the water so it doesn't foul on the slack line.

A spro Aruku shad and Luhr Jensen sugar shad will remain in an upright postion when the retreive is stopped or yo yo'd. When fishing bass on beds , the trap will sit upright when presenting the lure.

A red eye shad is an excellent yo yo presentation style bait. I get more bites with this trap on the fall from the baits design than any other I have tried.Use a yo yo presentation or pause the bait on the retreive more often to allow the fall of the lure on the retreieve and hopefully you will see better results when using the red eye shad lure as I have.


I am not good at typing what I want to express, but I hope this post will help clear up some of your trouble catching fish with a trap bait. If anyone has any thing to add, don't hesitate to add it.Hopefully I can learn something else to try a well.I love the trap for its capable of fishing different depths on the natural lakes that I fish.

Another thing, don't put that red trap up after spring, it works for me throughout the year, it seems to shine at ice out though. Ivan