Rat-L-Trap

[lunker-lander]

Got a few new lures yesterday(), one being a Rat-L-Trap MiniTrap. I have used these before, for salmon, pike, muskie,etc. Never used one for bass though. I bought this and a few other lures yesterday because I would like to start using crankbaits, to be a more well-round angler.
After buying this yesterday, me and my dad went out to Bird Lake. It was windy, 10-15 mph gusts. Since it was windy, in the high 90's, and still daylight, I figured bass would still be deep, so I went with the MiniTrap. After a half-hour or so with this, I hooked-up. Got him in and it was a twelve incher or so. Since it was windy, we only caught a few, but one 18". Any tips on how to work the MiniTrap will be greatly appreciated.
Also, I bought a 20 pk. of 6" ZOOM Trick Worm's - Tomatoe w/ black fleck. Is there anything special about the trick worms? Any special way to rig them? I was just using the good 'ole T-Rig and caught one probably 12".

[bassfisher02]

Where is Rat-L-trap anyways? havent seen him floatin around the boards lately... anyways sounds like you had that ratLtrap down, i dont fish them so i'm not one to give advice on how to fish them, you can call me a very not well rounded fisherman, since i never fish crankbaits... anyways about the zoom worms, they deffinitely fall into the area of my expertise, you can fish them wacky[hook the worm in the middle, making an upside down U shape, i'm sure you know what i'm talking about, you can also offset where you hook it, doesnt always have to be smack dab in the middle] you can t-rag, you can drop shot them, you can c-rig them, you can go weightless, and you can jig them. you can throw them anywhere, such a versitile bait...

[lunker-lander]

Thanks for the info on the trick worms. I have never used them before, but have heard soooo much about them. Since you said you can c-rig and dropshot them, I may try that. I have pretty well learned the T-Rig, so I believe I need to try other rigs - never know when your gonna need a certain rig in a certain situation. Learning these rigs also up's the percentage of the 'Well-rounded" angler category.

Thanks -LL-

[Rebbasser]

LL, go to the bank the wind is blowing into and throw that Trap. The wind pushes algae and plankton up next to the bank, the baitfish follow, and the bass follow the baitfish. It can be kind of difficult depending on how hard the wind is blowing, but that is where the bass will be.

One piece of advice: Either sharpen or change the hooks. As good as Traps are, the hooks they come with are as about as sharp as a Q-tip, and if the hooks aren't sharp, well, see my signature

[lunker-lander]

Hey Reb, Thks again, you've been very helpful lately. I've been doing what you said though, fish the windy side of the lake. I've caught one on my MiniTrap so far, a small 12" dink. Hooks are very sharp, I've checked.
What else can I do to catch larger fish though? We have beeen nightfishing the past 3 nights, using Jitter's and Hula's. The bass seem to hit best 10 mins before pitch black dark. After this, it gets slow. What's up? The biggest one we have caught was 21", but that was like "Damn, this never happens to us". How do I consistently get 15-20" like you always seem to snag? I just started bass fishing this year(I'm 14) and I know I am not going to get good overnight, but tips on haulin' the hawgs will highly help.

[Fishing4Bass]

love them rattle traps

[Rebbasser]

LL, I when I do catch a bigger fish I'm not doing anything different. You might move up to a 1/2 oz. Trap-that is pretty much the only size I throw, especially in the wind. I can throw one into the wind and not backlash most of the time (shaddup, Flyrod). If you get a mudline throw into it-bass use the mudline as concealment.

For night fishing I don't do it much-Flyrod is the guy to ask-but I do know this: Sound, vibration, and move water. For sound a dark rattling bait like your Trap is a good choice. Vibration-get yourself a black spinnerbait with a big, single Colorado blade. The thumping blade can get some big fish. Move water-big, bulky baits like a big jig or a big-say 10"-worm. Something that will move a lot of water when it moves.

[bassfisher02]

LL, first of all, you live in Michigan. Well unless MI stands for Missouri, i've never been good with state abbreviations. Anyways Reb lives in Texas, now read carefully not saying there arent hawgs in Michigan or Missouri wherever you live, but the odds on catching them increase as you go farther south. With that being there is no certain hawg catching bait, like Reb said he doesnt do anything different. Bass fishing is bass fishing, be happy you can fish for bass, there may just be a time in the future when there wont be too much bass fishing left. whether or not you catch "12inch dinks" or 10lb hawgs the whole experience is what does it in. I can sit out on the lake or river or ocean all day[given some shade ofcourse, i'll burn alive if not] and fish and fish and fish without catching anything, and at the end of the day i'll still be happy i got to fish, its just the whole uncertainty about fishing that makes it so catchy[no pun intended]. If you went out and caught fish after fish after fish every cast every day it would be boring, i wouldnt want to keep fishing if i knew on every cast i was gunna catch something. Anyways what i'm so slowly but surely trying to get at here is be grateful for the oppurtunity to fish, the fish you catch, and if you dont catch the fish, be grateful that you can go out again and try to catch them another day. I dont consistently catch huge bass, some days my best may be 3-4lbs, others i can slay 5-6lb'ers. i've caught a 'hawg' obne time in my life, my personal best 10lbs 3oz, right when i started to bass fish on a black zoom trick worm near a grass bed at around 11:30AM, i credit it to begnners luck, i've came close to that only one time again, a bass at around 9lbs, and i live in Florida. It just goes to show that you cant worry about whether or not you catch a hawg, its just about bass fishing. Just by odds alone you increase your chances on catching a big bass the more you fish, so if you wanna catch one, fish as much as you can.

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

With that being there is no certain hawg catching bait, like Reb said he doesnt do anything different.

Oh we are forgetting about the Whiz Bang Lure aren't we

As for the trick worms, there really is no trick to them. T-rigged weightless, or with a tiny splitshot and patience is all that is needed. Oh and it would help if you were fishing where the bass are


Lizards

[bassfisher02]

THE WHIZ BANG!!!!! Oh man how could I have forgotten such an effective lure??? I think I need to dig my collection of Whiz Bangs out of the ole tackle box and get to catchin them hawgs!!

[vagabond]

I've seen you say it more than once to try fishing a lipless crank on a shore that the wind is blowing into.

I always assumed that you fish parallel to the shore or cast to the shore and retrieve back.

Then in this post you said that you can cast into the wind with out a back lash. Is that the way to do it? Do you get close to the shore and cast out towards the middle of the lake and make your retrieve?

[Rebbasser]

Vagabond, I really just fan cast. My point in saying that about casting into the wind is that with a Trap you CAN cast it into the wind due to the nature of the bait, unlike something like a buzzbait. Now that I think about it I probably do better throwing either into shore and bringing it out or parallel to the bank. Regardless of where you cast, though, unless you anchor pointing the nose of the boat into the wind and using the TM is the only way to hold position.