Lipless Crankbaits

Rapala Rattlin Rap - a popular lipless crankbait

Also known as the “vibrating plug”, lipless crankbaits have a thinner shad-like body and a tighter wobble than the crankbait counterpart. The lipless crankbaits high frequency vibrations frequently trigger fish to bite even when not actively feeding. Any fish that feeds on baitfish will be caught on vibrating plugs. Usually, vibrating plugs about an inch to two inches long are used for trout, crappie and white bass. You can figure 8 to 12 inches for pike, stripers, largemouth and muskie species.

Lipless crankbaits lack the lip other plugs have making them less apt to dive, so these plugs are designed to sink. Most plugs of this type are made of solid plastic while some are hollow plastic filled with shot that makes it rattle while also weighting the lure. Since these plugs are heavy for their size, this makes them very easy to cast.

While these plugs are more prone to hooks being snagged than their lipped counterparts, depth control is often found to be easier making snagging more avoidable.

For sinking lipless crankbaits, count the time it takes to reach a depth your fishing at. If you get a strike, use the same count to drop your bait to the same depth. This plug can also run duel purpose as some anglers will use them as deep water jigging bait, dropping them to the floor and jigging them vertically in the same way you would jig a spoon.

Fishing with Lipless Crankbaits

The countdown technique is the method used with the lipless crankbait. Once you cast, start counting the seconds as the bait sinks on your slack line. If it takes 5 seconds to sink to a depth of 10 feet, then you know the sink rate is 2 feet per second. Use this calculation to find the depth you want on subsequent casts with the same lure. If you get a strike at 10 feet, you may want to sink the lure for 5 seconds on your next cast. Remember to retrieve vibrating plugs at a moderate speed to keep the bait at the same depth for as long as possible. Retrieving fast and the lure will run shallow, retrieving too slowly and it will run deeper.

Use a medium to heavy power bait casting rod for lipless crankbaits half ounce or greater using 10 pound or better test mono. Light to medium power spinning gear with 6 to 8 pound mono is ideal for vibrating plugs of an eight to a quarter ounce.