I have seen many lipless cranks in many tackle boxes that have never been used, the reason I think is that people buy them and do not know how to fish them and when they try them they get snagged.
Lipless cranks in the past have mostly been used for fishing deep points in a jigging style, and that is the way I fished them for many years, they have also been used for slow trolling.
In this article I am going to explain a method for fishing lipless cranks sub surface, in shallow water and near structure, and this is an explosive and exciting way to get some awesome takes and some big fish.
When fishing these lipless cranks, the tackle you use is very important to ensure successful hook ups and to convert the hook up into a catch.
The rod needs to be a medium action to slow action rod, preferably a longer rod from 7'0" to 7'6" basically a cranking stick and a medium duty rod would cover the weights that lipless cranks come in. I personally use a Shimano Crucial TC4 7'0" medium cranking stick for this.
The reel needs to have a fast retrieval rate from 6.4:1 up to 7:1, I prefer a bait casting reel for this application. I personally use a Shimano Curado 200 DHSV with a 7:1 ratio.
The best line for the job is mono filament due to the large amount of stretch and I prefer it with a light green colour for this application, I like to use the Suffix XL strong in 14.5lb because I throw into structure on my one rig and 8lb on the other for the lighter lures, but a 10lb mono filament would be the best all round choice if you only have one rig. I also like the mono to be supple and not stiff.
Leader, I do not use a leader for this kind of fishing and I tie my lure directly to the split ring on the lure.
This tackle choice would also be suitable for fishing jerk baits and smaller crank baits and even many topwater baits, and again I would recommend a 10lb mono filament for these applications.
Most lipless weigh ounce and the tackle above is perfectly matched for throwing this weight, there are however some smaller lipless cranks and you would use the same rod & reel with a much lighter line to be able to cast the smaller one, 10lb or even 6lb for the very small ones.
The reason for the tackle choice above is due to the way the fish will take the lure, as they basically suck in the lure and you need to allow the stretch in the line and bend in your rod for the lure to get into the fishes mouth properly so that when you strike to set the hook you do not rip it away from him and miss your take, but actually drive the hooks into his mouth.
The fast ratio reel is required to take up the slack line quickly after the cast and start retrieving to stop the lure sinking onto the structure and getting snagged.
About Lipless cranks: There are many on the market to choose from, and most of them have the similar characteristics which you need to understand in order to know how to use them. Lipless cranks are hard plastic baits and sink fast, they do not float or suspend. They are narrow bodied and have the connection point on the back of the lure so they swim at an angle with the 2 treble hooks trailing behind, which is good for bumping out of the way of structure. They also vibrate as opposed to wriggle like jerk baits and crank baits. They have a rattle in them and this needs to be understood as one of their most important characteristics, as if used correctly the vibration of the lure will cause the rattle to make a "humming noise".
All this leads to the conclusion that lipless crank baits like to be fished fast, and make an ideal weapon to add to your arsenal of techniques, and I can assure you it is a deadly weapon when used correctly and has accounted for many fish on one day, my personal best is 20 fish with 19 casts which included a double hook up and 40 fish in 3 hours, and for 2 friends of mine over 100Kg of bass in one day. This method is also responsible for some large fish of over 5Kg and many fish in the 3kg region.
How to fish a lipless crank: This is a reaction bite method. This method of fishing lipless cranks is for shallow areas of 0-4m where there is grass and structure; it will also work on shallow gravel beds during the winter spawn and rocky points. You identify an area that has grass and structure on the bank or a rocky point that has a ridge leading out; and the drop off must be gentle so when you are casting distance away from the bank (20-30m) you are in water that is around 3-4m deep. If there are some submerged trees or stumps, of even small isolated structure in that water even better. You can cast at the bank, and as soon as your lure has hit the water you start retrieving at an even and moderate pace. Your retrieval speed can vary and you need to experiment with this on the given day to find out what the bass want, what is of utmost importance is that you get the lure to hum or sing, because this is the key factor for lipless cranks and if you do not retrieve at a speed fast enough to get this humming or singing you will not be using the lure to its full potential. You can also cast parallel to the bank in up to 3m of water, allow the lure to sink a little and then retrieve it, this is best done a little slower than when casting at the bank, and again you must make sure that the lure hums or sings. When casting parallel to the bank if you have identified some structure like tree stumps, brush piles, or best isolated structure, get you lure to swim over or past these objects and you are sure to get the attention of any bass or lunker lurking there. When fishing in this open water parallel to the bank, it is best to use the count down method to get your lure to the desired depth. The countdown method is simply timing how fast your lure sinks, so typically a lipless crank would fall at 1m/second and if you want it to start at 2m in 3m of water you count 2 seconds before you start to retrieve. You will need to work out your own time as the line and the lure combination will vary this, best to make a short cat in 6m of water and then count down the time it take till your line goes slack.
When you are retrieving and you get a take, you will feel the line go heavy and stretch and the rod bend, it is at this point that you need to strike. A quick hard strike is all you need to set the hooks and then the fight can begin. You will find on many occasions when you bring you fish to the boat there are others following your fish, which is the reason this method can get you a second take and you end up with a double hook up. Sometimes the second fish will take right at the boat.
Please note that you can hook up onto structure, and when throwing at structure like grass you must immediately start retrieving as the lure hits the water.
When to fish a lipless crank: You can use this method any time during the year, and this is my second go to method after trying a topwater bait, as this method the lure sits just below the surface and many times the bass will not take a top water lure, but they will take a lure just below the surface. Lipless crank baits work well in dirty water, when many other lures will not work, as the humming or singing is what is going to induce the strike, here you can fish with brightly coloured lures, I personally prefer white with red eyes in any conditions, but bright colours work well in stained water and natural colours work well in clear water. It is also an effective method for fishing flooded areas especially where there is submerged grass.
If you come across an isolated structure in water up to 4m deep, cast over it , let the lure sink to the bottom and then retrieve it at a reasonably fast pace.
When casting towards steep banks, you strike time is very short and it is best to let the lure sink a little first and then retrieve, you can also stop reeling after 5-6m allow the lure to sink a while and then retrieve again, often when you do this the Bass will follow the lure down, and strike as you start to retrieve again.
Go out there and try it; it is a good time to fish this method whilst the water levels are high in most dams, and hold on tight as the lunkers love lipless cranks.