Trapping A Bass
By: Tom Lester II
In our ongoing quest to find new and improved ways to
catch more bass, sometimes the answer is right before our very eyes.
So often the most effective means of boating more fish is so simple,
we simply overlook it. Chances are it is right in front of you, but
you don’t see it. It’s like not being able to see the forest, for
the trees, so to speak. What is it? The ole’ reliable Rat-L-Trap.
That’s right, the simply looking, easy to use, noisy, baitfish
imitating lure we all have in our tackle boxes that we’ve been using
for years, a Rat-L-Trap.
Rat-L-Traps are the number one selling bait in America. There is a
good reason for that… they catch fish. Anglers everywhere have used
a Rat-L-Trap at one time or another in their fishing. Chances are they
caught fish on em’. The Rat-L-Trap is a "go to" for
everyone from the beginning anglers to long time touring professional
anglers,
The Rat-L-Trap is a bait that can be used in a variety of ways. The
most common way to use the bait is what I call the basic "chunk
and reel" method. Chunk it out there and reel it back in
relatively fast hoping to trigger a strike from a feeding fish or
generate a reactionary strike from a passive fish. If that doesn’t
work, you can try slowing it down a bit allowing the bait to work a
little deeper. Often this subtle little difference will result in more
strikes.
One of my favorite ways to use the bait is probably the most
underused presentation of all, a yo yo retrieve. I use this approach
when fishing the bait off of main lake and secondary points and around
the edges of creek channels when the fish are not real active.
Cast the bait out and let it fall to the bottom. Once on the
bottom, quickly pull it up a foot or two and stop allowing the bait
the flutter back down imitating a wounded or dying baitfish. The
presentation of an easy meal may very well cause a non-feeding fish to
go ahead a eat your bait simply because its there and its easy. The
result, you catch a fish.
Rat-L-Traps come in a variety of sizes, colors and styles. Some
sparkle, some have spinners on them, some have a plastic bill on them
for diving deeper, some float and others will suspend. There is so
many, it’s sometimes hard to figure out which one to use. If you
find yourself in this situation, like I so often do, go back to the
basics. The ½ ounce chrome with a blue back, chrome with a black back
or a gold with a black back are my standard baits. On cloudy days,
early morning or late evening, I use the gold color. When the sun is
bright, you can’t go wrong with the chrome.
Last month I fished a BASS tournament at Sam Rayburn. The
tournament was won on a Rat-L-Trap being fished over scattered grass (hydrilla).
Several other anglers, including myself, caught fish on Rat-L-Traps in
the grass.
When fishing these baits around grass, you need to be using a high
speed reel with a gear ratio of 6:1 or better on a medium action rod.
This will allow you to literally rip the bait through the grass
triggering strikes. If the fish are aggressive, they will usually hit
the bait just as you pull it loose from a snag in the grass. If the
fish are not real aggressive, you may need to scale down to a ¼ ounce
Rat-L-Trap in order to slow the bait down enough to get bit; yet keep
it from staying hung up in the grass due to the slower retrieve needed
to generate strikes. This is where having a variety of colors and
sizes of baits come in handy.
I really love fishing Rat-L-Traps over grass. The bait looks like
the forage the bass are feeding on, a shad and the noise from the
rattles inside seems to attract the fish even when they are buried up
in the thick grass. When a grass bass hits the bait, it usually
inhales the thing.
Another bait to use over grass is the Red Zone Rat-L-Trap, it
suspends. After cranking it down during the retrieve, you can stop the
bait and it will suspend allowing the fish more time to see and strike
the bait. You can also use it like a jerk bait while it is suspending,
then continue the normal retrieve. This lure is also real effective on
pre-spawn fish in creeks that are suspending between the creek channel
and their spawning areas in shallower water.
As a tournament angler, keeping a fish on after hooking it can mean
the difference between making a paycheck and not making one. That’s
why I always replace the hooks on my Rat-L-Traps when fishing a
tournament. The hooks that come on the bait are ok for pleasure
fishing or pre-fishing a tournament, but when it really counts, I want
a good sharp hook that increases my chances of landing the fish.
The next time you’re at the lake or your favorite body of water
and you can’t figure out what lure to use to catch ole’
bucketmouth, remember the answer may have been sitting there all
along. There’s a good reason everyone you talk to has a few in their
box, the Rat-L-Trap simply catches fish.
Until next time, enjoy the Texas Outdoors.
Contact Tom at lester01@airmail.net
Or visit him at his website at FishingProStaff
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