Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion who’s never at a loss for words, often goes lipless in his quest for bass.
“I’m after reaction strikes from bass rather than hunger strikes,” said Iaconelli. “Fish strike out of hunger four hours during a 24-hour period, which leaves 20 hours where a fisherman must rely upon reaction strikes if he wants to catch fish.”
Flattened noses help create action and vibration in lipless baits, and to Iaconelli, not all lipless crankbaits are created equal because their flattened noses come in different widths.
“The best-known lipless crankbait is the Rat-L-Trap, which has a moderate-sized nose,” said Iaconelli. “Other lipless crankbaits possess noses of various widths.”
The various widths produce different vibrations, according to Iaconelli. Narrow widths emit tight vibrations; moderate widths, moderate vibrations; and large widths, wide vibrations.
The widths also determine how the bait is fished.
For burning a lipless crankbait — retrieving the lure quickly to keep it tracking just a few inches beneath the surface — Iaconelli uses a narrow-nosed bait that prevents the bait from riding up and breaking the surface of the water. A burned bait resembles a fleeing minnow, and the bass hits it out of instinct not hunger.
When Iaconelli wants to fish a lipless bait with a yo-yo action, he uses baits with noses of moderate width. He mimics the motion of a yo-yo by lifting his rod up and down giving the bait an up-and-down motion. The lure resembles a wounded minnow which flutters to the bottom, then struggles to the surface again. Most strikes come with the bait on the fall.
A lipless crankbait with a wide nose works best for slow-rolling, which is used for fish that are deep and/or sluggish. Iaconelli slowly retrieves the lipless crankbait to make it crawl along the bottom white it emits wide vibrations akin to a crawfish.
Iaconelli recommends a sweeping motion to set the hook when fishing lipless crankbaits.
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