Hot lips cranks: who uses them?

[mcsquidly]

I spoke with some guy who swears by them in a paticular color. He says that the Hot lips in this color is hands down the best crankbait for fall smallies.

Is this a dirty little secret?

[Wreckless]

Hot lips don't work:D




Actually you can have almost every other crank in my box when it comes to Smallies (& most Largies)

GREAT lures, durable and out dive anything in their size......

Don't tell anyone!

[mcsquidly]

Hot lips don't work:D




Actually you can have almost every other crank in my box when it comes to Smallies (& most Largies)

GREAT lures, durable and out dive anything in their size......

Don't tell anyone!

Do you use the color I think you do?

[Fish mojo]

I use them with fair success for walleyes and usually spend most of my time shaking incidental smallys off.

[boblag]

For smallies, I would go with a lipless crank over one of those most of the time. The colors are similar, you can do almost everything you can do with a Hot Lips (plus several things you can't), and they're easier to fish because they have less water resistance.

[BuKuBass]

For smallies, I would go with a lipless crank over one of those most of the time...you can do almost everything you can do with a Hot Lips...

One of the best tactics that a lipless can't do without frequently hanging up, unless you have a floating model, is bang it along the bottom. All year long, that's a deadly presentation.

[Wreckless]

Do you use the color I think you do?


Colors are "match the hatch".

Fire tiger in the spring
Blue/Chrome to match smolt
Crawdad for dredging like Buku described


Don't forget white :whistle:

I will agree that a lipless crank in shallower water is tough to beat.
Also my wife kicked my behind with a "speed trap" , 3 days in a row. on the Columbia this spring!!!!

[BassnBeer]

One of my favorite cranks by far! I have a couple that have well over 200 fish on them. They have some great fish catching capabilities. With that said they do have one small issue that I have run across. They dont take to kindly to be banged on the rocks. I have reeled in more than my share of only the lip. I guess as soon as I learn to cast it won't be an issue. As for colors the firetiger is nice as well as the crawdad. But my wife tends to kick my butt with the trout color.

[rob allen]

I used to use them with good success However i quit using them when Luhr Jensen moved their manufacturing to Mexico.

Now I use Norman's "deep little "n" and DD22s made in America...

[bassnwhaler]

I use them almost exclusively...if you are in 8 foot of water, fish the 12 ft diver and bang it off the bottom...etc....you might lose some to snags, but like my Granddaddy use to say, "if you aint hangin' up, you aint where the fish are."

The deep divers do put a wallop on your pole..i recently bought a stiffer rod for it, but the smallmouth also wallop it.

Sportsman's has them for @ $4.50..but Bi Mart is at $6.50? go figure...

good luck.

[Tar Heel]

One thing I really like them is that they dive true, whereas most cranks don't even work w/o a tune job rt out of the box. I think Rapala bought Luhr Jensen last year.