At certain time of the year, the only lure you need is a 1/2 Oz Chrome and Black Rattletrap. In early May, on LBJ this lure is deadly cast against the banks, on points, and even over open water. I have caught catfish, largemouth, whites, stripers, and crappie in the same day using this lure. I like to replace the front hook with a red anodized Gamakatsu treble hook, which simulates a bleeding shad when the lure moves through the water. The only drawback to using this super-sharp hook on the front of your lure, is that the points tend to chip off the chrome paint on the rattletrap. In my opinion, the rattletrap is a cheap lure that works, but doesn't last very long. You can find them at Academy for about $4, so buy about 5 or 6 of them. They get hung up easily, especially when casting banks. So, unless you are really good at maneuvering the boat, and getting your lure unstuck, you will be happy you had some spares. Plus, when your fishing buddy sees all of the fish you are catching, you can bet he's going to want to "borrow" one.

The trick to the rattletrap is learning how to work it. You could just cast and retrieve, and you will catch some fish, but if you want to maximize your luck it takes a little more finesse. I like to use a medium-action 6.5" rod with a flexible tip. Cast past cover, and retrieve quickly but twitch and pause every few seconds. It will take some practice to get to where you can do this without getting the line wrapped around the front treble hook. If you can master the technique, bass can't resist and will slam the lure on the pause. You will tend to catch a lot of smaller fish with this lure, but it works very well.

If you are trolling around, and you see a big school of white bass in a feeding frenzy, cast this lure past the school, and use the same technique. You will catch a fish on every cast. White bass are fun to catch, they fight like crazy, and they taste great, too.

If you go fishing a lot, don't get too attached to this lure -- it works in Spring. Just when I thought that I never needed to buy another lure, it stopped working. I couldn't get a bite. Time to fall back to worm fishing. I have always found that when all else fails, tie on a worm and fish it slow. You will catch a few fish, and they will probably be bigger to boot.