Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Crank Product Review

Lure Review

Shake, Rattle, and Shimmy with Lucky Craft's RTO-Crank (continued)

Yo Yo Action: This is really where this bait was designed to excel - vertical fishing. On the descent, the RTO points with a slight head down angle and has a very subtle shimmy to its body mimicking a baitfish that doesn't feel well. The bait will behave in this manner whether it's on a slack or controlled line fall.

Different size, same overall shape.

Position at Rest: Unfortunately, once this bait hits the bottom, like most other lipless cranks it falls over, so it's probably best to keep it moving if you're fishing that yo-yo retrieve.

Performance Ratings for Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Crank
Castability (1-3)	Slow Speed (1-3)	High Speed (1-3)	Yo Yo (1-3)	Position at Rest (1-3)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
3	3	3	3	1	13	15	8.67

Takahiro Omori designed this bait to shimmy as it sinks.

Features: Like all Lucky Craft baits, the RTO comes equipped with VMC black nickel trebles. It is available in a wide array of colors that vary from solid to ghost to foil/chrome finishes. It is only available in a rattling version.

Features Ratings for Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Crank
Hooks (1-3)	Finishes			Sound Options (1-3)	Misc (1-3)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
	Solid (1-2)	"Ghost" (1-2)	Foil (1-2)
2	2	2	2	1	1	10	15	6.67

Even Lucky Craft's rather plain finishes are very nice.

Design/Ergonomics: I've had good luck with the handful of baits I purchased for testing of this bait. They've all run true out of the packaging, and with the recent introduction of the 50 size, Lucky Craft covers an impressive weight range with these baits as well. Realism is typical Lucky Craft (excellent) and hook spacing is excellent on this bait as well - the hooks cannot touch let alone become entangled with one another.

Design & Ergonomics Ratings for Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Crank
Bait to Bait Consistency (1-5)	Weight (1-5)	Realism (1-5)	Hook Spacing (1-3)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
5	5	5	3	18	18	10

The RTO falls over on the bottom like most lipless cranks.

Application: With four different sizes and weight options, the RTO Crank is made to match the hatch. My only disappointment with the bait is that it falls over on the bottom.

Ratings:

Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Crank Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	Lucky Craft quality continues	9.5
Performance	That subtle shimmy on the fall is enticing	8.67
Price	No longer the most expensive baits on the market, LC baits are still somewhat of a premium compared to the competition	6.5
Features	A silent option would be nice	6.67
Design (Ergonomics)	Tough to fault anything here	10
Application	Many different sizes to match different conditions	7
Total Score		8.1
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable! For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ It's all about that shimmy	- Falls over when it hits the bottom
+ Lucky Craft colors!
+ Different bait than the LV500

The RTO is definitely different than my favorite LC lipless crank, the LV500, but I love the way it shimmies on the way down.

Conclusion: When I think "lipless crank" and "Lucky Craft" in the same thought, it's really tough to look past the LV500 - one of my very favorite Lucky Craft baits. So it took me a while to fish this bait long enough to gain confidence throwing it. It's a different bait than the LV500 and ti's all about how it shimmies on the fall. It's a subtle shake, but most of the time, that's all it takes to entice those green fish to bite. Time to make some more room in my box of Lucky Craft lipless baits.

Looking for Lucky Craft RTO Lipless Cranks? Try TackleWarehouse