Most versatile crankbait?

[Otter]

[Rocco]

?

[SLIPKNOT]

Start using the shad raps and reef runners and I guarantee you will catch twice as many walleyes. There is nothing in my opinion that is more versatile than a shad rap.

[St Croix Boy]

What do you guys think about the Shad Rap RS (Rattling /Suspending)?
I brought some to LOTW last year and was not impressed. I think the fancy new look and holograghic paint caught me.

[Kevin/CO]

Works for everything and is very strong and durable, gets the nod from me.

[SUPERTROLLER]

I've got to agree with you here. You can run them fast or slow, deep or shallow. They come in far more colors than the rapala lines. ( At least they USED to !!! ) They can do and go anywhere I need/want them to go. That's VERSATILITY!

[CJW]

J.J. Stumpjumpers get my vote! http://www.ausfish.com/stump/ Craig

[Neal/CO]

I wish I knew what I am doing wrong with Hot n Tots? I have fished them coutless times at Pueblo, Bonny and Glendo without any luck. How do you guys fish them?

Up at Glendo during the Get-Together I trolled a couple hours with a Chrome and Blue Tot and went Strikelss again. As soon as I went back to my shad Raps I started catching fish again? I know there must be something wrong in the way I fish them, because I know some good fisherman who swear by them!

I voted for Shad Raps because they work on all the species we have out here, Walleyes, Trout and Wipers.

[Cangl]

If it floats you can't jig it. You really ought to be able to cast it, as well as troll it. As for pitching?

Live bait wouldn't hurt it either hmmm......

[SUPERTROLLER]

Neil, If I told ya I'd have to kill ya!

Really though, all we do is drop them back the distance needed to be right on or close to bottom, hook on the planer board, and send'em out to the side. Then we make ALOT of "S"'s on and off the flats or ledges we are targeting at the time. A lot of the time we stay up on the flats angling shallower until we are so shallow we start to hit the weed cover. We use the small 1/4 oz. tots MOST of the time. When trying to hit deeper spots we go to the Rattletots. I don't use many silver colored lures,,, I prefer the perch, firetiger, and gold variations. My partner occasionally runs silver/blackback due to alewives in our system. It does no better or worse. As you noted in your posting, Shad Raps seem to be a great second choice for us also. Silver/blueback being our best in the #9. Sometimes they just want something else, could be your fish prefer Shad Raps, first. Run several different styles of lures at first and see what they want that day. If the tots don't usually go for you, only run one, and try two shad raps and one reefrunner. OR.....( you get the picture)

P.S. We also use the tots for trout and salmon in Lake Michigan but usually we run Jr. thundersticks first, shallows and deeps, because of smelt population.

[Jon]

Try the new Yozuri Crystal Flash Minnow. Cranks down to 5' and suspends at 2'-3'. Tight wobble and great reflective color.

[firebird]

I have had great success with the Silver/Blue the last two summers. I have more luck than the regular Shad Raps. Give'em another try.

[Homer]

If versatile includes other species, it's got to be the floating Rapala for me. Off the top of my head, I've caught fish with it:

As a surface twitch bait for largemouth and smallmouth bass
Flatline trolling for salmonids and walleyes - killer brown trout bait
Behind a three-way rig for walleyes
Behind a downrigger for walleyes
Casting and retrieving for numerous species

[Kevin/CO]

At p-low we run them 75 yards back in non silver colors and right infront of the clifts. But we normaly have atleast one shad rap out too. I like the RS ShadRaps at P-low at night. We have alot of each bait but I think becuase of the sheer toughness of the original tots we put them in closer and fish them more aggressively as far as the location and pattern. I think the reason the ShadRap did so well at Glendo might be that the fish wanted a bait that was longer and moving more like a stick bait, if memory serves me right the reef runner lil rippers were another glendo favorite?

When fish want a really erratic bait we troll a lot of tots and wiggle warts and do very well. Might just be a confidence thing too.