What Rapala do I use?

[Confused?!]

Sorry if this seems like a primitive question but I'm new to the sport and especially crank baits. I'm more accustomed to using Rapalas beings thats what my buddy uses and I borrow out of his tackle box cause I have none. I want to change that and start my own tackle box. There are shad raps, husky jerks, countdowns, etc., etc. I don't know what each lure does specifically. We mostly fish for Walleye and smallmouth bass. Is one better for trolling, is one better for casting? How do I find out what each kind of Rapala does and how its fished properly? Any help as to a web site or article would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Last Boat Off]

Start with the Shad Raps, both the deep (big lip) and shallow runner (stair step lip) models. They cast easy and have great reliable action right out of the box. They catch alot of fish, both walleyes and smallmouth. They are great beginner lures but true favorites of pros as well. The deep Shad Rap will troll easy for you too without any fancy rigging, just throw it out 50-70 feet behind the boat. The shallow runner can be real good in spring if the fish are in 2-5 feet of water. My favorite colors are blue with orange belly and gold with black back. I like the Husky Jerks too but they take a little more experience to use correctly and you may try that after you master the Shad Raps. Welcome to fishing, you can do it for life.

[JWilson]

the web site is www.rapala.com

[Eyez]

For starters, stick with shad raps, original raps, and husky jerks. Some guys really like risto raps too. I use shad raps for deeper work, shallow shad raps for shallower. Original raps are great for shore casting at night, and work well longlined for shallow evening fishing, or trolling shallow on the windy side of the lake. Husky jerks are also good for that. Don't forget the shad rap RS, it's a great lure also. They run a bit deeper than regular shad raps. My favorite colors are black/silver, blue/silver, chartruese/silver, perch, firetiger, and orange/gold.


Eyez

[Kevin/CO]

Besides the very knowledgable people on this site you have two sources available. Theres the aforementioned web site that has a brief description of what each bait does along with their choices for each species and you have what is commonly refferred to as "the bible". When I say "the bible" I actually am talking about the Percision Trolling Guide Sixth edition. While I personally don't use "the bible" its more by lack of availibility not by choice. The best part of this book is the accurate dive charts. I would encourage you to use Storm® baits if you can find products taht are Pre-Normark. Another good choice is Smithwick and the becoming more and more prestigious Reef Runner®. All four product lines are effective, just be prudent in your purchases.

[cisco]

Try using No. 5, No. 7, and No. 9 Shad Raps in perch, black/white, and chartreuse. You'll find you don't need a huge tackle box to hold half a dozen lures.

If we're honest with you, almost all of us would confess that we own far too many lures of all types. Shad Raps do very nicely in a variety of conditions.

[Dutchman]

HEY!!!! I resemble that remark.....

[GORD]

Here's where it pays to be a sharp fisherman. Just buy the ones that have proven to be successful in your area, for your application. A crank is a tool. Buy the tool that will do the job that you want done. Will it be for casting or trolling? Do you want it to just skim the weedtops, or do you want to troll down deep and bump bottom? Don't make the mistake a lot of us do. We walk up and down the isles in the tackle store buying whatever catches our eye and looks good. Some cranks just catch "suckers". Save the rapala web site as a favourite and study it often.