rapala husky jerk baits

[wally]

Could anyone describe tactics and fishing styles they have used when fishing these baits in shallow weedy bays in late spring. Joe Bucher did a show on this in January. Does anyone have more info.

[WAeyes]

These are absolutely my favorite lure for night walleye fishing in shallow water from shore or wader fishing. Use the natural colors in clear water and loud colors in stained water. I like to use a stop and go retrieve with an occasional twitch mixed in. Also change speeds and get ready when you pause it, WHAM! I also fine tune them with Storm Suspendots for precise neutral buoyancy which I think is key when you pause your retrieve.

[EW6]

These are truly awsome baits.

My favorite technique is to rip them several times extremely hard and then to pause after every 3-5 rips. They work best in moderatly clear water is anything around the 6-10' of water. You will catch many large gamefish on them so don't be surprised to get a big bass, northern, or even musky.

[Roscoe]

I like to twitch it twice and let it sit, but each day may call for something different. Don't forget to troll them they are absolutely deadly at night. Take note that they will run deeper than a similar sized floating rap. I often use them instead of using a floater with a split shot. I also agree that the strom suspendots need to be used to obtain perfect the way the bait sits when paused. Tuning them like this will increase your catch 3 to 1. Ask my buddy who didn't use the dots!

[jackj]

No one has mentioned this yet, so here it goes.

I jerk hard and reel in a couple times then wait. But I wait for up to 10 seconds. I usually get hits around the 8 second mark. Caught a few walleye like this, but also some massive brown trout...

Jack

[Backwater Eddy]

Great baits for all water temps and attitudes of just about every game fish around, they work!

I have a "TWEAK" that was first made popular by fall night casters of hand tuned "Doctored" lures. I CAREFULLY squeeze the eye of the lure with a needle lose pliers to elongate it. Next bend the newly altered eyelet to a angle just shy of the angle of the lures lip. Just like any tuning of a lure if it roles adjust it by left or right slight adjustments. Don't get too carried away, small tweaks are best.

I also recommend using a Rap not to insure free wobble, a good crosslock snap works well also.

This alteration will increase the flash and wobble of the lure, and also the sound. The lure will loose a bit of depth due to this but the increase of action and profile is a real "Hog Hanger" of a "TWEAK".

I have caught many a big walleye and pike with this trick. Try one or two and see.

I hope this is helpful!
"Backwater Eddy"

ED on the RED
Backwater Guiding Service
#310 SE College Complex
Wahpeton ND 58075
1-701-671-3079

http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/home.html

[LindyRigger]

What size of huskies are people having the most success with?
LindyRigger

[walter]

Thanks to all for the great advice regarding
the rapala husky jerk baits. Many of you talked about the Storm suspendots to help with neutral buoyancy. Can any of you elaborate. Where do you place these on the lures and what should the lure do or look like when they are applied properly?

[Roscoe]

What I do with the suspend dots is work the lure on the side of the boat. Notice how the bait sits when suspended still. If the nose is pointed up add a dot in the front if the tail is up, put a dot on the bottom of the tail. I just play until I get the bait to sit perfectly straight. Seems to help. Good Luck.

[Backwater Eddy]

I have bought many Husky jerks and have found few--very few that need any real adjustment on suspension. Line weight and diameter will change the best laid plans of mice and men, I would sort the Husky's into groups of three. One the ones that like to sink slow on rest, two the ones that like to rise slow and three the ones that tend to hover well. Each of these traits in turn trigger a strike in given circumstances and I keep them in marked Plano cases to know who's who. Dot's do work well on fine tuning of Bombers, Thundersticks and the like but water temperature effects buoyancy so each time out this may change slightly. Cold water is denser and lures function differently in 34 vrs. 60 deg water temps. I have been tuning and Doctoring lures for 20 years and seen the traits of different lures before and after a "Perfect" balancing job change just by temps. This is when the dots work best, quick fix to specific needs of the day. In my opinion?
Backwater Eddy