Rapala Pro Bass Fishing Pc

[Tisham Candella]

During the spring pre-spawn period, X-Rap smallmouths are best fished around shallow structure when water temperatures are in the range of 45 to 58 degrees. At peak feeding hours, fish will congregate in staging areas outside of known spawning sites, and ambush structure-oriented and pelagic baitfish species in relatively shallow water on main-lake structures such as rock bars, points, and drop-offs in depths of 6 to 15 feet. In addition, fish may even be in the extreme shallows feeding near downed wood cover and piers.

When smallmouths are located in the shallows, and can be seen in the water feeding and traveling in their packs, the best way to fish an X-Rap is to be as aggressive as possible. I make long casts so as not to spook the fish, and use erratic retrieves with frequent jerks. Fish will usually strike on the pause.

I typically work jerkbaits with sharp tugs. The aggressiveness of each jerk and the length of the pause between them varies largely by water temperature and by the stage of any front pushing through. Cool water temperatures and post-frontal conditions call for a very slow approach while actively feeding smallmouths demand aggressive techniques.

I fish my suspending jerks on spinning rods such as St. Croix 7-foot MHF Avid-X (AVS70MHF) and 6-foot 8-inch Victory Tactical (VTS68MXF), and casting rod that includes a 6-foot 8-inch Victory The Jerk (VTC68MXF). The flex and sensitivity of these new Victory rods are in a league of their own. For spinning reels, I recommend a size-30 model with oversize spool to help achieve long casts. I still fish with straight 8 to 10 lb. copolymer lines. On the baitcaster meanwhile, 10 lb. and 12 lb. Seaguar Red Label fluorocarbon is the ideal choice.

Subscribe to Northwoods Bass Fishing Adventures newsletter. Receive news and information about Northern Wisconsin bass fishing, trip dates and schedules, fishing reports, and other bass fishing content.

Please contact us by phone or email to inquire about a trip. Full and Half Day bass fishing trips are available upon request from second Saturday of May through second Saturday of October. Thank you very much for considering our services and hopefully we will see you on the water.

Today there's a myriad of minnowbaits that suspend in the water column. But to the best of my knowledge the Rapala Husky Jerk Minnow was the first of the lot. Given the many jerkbait choices now available, it would be easy to overlook the honorable Husky Jerk, which would be a mistake.

I was reminded of this when my wife and I had returned from a long weekend at our camp, much of my time spent catching native brook trout. Arriving home during the early afternoon, and with a few hours of daylight remaining, a buddy of mine and I headed to the Allegheny River, since it had finally dropped enough to provide the potential for good fishing.

The Allegheny was still running hard, but had dropped two feet during the past few days. With the water temperature in the high 40s it seemed a perfect day to hit the rocky flats, particularly ones located below the current-breaking rock bars, with suspending jerkbaits in an attempt to trigger bites from the foraging smallmouth bass likely to be there.

Within the first two casts it was apparent we'd made a good decision. We both hooked up with river smallmouth in the 2- to 3-pound range. During the next three hours we boated about 40 more, most of them quality-sized bass in the 16- to 18-inch range.

While my partner did okay with his high-tech jerkbaits with $15 to $20 dollar price tags, I did as well if not better with the $6 to $7 Rapala Husky Jerk. And I didn't cringe when a bait hooked up in some submerged shoreline willows and snapped off before I could stop the boat's drift and chase it down.

There's no denying the balanced performance and extreme quality control of high end suspending jerkbaits; there are times when the fish demand such. But in many situations, such as river fishing where the fish aren't as selective, and a bait's life expectancy leans toward the short end, it makes good sense to put the Rapala Husky Jerk to work.

I use saltwater lures for bass fishing quite a bit. I fish a lot of highly pressured lakes and the unfamiliarity that comes with these lures can result in some incredible days on the water. In fact, I spend a large part of my vacation scouring the local saltwater tackle shops for potential big bass producers. My family might even get a little annoyed by it.

The V-shaped underbelly of the Rapala Skitter V is strikingly similar to a boat hull. This design is meant to allow the lure to cut through water easily and efficiently while increasing fishability, even for beginner anglers.

Sadly, the original minnow has been overshadowed in the world of bass fishing. But, like any jerk bait, you can twitch and pause, allowing the minnow to rise slowly, then continue your cadence, imitating a wounded minnow.

The long and warm dog days of summer morph into the shorter, cooler and crisp days of early fall. Water temperatures on lakes that were once warm at 75 degrees begin to gradually plummet into the cool 60 degree range, triggering a transitional period feeding binge for all species of fish. Summertime recreational boat traffic and fishing pressure subsides, leaving many lakes open to anglers who are after some of the finest action of the season. This time of the year is one of my favorites for loading up on smallmouth bass. My favorite way to take advantage of this period is by fishing with suspending jerkbaits such as the Rapala X-Rap.

Smallmouth bass are peculiar predators, notorious for exhibiting curious behavior towards their environments and surroundings. At times they will sneak up to check out and sniff a lure. Sometimes they will completely ignore everything altogether. While other times, they will smash and crush moving baits and anything in sight. Anglers who are passionate about smallmouth bass fishing live for these magical moments when schools of fish transform into attack mode and feed on anything in sight.

X-Rap smallmouths are best fished around shallow structure when water temperatures are in the range of 56 to 70 degrees. At midday, when sunlight peaks, smallmouth bass can be found in their classic summer locations. Fish disperse and feed heavily on both crayfish and structure-oriented baitfish in relatively shallow water on main-lake structures such as rock bars, points, and drop-offs in depths of 6 to 15 feet. In addition, fish may even be in the extreme shallows feeding near downed wood cover and piers.

On most of my good smallmouth lakes, I focus on the same main-lake structures that fish have been using for most of the summer. A long shallow sand point that extends out into deeper water and has rocks and boulders lined along the bottom near the drop-off is a perfect example. One of the best places anyone can begin fishing for suspenders are breaks that drop quickly into deep water.

Usually smallmouths will be in groups, hovering beneath schools of baitfish and ambushing them from unsuspecting angles. In this situation my favorite way to fish the X-Rap is to make long casts in the direction of the baitfish. The retrieve will often be painfully slow, with long pauses allowing for the lure to fall at the depths baitfish are suspended. The occasional jerk with the long pause portrays an injured minnow within the school, which often triggers smallmouths into biting.

Due to its slender profile and strong construction, the X-Rap is built for accurate, long distance casting. The X-Rap incorporates a long-cast design, enabling weights to shift during the cast. Its weight-forward design is a benefit because it allows anglers to cover vast amounts of water quickly, making it an effective search bait.

The key characteristic of the X-Rap is that it can be fished in any type of manner and according to the moods and feeding patterns of the fish. This correlates with the retrieve of the X-Rap and the way it is fished as it involves a lot of mixing and matching according to the behavior of the fish.

My success with the X-Rap is always dictated by the activity and aggression levels of the fish. For instance, on days when smallmouths are active and striking everything in sight, I prefer retrieving the X-Rap with an erratic hard wrist twitching and rod ripping motion. In this situation the rod tip is pointed down towards the water and I employ a rapid erratic rip-pull-rip motion through the water. After a series of 3 to 5 rips, I allow the lure to pause for a second before resuming the motions again. Another tactic that works well is the sweep retrieve. This is similar to the hard twitching retrieve but instead of rapid erratic jerks I use longer, more powerful jerks with slightly longer pauses.

On some days there are occasions where smallmouths are in negative moods. These scenarios occur during cold fronts, early mornings when daily water temperatures are at their coldest, and on calm sunny afternoons. In these situations I significantly slow down my rate of retrieve by making long casts coupled with long pauses. Sometimes dead sticking the X-Rap is required to elicit strikes from smallmouths. It is important to note that this style of retrieve works well in other adverse conditions such as when fish are suspending in open water.

There are many other great methods for fishing the X-Rap. However, the best retrieve is one where the angler can be creative and form an aggressive retrieve that is based according to the behavior of the fish.

In addition to retrieve, another important factor leading to success is that this style of fishing is very visual. The majority of my strikes are often seen in the water through the aid of polarized sunglasses. Having a keen eye on the suspending jerkbait being retrieved through the water and reacting quickly to smallmouths when they are seen ambushing the lure leads to increased catch rates.

c80f0f1006