Rapala Fishing Lures would have to be the most trusted brand of fishing lures on the planet and for good reason, their quality, lifelike realism and attention to detail are second to none in comparison to any other lures on the market.

Though what really makes Rapala Fishing Lures stand out from the pack and perform that much better than all the other freshwater fishing lures is there legendary lifelike swimming action.

But to maintain the edge that these elite freshwater fishing lures provide, there are a few cardinal rules when fishing with the Rapala Brand.



The Cardinal rules when using Rapala Lures.....


Use the lightest terminal tackle possible and tie your line directly to the eye of the your Rapala Lure

Why you should do this is simple! All Rapala Fishing Lures has been crafted to achieve perfect lightness and balance in order to yield the most natural simulated motion of bait fish swimming through the water.


Use your sinkers as far as practicable from the lure as possible.

When using three-way rigs involving extra weight, we recommend at least 18 inches of mono or line between swivel and lure. We can recommend much more, and for good reason: a sinker close to the natural eye of the Rapala impedes action as much as extra snaps and swivels.



You never want to burden the valuable fish catching action of your Rapala Lures with heavy hardware and sinkers located close to the lure.



Test your Rapala Lures’ action and optimal retrieval speed visually from the shore to confirm the best possible retrieve and rigging to maintain its lifelike action.

If you have used weight and line properly, the only other variable to be concerned with is speed. As you watch, vary the speed of the retrieve, noticing that there is an optimum rate at which the Rapala looks exactly like a bait fish struggling for its life! Of course, as you gain in experience and confidence, you might want to vary the speed, modifying the action for certain conditions and species.


Generally, the Rapala catches game fish like no other artificial lure because it imitates bait fish better than any other.

Observe these three simple rules and you are bound to get the most out of these great Freshwater Fishing Lures.

Every good freshwater fisherman knows that the better he or she understand his quarry and its environment the better the chances of fooling the fish to strike at what appears to be food.

For Largemouth Bass in particular, their sense of smell is highly developed. In fact the commercialization of million dollar Bass fishing tournaments has led to leading scientific breakthroughs in the understanding of how well Largemouth Bass can smell and sense chemicals in the water and how they react to these smells.

Recently, Dr. John Caprio of Louisiana State University measured the nervous response of bass to a variety of amino acids; the amino acids L-arginine and L-Lysine were especially potent. Funnily enough theses two amino acids are potently present in baitfish; furthermore Dr. Caprio also showed that bass can sense a dilution of four ounces of L-arginine mixed with 6,000 gallons of water.

Dr. Caprio’s research has found that when bass encounter the smell of something they believe to be food, they go through four stages.

• Arousal: bass detects the smell of something that they perceive to be food.
• Search, the bass attempts to find the object.
• Analyze: the Bass analyzes the object with its eyes,
• Taste: and the final the taste test.

Among many of Dr. Caprio’s findings are what smells and chemicals Bass find repulsive which may prevent you from making your catch.

One of the top chemicals which repel Bass is a chemical called L-Serine which is a amino acid secreted by human skin, other serious offenders are DEET which is most prevalent in insect repellents.

Dr. Caprio has found that Bass can detect levels of DEET and L-Serine as low as 1 part per million in the water. Other bass-offending substances commonly used by anglers include many food and lotion preservatives, especially derived from benzene which forms the active ingredient of many sunscreens.

So it goes without saying, be careful what you put on your hands before you handle your freshwater fishing lures or set live baits, because many fish species can literally smell you coming!

Some of these freshwater fishing tips you may well know and practice without giving a second thought, but for those of who are relatively new to the sport or if you’re looking for a few extra tips.

When fishing in murky waters, use a vibrating lure so as to not rely on the visual attractant of your lure. A Vibrating lure will have a better chance of attracting fish to a visual and striking range in water which has poor visibility.

Shallow timber and brush that is close to deep water will generally hold more Bass. In visible timber, begin looking for fish in deep pockets and along distinct tree or brush lines. Point’s pockets and bends are better than straight portions.


Look for docks which has planted cover and deep water close by, sometimes the pier owner will have placed treetops and artificial attractors around them to attract game fish.


Work a plastic worm slowly, many people get use to working the plastic worm as they do a Crankbait or Buzzbait. Remind yourself when fishing with a plastic worm to slow the tempo down and fish plastic worms methodically.

On rising water, look for new opened water areas, chances are bait fish will have moved to large newly flooded areas and Bass usually follow. Look for large newly flooded areas a few feet deep and look for the activity of bait fish on the surface.

Overall confidence can’t be purchased at your sporting goods store or acquired from a veteran angler, confidence in fishing is something which is earned from practice and experience and developing an understanding of your quarry and its habitat. You will probably never know all there is to know about fresh water fishing. But as you put more and more pieces of the puzzle together, you’ll soon see why confidence is the most important lure in your tackle box. Source: Google Books Get these tips and more great Tips and Tricks from the Fresh Water Fisherman Bible IGFA's 101 Freshwater Fishing Tips & Tricks

Hooking a Peacock Bass is often akin to snagging your rig on a passing nuclear attack submarine.

These fish can provide for a mighty fight and have a reputation for breaking rods and bending hooks so it’s essential to have a spare rig handy when fishing for this species. In fact sometimes its worthwhile replacing the hooks on your lures with heavy duty treble hooks when Peacock Bass Fishing.

Select a lure which is several sizes larger than you would expect to use when targeting a similar sized Largemouth Bass. Although it’s easier said than done, try not to flinch when you get a strike from a Peacock Bass, a strike from this wonderful fish is usually violent and ferocious and it sometimes is easy to jerk the bait away out of excitement in all of the commotion before the fish has a chance to properly take the lure.

Once you have hooked a Peacock Bass, you may need to play the fish for a little while, pound for pound Peacock Bass put up a much stronger fight than a similar sized Largemouth Bass.

Much like with any fish, be prepared to experiment with different techniques as conditions can dictate their behavior.

As far as selecting lures specifically for Peacock Bass Fishing, there are a number of manufactures which specialize in making lures for this species.

Things to look for when purchasing a lure for Peacock Bass

• Triple wrapped split pins
• Strong large treble hooks
• Long screw eyes
• Hook hangers deep within the body of the lure

Some of the best specialized Peacock Bass Baits to use would be Luhr Jensen’s Big Game Wood Chopper, Ripper and Peacock Special, Eatem-Up Monster Prop, Temptress and Sam Griffin’s Super Zip.

Any Propeller Baits should be worked with a medium to rapid paced aggressive rip of the rod, to impart an audible ripping sound and leave a visible bubble trail; the bubble trail is a vital attractant.

After a long cast reel up any slack and then use your wrists to snap the rod tip towards the water. Using short, aggressive rips to move the bait in a series of quick successions is much more productive than long gliding rips.

Usually the faster and more aggressive you rip your bait the more Peacock Bass will be enticed to strike.

Walleye are most active in the morning and evening it’s obvious this is the best time to fish for them. They usually feed on small yellow perch, trout, small mouth bass, northern pike or sunfish so you can often find them around schools of these fish. Walleye eat a lot and they a very aggressive fish and are not very picky, which is good news for fisherman targeting these species.

Fish for Walleyes around submerged rocks, weedy flats and other underwater structure, Walleye have great eyesight and they use it. They often retreat to darker shadowed areas or deeper darker areas where they can lay in wait and ambush prey. So the use of brightly colored lures is a must.

Walleyes like to suspend in water at temperatures between 55 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit so in the cooler months you will find them in shallow waters, while in the warmer months you will find them in deeper water though usually not deeper than 50 feet.





Freshwater Lures for Fishing Walleye

Jigs

Jigs would have to be the number one choice walleye lures as there a simple bait to fish and jigs provide a presentation that is close to the bottom where Walleye spend most of their time foraging.

A good all round Jig for Walleye would be a leaded head jig which can be tipped with a number of different options. Some of the most popular are twister tails, plastic grubs and shad bodies. Also you will want to find a happy medium between a small enough jig for the walleye to inhale and a jig which has enough weight to stay near the bottom.

For shallow water less than 10 feet a 1/8 oz jig should be fine, though if the conditions are windy or the water is a bit deeper you may want to use a ¼ oz jig. Maintaining contact with the bottom is the key to catching walleye, and experimenting with different lifts, and drags of the bait, will upgrade your catch significantly.

If the fish are inactive; this is common in colder weather, you are better off tipping with live bait like live minnows, worms or leeches, though if the fish are in an aggressive mood a plastic body will do the trick. For water between 10 – 25 feet it’s better to use a ½ oz jig.




Crankbaits

Choosing a Crankbait can be difficult, but there are a few points to keep in mind when specifically targeting walleye. Pick thin-profile bait that averages between three and five-inches in length. Stay away from the short stubby baits that are generally used for bass, as the walleyes natural forage species is typically thin and long.

Choosing Walleye Lures with built-in rattles can help a walleye hone in on your lure, and will produce sound that can be beneficial in murky water. Color combination's can be endless, but the rule of thumb is to present a natural colored bait when faced with clear water, and turn to brighter colors when fishing stained or deep water. My best success has come on the natural perch and baby bass finishes, as well as chartreuse, red and green. Experimentation is the key in deciding what the resident walleye prefer.


Spinnerbaits

Spinners are the old favourites for Walleye Lures and they continue to still catch fish. They are a versatile lure in that they can be cast or trolled, and exhibit flash and sound characteristics that walleye seem to love.

The standard size spinner to throw for walleye is the # 3, although upgrading to a # 4 can be beneficial if the water is very fast moving or murky. Tipping the treble hook with a piece of worm will produce a scent trail that can garner strikes from inactive or skittery fish.

Some of the better-known brands of spinners are manufactured by Mepps and Blue Fox and are available in a multitude of colors. Black, silver and chartreuse are my top three producers and have become my "go to" baits when faced with tough conditions.

This week’s post is on one of the most versatile and easiest to fish with fresh water fishing lures, the X-Rap Shad by Rapala.

The X-Rap Shad can be used for all species of Bass as well as Walleye and Pike. There are two main depth versions of this fantastic lure, the X-Rap Shallow which will work between 3’ – 7’ and the X-Rap Standard which will work a depth of 6’ – 15’.

Some really cool features of this lure is its ability to suspend at depth; it’s extremely natural swimming action and its tungsten ball rattles which give a deeper rattle to attract those monster fish.

The X-Rap Shad series of fresh water lures have an integrated long casting weight balance system which really helps when casting against a strong wind, this top quality fresh water lure also features a feathered rear treble for added action, flare and extra attraction and along with extremely life like translucent body that comes in a wide range of colors, bass, pike and walleye are going to find this lure irresistible.

Just looking closely at it you can see its quality all round with this fresh water lure.

To get a better idea how advanced and effective this lure is check out the video!





If you have tried this lure leave a comment of your experience.

Eric Morgan writes....
Having thought that there wasn't alot of room for improving upon the already sucessful X-Rap series, I was skeptical about these baits.

However, upon purchasing a few of these jewels, I have become hooked on them. Upon opening the pack, I checked the hooks, which were perfectly sharp and of obvious quality, which is something that I demand of my baits.

Next for inspection was finish quality. Rapala fresh water lures have always impressed me with their attention to detail in their lures, and these were no exceptions. You may be wondering, "Well, how do they do?" and I have got to say that I do a lot of night fishing for walleyes, bass, and stripers; and they absolutely love them! From here on out, I will always have some of these babies in my bag, and probably on my line.

Here are some Veteran Bass Fishermans tips for Big Bass

Go Bass fishing early in the morning or the evening and three days either side of a full moon.

Get a map of the lake or stream and look for submerged islands and long points. A point is a long shallow section, Bass love to use these to travel from and to deep water.

Large flat areas of a lake can be very good early in the day, use a crankbait or spinnerbait over these large flat areas.

Take time and look around the lake, look for fallen trees, brush, reeds or large rocks. Bass will use such structure to wait and ambush suspected prey.

Top water lures are a very exciting way to catch bass because you can see the fish take the lure, top water lures with concave faces are meant to be twitched across the surface so they splash or "spit" water. Twitch and stop, twitch and stop. When a fish takes the lure, wait until you feel the weight before setting the hook.

Watch for "boils". When a school of bass gets into a school of shad or minnows, the surface erupts with splashes and you can even see the small baitfish jumping out of the water. When this happens, cast a spoon past the boil and jerk it back, or throw a top water lure past the boil and fish it through.

To fish spinner baits, just cast it to shore or past your target, let it sink a bit, then reel it back toward you. Pause when you reach a tree or bush and let the bait sink a bit before beginning to reel again.
Make sure you try different depths before giving up on a spot. Fish that are likely to bite are almost always close to the bottom or close to structure. Suspended fish are usually in a neutral mood and difficult to catch.

In the cooler weather, such as early spring and fall, bass are much more responsive to top water lures. They're also more likely to be found in shallow water, such as along the shoreline where there are overhanging trees. When it gets hotter, bass tend to retreat to deeper, cooler holes, and you need a change of strategy. Basically you need to dredge the bottom, and use something like a plastic worm to get the bass to respond.

If you’re in doubt as to which fresh water lure to use, try a plastic worm or small snake lure.
A large survey has shown a plastic worm to be the most effective fresh water lure by a significant margin.

Happy Bass Fishing!

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