Freshwater Lures

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!

Pro Bass Fishing Techniques.....Large Mouth Bass Extreme!

If you are enthusiastic about Bass Fishing Lures, it's necessary to explore some of the reasons why bass bite.

So the one question you have to ask, ‘what food do Bass normally hunt’?

In the majority of cases Big Bass prey on live crayfish, minnows, shad, lizards, small rodents, frogs, and almost any other aquatic quarry that they can fit into their mouth. The most popular of these aquatic quarries (depending on the lake or river system) are probably crayfish, minnows, frogs, and shad.

Therefore it is then easy to assume that the more realistic your bass fishing lures look and feel, the better. In other words the more your lure looks like the quarry the bass normally eats; you stand a much better chance of landing a bite by that monster Big Bass.

This is why top water lures that mimic frogs and minnows are so effective in flat water conditions. Any seasoned bass angler knows how effective top water bass fishing lures are to use in the right situations. The main reason for this is because top water lures that mimic frogs or bait fish appear so much like the real thing to the bass when the bass is looking up through the water at the lures silhouette.

So what about other bass lures, where the bass observe the lure deep in the rather than above the bass such as in the case of top water fishing lures? In most cases it is even more important that these types of bass fishing lures appear as a natural food source. You want your bass fishing lure to look and even feel as ‘realistic’ as possible, especially when your bass fishing lure is ‘in the water’ with the bass, rather than above the bass.