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.

While this is not the original Cordell Spot ‘Knocker’ that many hard core fisherman cherished till not so long ago when it was discontinued. The XCaliber One Knocker is the 21st century version of the of the Cordell Spot Knocker favored by the pros.

As freshwater fishing lures go, this closely guarded secret of the pros, the Xcaliber One Knocker represents perfection in lipless crankbaits. This lure emits a fish attracting rhythmic knock as it travels over structure it pushes against an enormous amount of water, attracting fish from a great distance. Though the rattle is distinctly differently to most lure rattles as this crankbait has a single round lead/tungsten ball instead of the numerous BB’s found in many lipless fresh water lures.

The One Knocker seems to emit a dull thudding sound as it travels through the water which is said to attract ‘bigger fish’. Alton Jones used this lure on Lake Amistad and displayed its effectiveness to a handful of BASS writers as the One Knocker consistently caught the biggest Bass each day on the lake.

So what makes this lures so good? The Tungsten ball inside the lure is more durable than lead and doesn’t flatten out, therefore retains its sound better over time and because tungsten is lighter than lead the lure has the same body size as heavier lipless crankbaits.

The One Knocker is Jones' choice when the water is cold during the prespawn and late fall seasons.


"That doesn't mean I won't use the One Knocker during the summer. But it's my first choice of lure when water is cold," Jones explained. "It's also my choice after I have a limit and am looking for that really big bite."




David Giudice of Madison, AL says....

“I have fished the XCaliber one knockers's for some time now. These fresh water lures have become my go to crank and has caught me many fish during tournaments when others are using regular rat-l-traps. This trap has great action, and great knocking aka booming sound that I have found has caught me fish when others fail, and believe me I love trap fishing as much as I love swimbait fishing. The one knocker also has caught me several fish in the 7 lb range on several occasions here on 3 different north Alabama lakes. this is also the crank I grab when I need to rip them off the grass to induce strikes, or when schooling bass are on baitfish, or even to yoyo this bait produces big results this crank flat out catches fish!!!!!!!”

DawgGone from Georgia says...

"I picked a few x75 lipless fresh water lures for a Feb bass tournament and it paid off landing a 19.97lb fishing in 3 ft of water ripping it through the grass.”

Jake2117 from Milwaukee Area, Wisconsin says....

"I have ripped this thing through all kinds of cover, thrown it on rocks (by accident), and it still hasn’t worn out. The paint is top notch and won’t scratch off, the hooks are razor sharp and I haven’t missed a hook set with this lure. I’m definitely looking forward to buying more of these freshwater fishing lures, they are worth every penny."

Anyone who knows fresh water lures are familiar with crankbaits, for a beginner, fishing with a crankbait requires little more than tying the lure to a line and casting it out and reeling it back. But there are a large variety of crankbaits available, each design for a specific purpose and condition.

There are deep running crankbaits, shallow running and lipless lures, there is literally countless variations of this freshwater fishing lure for every situation imaginable.


One of my favorites is the lipless lure with the rattle built within the lure and using an erratic motion on the retrieve creates a loud rattle through the water which just seems to get the most lethargic fish on the bite.



Shallow crankbaits typically have a smaller lip which provides less resistance through the water and therefore a shallow dive. The great thing about these lures is that you very rarely get hooked up as the crankbait stays very near to the surface and doesn’t get a chance to snag itself on a log or reeds. The fatter shallow crankbaits are good for Bass while the longer thinner lures are better for Walleye.



Deep diving crankbaits have a larger lip up front which creates a larger down force on the lure. These freshwater lures are designed to dive from anywhere from 8 to 20 feet below the surface, using a lighter line will help the lure to dive even deeper and provide for more vibration.

In up and coming posts, I'll present the most popular lures the pro's use as well as the reasons why they use them, until then happy Freshwater Fishing.