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!

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.

Perch are very visual predators so your spinning lure needs to stand out. I have found that red or orange spinning lures work best; this colour just seems to attract Perch better and gives them a stronger enticement to bite than the other colours.

A good size spinning lure for perch would be ¾ oz, which might look large but you will be surprised at the size of the spinners these fish will take. A ¾ oz spinner lure will give you a further cast and create plenty of vibrations through the water.



Barapoon spinning lures are ideal for bank fishing with the best pattern having a red body and a silver blade. The silver is very visible and the red is what has been said to attract perch. I particularly like the ABU Reflex with its full weighted body and feathered treble hook.

Perch love to hang around water outlets and submerged trees so cast your spinner past these features and retrieve your lure so that the spinner passes just next to feature in order to bring on instant takes.

Otherwise I cast at different angles and retrieve at different depths to cover the whole swim.

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.

What Fish Don't Want You to Know: An Insider's Guide to Freshwater Fishing

A Guide to Freshwater Fishing

Two things jumped at me the moment I began to read this guide to freshwater fishing

"What Fish Don't Want You to Know" The Author Frank P. Baron not only does he know the inns and outs of fishing, but he is also very passionate about it. The other thing is that the book is written in an easy to understand language and with a healthy amount of humour.

Unlike many other books covering this subject, this guide to freshwater fishing is actually very entertaining and full of common sense wisdom that can only come from years of fishing.

Let me say it right here if you look for any "secrets" or a "sure fire strategy" to catch more or bigger fish then this is the wrong book for you. But then again, we all know there are no secrets for fishing success other than spending time on the lakes and streams and learning about the fish.

It is exactly here where this book shines. In my opinion, this guide to freshwater fishing should find a home in every fisher’s bookshelf. The novice fisher will learn from the book what it takes to become a successful fisherman and what equipment is needed. While the seasoned fisherman will find this book invaluable for information to refresh his knowledge. Any way you look at it, this is a book any fisherman should own or to be given as a present.

What Fish Don't Want You to Know: An Insider's Guide to Freshwater Fishing

Guide to Freshwater Fishing