Eight, is the magic number. That is, 8-feet down. Because that’s where the bite is absolutely on with Rapala’s new DT-8 crankbait.
Featuring the body of a Rapala® DT®-6 with a deeper-diving bill, the new DT®-8 triggers bites from pressured bass better than a larger-profile bait in six to eight feet of water.
“There are fishing situations where bass have been educated daily, so to be able to stay a little bit smaller – a little bit finesse-y – you’re going to always get more bites,” explained Rapala Pro Gerald Swindle, 2016 Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “You’ll always be able to trick a few extra with that smaller bait. And that’s where the DT-8 comes in. It’s not a bigger body than a DT-6 – it’s the same physical size – we just enable it to go two-foot deeper.”
DT stands for “Dives To.” A DT-8 will get down to its maximum depth of eight feet sooner than other crankbaits – and thus stay in the strike zone longer.
“I love a DT-6, but sometimes if I’m trying to hit a particular target, I need to throw way past it, reel the bait pretty fast to get it there and then finesse it across it,” Swindle explained. “The DT-8 will let me make a long cast, get the bait to the bottom and slow it down. So, I’m going to get further distance on the bottom with this bait versus the DT-6.”
Many crankbaits that dive to 8 feet are bigger than DT-8’s, which measure only two inches – the same body size as a DT-6. A smaller profile in a deeper-diving bait can be a big advantage in many conditions, especially in cooler water temps, said Rapala Pro Ott DeFoe, the 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champion.
“I catch so many fish, and so many big fish, on a small-bodied bait – we’ve got one now in the DT-8,” said DeFoe, a three-time Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour champion. “That’s a classic-size bait to be throwing in that 50-degree water-temperature range.”
Built of balsa wood, Rapala’s signature material, DT crankbaits swim with an inimitable tight wobble and back out of shallow cover better than copycat crankbaits, floating up and minimizing snags.
“The thing that makes balsa unique is it works in stained water to clear water,” Swindle said. “It’s just got that right shimmy to be natural.”
Rapala’s DT series of crankbaits have been “a staple for myself and a lot of other anglers for years and years,” DeFoe said. “The DT-6 is everybody’s all-time-favorite balsa-wood crankbait. The DT-8 fills a little void we’ve had in that DT line-up.”
“The DT-8 – you wanted it, you got it,” Swindle added. “We said: ‘You want an 8, you get an 8!’ ‘Cuz that’s how we roll.”
The DT-8 is essentially a DT-6 body hot-rodded with an extended, deeper-diving bill. “The way the bill’s in there – the angle of it – reminds you a lot of the DT-10,” DeFoe explained.
With balsa construction, carefully placed internal weights, a tapered body and a thin-tail design, the DT-8 has a unique side-to-side, high-vibration action when cranked. Perfectly weighted to rest in a “quick-dive,” nose-down position, the DT-8 features an ultra-thin polycarbonate lip that drives them quickly to its max depth.
To precisely imitate regional baitfish forage species in a wide variety of water and weather conditions throughout the world, Rapala DT-8’s are available in 39 color patterns. In stained to muddy water brightly colored DT’s generally out-produce brownish and greenish patterns. In clearer water, more natural color patterns usually prevail.
The Rapala DT-8 weighs 3/8th-oz. It comes armed with two No. 5 VMC black-nickel, round-bend hooks. Like all DT-series crankbaits, it features an internal baritone rattle and is hand-tuned and tank-tested to swim perfectly right out of the box.