Unique Belly Design Gives Rapala® Skitter V ‘Radical’ Action
An exclusive, innovative V-Rap® belly design radically alters the action of the newest Rapala® topwater lure, the Skitter V. Quick rod snaps create drastic direction changes, followed by soft, long glides on slack line, constantly enticing topwater strikes.
“The belly acts a lot like a keel on a boat,” says Captain Rick Murphy, host of “Sportsman’s Adventures” and the “Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report.” “The bait cuts really hard to the left and right, making the walking-the-dog action a lot easier.”
Like Rapala’s freshwater Skitter Walk® lures, Murphy explains, the Skitter V is loaded with a single-ball bearing that emits a unique, fish-attracting “clickety-clack” noise.
Designed for both freshwater and inshore gamefish species, the Skitter V measures 4 inches, weighs 1/2 ounces and comes armed with two No. 4 VMC® Black Nickel Round Bend Hooks. It’s available in 10 color patterns, including: Bone Chartreuse, Chrome, Gold, Gold Chrome, Glass Ghost, Gold Olive, Hot Olive, Hot Pink, Red Ghost and Silver.
Toss The Rapala® X-Rap® Twitchin’ Minnow, Twitchin Mullet For Shallow In-Shore Species
Featuring sub-surface, walk-the-dog swimming action, Rapala’s new X-Rap® Twitchin’ Minnow and X-Rap Twitchin’ Mullet are fast becoming Captain Rick Murphy’s go-to baits for shallow-feeding inshore fish.
“I’m going to tell you, these are going to change our game,” says Murphy, host of Sportsman’s Adventures and the Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report. “Here’s what really makes these special: having a slow-sinking type of action. It works extremely well in a foot-and-a-half of water or less.”
A slow sink allows Murphy to employ a glide-and-drop technique that puts a Twitchin’ Minnow or Twitchin’ Mullet into pockets where big fish lie in wait to ambush prey.
An aggressive side-to-side action gives Twitchin’ Minnows and Twitchin’ Mullets a unique walk-the-dog presentation just below the water’s surface. This time-tested X-Rap attitude and flash triggers the attack instinct in the in-shore species anglers target the most.
“They’re built to target all in-shore species,” Murphy says. “During the spring and the fall, these are going to be baits that really rise to the occasion.”
Both new X-Rap Twitchin’ baits will keep tracking true, even at fast cadences.
“They are excellent cutting baits — where they cut and dart with a very tight, side-to-side swimming action,” Murphy explains. “They also sometimes will come up, depending on your rod angle.”
Twitchin’ Minnows and Twitchin’ Mullets will elicit reaction strikes as well with their realistic baitfish profiles and patterns. “The thing that I am really, really excited about is the shape of these baits,” Murphy says. “The Twitchin’ Mullet, especially, fits a bill missing for inshore anglers.”
“We’ve never had a mullet-shaped bait,” Murphy says. “It’s certainly going to fill that void of guys that love fishing silhouettes.”
Featuring translucent bodies and 3D holographic eyes, both the Twitchin’ Mullet and the Twitchin’ Minnow are available in 12 color patterns – Albino Shiner, Bone Chartreuse, Blue Sardine, Fusiller, Glass Ghost, Gold Olive, Hot Olive, Moss Back Shiner, Olive Green, Red Belly, Red Ghost and Silver.
The Twitchin’ Mullet measures 3-1/8 inches, weighs 7/16 ounces and comes armed with two 2/0 VMC® Coastal Black™1X Inline Single Hooks. Twitchin’ Minnows are available in two sizes. Size 10 measures 4 inches, weighs 1/2 ounces and comes armed with two 2/0 VMC Coastal Black 1X Inline Single Hooks. Size 12 is 4-3/4 inches long, weighs 15/16 ounces and sports two 4/0 VMC Coastal Black 1X Inline Single Hooks.
Target Fish Far From The Boat With The New Rapala® X-Rap® Long Cast Lures
When coastal fish are timid, give them some space by throwing a Rapala® X-Rap® Long Cast or X-Rap Long Cast Shallow. Designed to deliver extreme casting distance in even the most demanding conditions, both new Long Cast baits are built tough to handle attack by the aggressive saltwater predators they attract.
“They’re certainly plugs you can fish from the shore or off-shore,” says Captain Rick Murphy, host of “Sportsman’s Adventures” and the “Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report.” “They both are very versatile, targeting many different saltwater species.”
The X-Rap Long Cast dives 4-to-5 feet, depending on line size and retrieve speed. A fast, steady retrieve gives it a strong rolling and wobbling action with minimal resistance. That action “can be intensified by increasing retrieval speed,” adds Captain George Poveromo, host of “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing” on NBC Sports Outdoors. Flicking the wrist on the retrieve creates legendary X-Rap Slashbait action. Finally, when paused on the retrieve, the lure flutters seductively on the drop.
The lipless X-Rap Long Cast Shallow runs only 1-to-2 feet below the surface, but maintains the same swimming action as the X-Rap Long Cast. “It’s one of the most innovative surface-oriented plugs to come from the Rapala family,” Poveromo says.
Captain Rick Murphy agrees.
“There are several times during the year when we’re fishing in different places throughout Florida that we really need something that will swim shallow but present a big silhouette,” says Murphy. “Lingfish, wahoos, groupers on the reefs, as well as snook and tarpon, are going to be looking for the X-Rap Long Cast Shallow. It’s been designed for all species of fish, both in-shore or off.”
Both the X-Rap Long Cast and X-Rap Long Cast Shallow are available in sizes 12 and 14 and come in 12 distinct color patterns: Albino Shiner, Bone Chartreuse, Blue Sardine, Fusilier, Glass Ghost, Gold Olive, Hot Olive, Moss Back Shiner, Olive Green, Red Belly, Red Ghost and Silver. 3D holographic eyes add lifelike detail, helping make it irresistible to gamefish.
The size 12 models measure 4-3/4 inches, weigh 1-1/4 ounces and come armed with two 3/0 VMC® Tin Finish 4X-Strong In-line Single Hooks. The size 14 models measure 5-1/2 inches, weigh 1-7/8 ounces and sport two 5/0 VMC Tin Finish 4X-Strong In-line Single Hooks.
Sling The New Rapala® X-Rap® Saltwater Subwalk® For Timid, In-Shore Species
When in-shore fish get spooky, throw ‘em an X-Rap® Saltwater SubWalk®, says Captain Rick Murphy.
“I’m really excited about this bait, because there are so many places in Florida that have spooky fish,” says Murphy, host of Sportsman’s Adventures and the Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report.
Designed to perform a walk-the-dog swimming action just below the surface and down to two feet, the X-Rap Saltwater SubWalk sinks slowly on a pause and features horizontal fins on the tail section. “It has a wide-sweeping, hard-gliding cadence which drives the action,” Murphy says. “And that glide it does is certainly caused by the fins on the back.”
Featuring a translucent body and 3D holographic eyes, the X-Rap Saltwater SubWalk comes in two sizes and 12 color patterns: Albino Shiner, Bone Chartreuse, Blue Sardine, Fusiller, Glass Ghost, Gold Olive, Hot Olive, Moss Back Shiner, Olive Green, Red Belly, Red Ghost and Silver. Size 7 measures 2-3/4 inches and weighs 7/16 ounces. Size 9 measures 3-1/2 inches and weighs 3/4 ounces.
Both sizes of X-Rap Saltwater SubWalks come armed with two VMC® Coastal Black™1X Inline Single Hooks (No. 1/0 and No. 3/0, respectively).
“I really like this single hook, because in situations where it’s weedy, we get less weeds,” Murphy says. “And it certainly doesn’t bother the action.”
Featuring time-tested X-Rap attitude and flash, the X-Rap Saltwater SubWalk triggers an attack instinct in all of the in-shore species anglers target most. Its slow-sinking action allows Murphy to employ a glide-and-drop technique that puts the SubWalk into pockets where big fish lie in wait to ambush prey.
Pro Tip: Tie your X-Rap Saltwater SubWalk to your Sufix® line with a loop knot, rather than a traditional knot like a Palomar. “That will get you the maximum action out of your SubWalk,” Murphy explains.
X-Rap® Saltwater Subwalk®
Troll New Rapala® Husky Magnum® Baits For Big Coastal Gamefish
When trolling this year for large coastal gamefish like snook, tarpon, mackerel, cobia, grouper and snapper, George Poveromo will tie on a Rapala® Husky Magnum® 15. When running deeper for wahoo, tuna, king mackerel, cobia and grouper, he will pull a Husky Magnum 25.
“The life-like panicked actions of these new saltwater Husky Magnums will surely prove too tempting for even the most cunning of gamefish,” says Poveromo, host of George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing on NBC Sports Outdoors. “These are trolling lures, primarily, and will track at speeds approaching 12 knots.”
Rapala’s new Husky Magnum lures feature a translucent heavy-duty plastic body, an internal scale pattern, flash foil, a distinct high-frequency rattle and a slow rise on the pause that combine to create attraction like no other coastal trolling bait.
The Husky Magnum 15 can be trolled as deep as 15 feet. It measures 5-1/2 inches and weighs 1-1/4 ounces. “It’s ideal for trolling inlets, bridges, channels and near-shore bottom structures for snook, tarpon, mackerel, cobia, groupers and snappers,” Poveromo says.
The Husky Magnum 25 can be trolled as deep as 25 feet. It measures 6-1/4 inches and weighs 2-3/8 ounces. “It’s deadly for wahoo, tunas, king mackerel, cobia and groupers,” Poveromo says.
Both the Husky Magnum 15 and 25 come armed with two rugged VMC® 4X Perma Steel® Hooks (sizes 2/0 and 4/0, respectively), which are “impervious to straightening under the duress of heavy tackle,” Poveromo says. Both sizes come in 10 color patterns: Blue Sardine, Bonito, Dorado, Hot Pink UV, Purple Mackerel, Red Head, Silver, Silver Blue Mackerel, Sailfish UV and Wahoo UV.
Rapala® Launches New X-Rap® Magnum® Finishes
The adrenaline-pumping action of the Rapala® X-Rap® Magnum® is a tried and true saltwater lure that brought continued success to anglers battling behemoth fish on the open sea. New for 2017 are five UV color patterns which reflect light and mimic coastal species’ favorite baitfish: Hot Pink UV, Lime Light UV, Red Head UV, Sailfish UV and Wahoo UV.
The bait combines an extreme action with a controlled, deep-diving, aggressive swimming motion created by its large diving lip. The X-Rap Magnum also features an irresistible rattle that calls in coveted gamefish to strike. Its premium VMC® 4X Perma Steel® Hooks ensure when fish bite they hang on tight.
X-Rap Magnums can be trolled 10-to-30 feet deep, depending on the model, and as fast as 13 knots without rolling or kicking out. Additional features include a translucent X-style body and 3D holographic eyes.
Very nice design. I like the singles a lot. That would make life easier when you are wading and unhooking trout and other toothy creatures!
These are great! Can you please release some single hook lures for freshwater species?