If you’re looking for a way to trigger more shallow water bites, Rapala® has the answer — four new, custom-style color patterns to its popular-selling Rapala® Rippin’ Rap® line-up.
Featuring flat, skinny sides and a deep-belly profile, the Rapala® Rippin’ Rap® lures flutter on the drop and pop off the bottom with a hard-vibrating action accented by a loud, distinctive rattle system. Textured scales, gills with deep-set 3D holographic eyes, and fast-piercing VMC® Black Nickel hooks seal the deal. It’s highly effective for fish that frequent the shallows – especially early-season and fall walleyes.
The new Rippin’ Rap color patterns include:
Black Light – Black body with three, vertical purple stripes and pink face.
Juicy Lucy – Metallic gold body with three, vertical yellow stripes and red face.
Moldy Fruit – Yellow back, pearl-white sides with five vertical white stripes, pink belly and purple face.
Voodoo Haze – Purple back, silver sides with three, vertical yellow stripes, pink belly and purple face.
The Rapala Rippin’ Rap is highly effective for early-season and fall walleyes when walleyes return to the shallows. Just cast Rippin’ Raps to shallow rock piles, sand flats and break lines, rather than trolling over them.
“There’s a lot of things that make a Rippin’ Rap absolutely deadly,” said Tony Roach, an in-demand walleye and smallmouth guide on Minnesota’s famed Lake Mille Lacs. “It’s got a really loud thump, unlike any other bait. It also falls at just the right rate. And it has this really tight wobble as you rip it. This thing has the right action to catch a lot of fish. And you can fish these baits a lot of different ways.”
Casting Rippin’ Raps for shallow walleyes works best when water temps are in the 50- to 55-degree range. To get the most bites, make long casts to structure and during your retrieve repeatedly rip the lure up off the bottom and then quickly drop your rod tip to allow the bait to free fall on a slack line.
Another good way to catch early-season walleyes on Rippin’ Raps is to swim them over and through the tops of new vegetation. With your boat in deeper water, fancast across spawning flats, making contact with the submerged vegetation. When your Rippin’ Rap hits grass on the retrieve, pop it free to trigger bites.