Ready for some off-road crankin’ with a mid-size pickup? Tie on a Rapala BX Mid Brat to target big bass on hard cover in the five-foot range.
The new BX® Mid Brat dives as deep as five feet. It measures 2-½ inches, weighs 7/16th oz. and comes armed with two sticky sharp No. 4 VMC black-nickel, round-bend treble hooks.
BX Brats are available in three models – the original BXB03 and BXB06; the Big Brat BXBB06; and now the Mid Brat BXBB05. The numeral following the zero in the model number signifies the bait’s maximum diving depth.
Rapala BX Brat square-bill crankbaits feature a balsa-wood core within a brawny hard-plastic shell. Rapala balsa baits famously float up and back out of cover well, minimizing snags. Encasing a balsa core in copolymer armor allows a BX Brat to bounce off cover and trigger bites without hanging up often and getting beat up. So don’t be shy about crashing a Brat into rocks, laydowns, dock posts and scattered grass. Most bites will come after those collisions.
“Any time you’re cranking, you’re going to get more bites when the bait’s deflecting,” explained Rapala Pro Gerald Swindle, 2004 and 2016 Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “When the bait’s deflecting and having that erratic, bounce-off action, that’s when you trigger a lot of bites.”
A modified square-bill lip – it comes to a slight point in the middle – causes a BX Brat to carom off cover differently than other square-bill baits.
“That’s what triggers those reaction bites,” said Rapala Pro Ott DeFoe, a three-time Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour winner and 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champ.
To get the most bites, cast the BX Brat just past rocks, laydowns, brush or submerged grass and retrieve it right over, or through, that cover. For the best results, cast it parallel to the shore – rather than perpendicular – to ensure it makes bottom contact throughout the majority of your retrieve.
Unique flat sides and a V-cut belly give a BX Brat additional swimming action. It’s hard-plastic shell adds weight, helping it cast ‘like a dream,’” DeFoe says.
BX Brats are available in 16 color patterns. More often than not, natural color patterns are best in clear to lightly stained water, and brighter patterns are best in stained to muddy water.