Fling Frosted Shadow Raps in See-Thru Water, for Pressured Bass
Mar 30th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 30th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
In gin-clear water, under sunny, cloudless skies, and on highly pressured fisheries, bass will often reject a jerkbait with too much bling. In these situations, sling a Shadow Rap or Shadow Rap® Shad in a new Frosted color pattern.
“When it comes to jerkbaits, flash can be good – it can pull fish from cover, it can pull them from long distances – but it’s not always the best choice,” says nine-time Bassmaster Classic contender Bernie Schultz. “Sometimes fish want something more subtle. That’s why Rapala brought out a new series in the Shadow Rap® Shad and original Shadow Rap® called the Frosted series.”
Those baits in Frosted patterns will produce better than flashier baits on days when bass are wary, heavily pressured, or otherwise hard to catch, says Michael Iaconelli, the only angler to have won a Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Angler of the Year and B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
“In clear-water situations, where you want to tone the bait down a little bit, and on bright-sun, bluebird days – those are perfect for those Frosted colors,” Iaconelli says. “The other one is heavy fishing pressure. When there’s a ton of boats out there and everyone’s slinging around the bright colors, that muted, Frosted finish is really going to trigger more bites.”
Rather than flash in the water, “or reflect a lot of light,” a Frosted finish “has a soft glow around it,” Schultz explains. “And sometimes, that’s deadly on smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass.”
The Frosted series comprises five color patterns (left to right):
• Purple Haze – Dark purple back, light purple-white frosted sides, pink gill plates
• Haymaker – Olive green back, light olive-white frosted sides, light orange gill plates
• Olive Drab – Dark olive back, light green-white frosted sides, light yellow gill plates
• Elite Blue – Dark blue-gray back, light gray-white frosted sides, light orange belly
• Crush – Dark brown back, light brown frosted sides
The Frosted patterns enhance the action of Shadow Raps and Shadow Rap Shads by catching light “in ways that a metallic or chrome pattern really couldn’t,” says Ott DeFoe, a five-time Bassmaster Classic contender and 2011 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. “You want those mostly transparent bodies when you’re fishing a hard bait in clear water. And we’ve got those now in some awesome patterns.”
About Shadow Raps & Shadow Rap Shads
Original Shadow Rap jerkbaits combine a horizontal struggle with a vertical fade, perfectly mimicking a dying minnow’s movements. They are designed to target bass and other gamefish in two to four feet of water. To catch fish in four to eight feet of water, there’s a deeper-running model, the Shadow Rap® Deep.
While most jerkbaits follow a forward trajectory with each twitch of the rod tip, Shadow Raps will dart side to side and, with a sharp jerk, spin around almost 180 degrees. They move vertically too. Original Shadow Raps will trigger bites on their initial kick, on a snap back to life and on their slow-fading fall.
Similar to the original Shadow Rap, the Shadow Rap Shad is taller in profile than its predecessor, but not as long. And, rather than slowly sinking on the pause – as an original Shadow Rap does – a Shadow Rap Shad slowly rises when stopped, slightly wobbling and perfectly mimicking an injured shad.
An all-season jerkbait, the Shadow Rap Shad triggers fish in three ways – on the kick, on the wobbling slow rise, and with a snap back to life. Shadow Rap Shads come in models that target two different depth ranges – three to four feet and five to six feet. The latter is called the Shadow Rap Shad Deep.