[yellowfin]

Hi does any one no what the best way of casting these lures out far. I can cast tassie ,cobras as far as i want with in reason but with these rapalas the distance is not even half, are they more for trolling then casting. I do like there action in the water but the 5 meters is just not far enough, they just seem to be too light. Im using 6 pound line. For the price of these lures i should be able to get some good distance. Also whats with the floating ones. There are some with the word long casting on the side of box but these lures are getting on the larger side.

[yellowfin]

Hi Dave,

Rapala Long Cast Minnows feature Rapala’s new weight transfer system. Essentially ball bearings move along a tube, inside the lure, to improve casting performance. I know what you mean. I agree with you that they still don’t cast anywhere near as far as a Tassie Devil or a Cobra.

The Rapala LC08 (freshwater) weighs a 1/4oz (7grams) and measures 3 1/8 inches (80mm) in length.

The Rapala LC10 (freshwater) weighs 3/8 of an ounce (10grams) and measures 4 inches (100mm) in length.

The Rapala LC12 (saltwater) weighs 11/16 oz (18.5grams) and measures 4 ¾ inches (120mm) in length. This is too big for a trout lure but I’m certain a trout would hit one trolled behind a boat.

An original size Tassie Devil weighs ½ oz (13.5grams) but is just 2 inches ( 52mm) long. When this lure is compared with the Rapala LC08 you can see the Tassie weighs twice as much but is only two thirds of its length. Plus it doesn’t have a second hook flailing about to reduce its aerodynamics still further. Hence the reason you are quite rightly able to cast the Tassie much further than the Rapala.

A Rapala CD7, which is used by many trout anglers for casting on spinning gear, weighs 1/4oz (7grams) and is 2 ¾ inches (70mm) in length. It is a “pig” of a thing to cast any distance even on 6 lb monofilament. I’d say 5 metres sounds about right! It is just too light and has an awful aerodynamic shape as well. However this particular lure sells well in the South Island as a spinner bait. The secret to fishing it on spinning gear is to know when and where to use it.

The Rapala CD7 works well when cast across a hole in the river that you suspect could be holding a trout. You can cast across the water, or walk quietly to the top of the hole and cast down stream letting the current carry it as far as possible. Allow the CD7 to sink, “counting down” from ten say, before you start a jerky retrieve. This will send all the right signals to any big predatory trout lurking in the depths of the hole.

Another situation where the CD7 comes into its own is where a stream or river flows into a lake. Get into position by wading out into the stream as far as is practicable. Then cast the CD7 downstream and allow slack line out so the lure is carried by the current over the drop-off. Again let it sink down before retrieving. Any big trout waiting below the drop-off for something tasty to come its way, having been carried by the river, will hit your Rapala big time! In this situation the Rapala CD7 “floats” into position until the slack line is taken up.

Otherwise you are correct in assuming that Rapala bibbed minnows are mostly used for trolling. It is rare to loose a lure when lake trolling so their cost is less of an issue. Mostly the lure is towed behind the boat with it well up off the bottom. Lure loses while trolling are more likely to be caused by angler carelessness such as accidentally wrapping line around the prop.

An additional casting weight in the form of a “D” lead would work. It would need to be at least 600mm up the line or it would completely deaden the Rapalas swimming action. The weight would need to be about an ounce to overcome the poor aerodynamics of the whole affair. Experience leads me to suspect there would be a couple of drawbacks with this arrangement. Firstly it would be difficult to cast without a sizeable percentage of tangles. Secondly the sudden force on the line would likely lead to bust-offs requiring the need to go to much heavier line; perhaps 15 or 20 lb mono!

I must admit that I would hesitate to cast a $20 Rapala in any situation where I might loose it. Generally speaking the Rapala offers the spin angler the best lure action through the water. It is the vibration from this wriggling action, even in still water, that causes a fish to strike. At the other end of the scale a ticer is the best for casting a long distance but unfortunately produces the least fish attracting action when retrieved particularly at slow speeds in still water. The Tassie Devil, or Cobra, is a good compromise between these extremes. I guess we are no closer to the fishing lure that is perfect in every situation

[yellowfin]

gee thanks for that what a reply, gee wouldnt the weight of a tassie inside a rapala be good, surely they could make one fill of plastic instead of wood and still have the plastic spoon at the front, would be alot heavier and sink and cast.

I was fishing down the waimak between the bridges in the weekend and using a small rapala i caught the smallest trout you could imagine ,it was about 150mm, Chucked the we bugger back of course. then on tueday i was working down rakaia way , i went for a fish and on the same rapala i reakon i caught the same bloodly fish,When you catch something that small you dont really feel like you have caught anything. So they do work well if you can get them into the right spot but they also attract the smallest of fish..

[yellowfin]

wow i was on the coast last week

[yellowfin]

I had trouble with the lure hooks grabbing the line when cast and sometimes it came back to me tangled and spining all over the show , i could have missed a few fish with it doing this all the time. i took off the middle tripple hooks and this stopped this from happening..

Dave

[yellowfin]

Hi Dave,

Well done on those fish! That

[yellowfin]

just a thought for you,
I deal with the international tripping Lure fisherman a lot. now one thing in comon is that they all tend to use braid, this they say is the key to distance.

1 it is a lot thinner so has less wind resistance when in filght

2 it does not have the memory of mono so comes off the reel clean this means it runs through the guides with the least resistance.

3 you can use a smaller reel as you can pack more on, a smaller reel tends to cast better.

there is a thought for you

marc
http://www.kiwifishingbangkok.com

[fishsnatcher]

only downside is it costs a heck of a lot with fireline [fine braid] and a rapala well ….lets just say i would be very upset at having got a fish on and the line snapped or a snag with a lot of line out….

[fishsnatcher]

fishsnatcher

[fishsnatcher]

………………. All the wasted years of using heavy lures to cast ……… braid is awesome for casting a wee rapala any distance i can cast a 4-5 gram about with braid about as far as i can cast a cobra or tasmanian devil on mono, but it IS expensive so i tie about 50m of braid onto a reel early full with mono with a “double uni-knot” or any other not for joining lines of differant diameter.

But also rapalas are EXPENSIVE aswell so instead of using rapalas [i only have 1 left all others have been lost] I tend to favour the “Storm” hard bodied floating lures which are just as good and i have found to be very succesful. But a light swivel is nessacery [the lightest you can get] for it to keep its action.

Some people may call this sacrilege to even contemplate using any variant of a rapala and, good on you for sticking to your guns and keep buying them
But I don know about you but i havnt got a limitless pocket…. [ i wish…]

Braid good…..

[fishsnatcher]

Braid is brilliant just as strong as it says it is[ i was a little scepticle at first] i caught a 3 and a half pound brown and a 2 and a half pound rainbow trout both in excellent condition, and a 1.5 pound perch, on a little rapapla cast out with braid.

[fishsnatcher]

floating articulaed rapalas are meant for slow retrieval and they stay on the surfcace, the faster you reel it in; the deeper it goes.
Great for where i fish n my nearby lagoon where you get trout splashing for an hour in under a foot of water.
[ ha… went fishing today took me an hour of casting a rapala on the same trout for him to take it and for me to land him…]
but that doesnt happen often rapala look good in and out of the water [to you and the fish]

But if you have a stiff rod to start with there may be no point buying rapalas if you have a nice proper flicky trout rod then 8-9 lb braid will make all the differance to you casting those light wee rapalas.
Just tie the braid on to the end of a reel [almost full] of mono-line.

[Miliwolf]

I have seen lures which cost 3-4x more then Rapala, in many countries, in particular bass fisherman consider Rapala to be a moderately priced compared with the likes of LuckyCraft, Daiwa, and Megabass.

A rough price comparison (US pricing because I have not seen them in New Zealand)

Storm: $4 USD
Rapala: $6-8USD
Lucky Craft: $18
Megabass $29USD

[fishsnatcher]

lol its all about the depth of your pocket Storm lures catch fish so why not use them, they cheaper than rapala, though unfortunately not quite as available.

[fisho]

Best Rapala for action and casting is the new XRAP8 long cast lure.

The XRAP-08 has great action and long cast system, it can be “twiched” back to you wich has a darting baitfish action and a neutral buoyancy. I have seen fish following my lure and just stopped winding and wammo before they know it they are ontop of it and there instincts take over. Thats something you cant do with a tazzi or toby.. I use a long (7’6″) very soft rod and light super braid and I can cast small Rapalas down to a size CD1 fish go mental on these small minnows. If fishing bigger water or lakes the XR8-TR is my all time faverate lure…! Searunners love it.!

There is also a XRAP DEEP 08 this is awesome for fishing deep holes or guts where normal lures dont/cant get down to.

The new OG (olive Green) colour looks awesome looks cool too.

Tight lines.!

[Author]

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