Rapala's new Minnow Rap is constructed of balsa and has the same action of the Shad Rap only it has more of a minnow silhouette--perfect for non-shad profile forage lakes and rivers. It is 3-1/2" long, weighs 5/16oz and dives 5'-11'. Colors are hot tiger (pictured), perch, yellow perch, purpledescent, silver, shad, hot steel, firetiger, bleeding pearl, bleeding olive, bleeding hot olive and bleeding copper flash. $8.29 each. Brett Erickson
They look alot like the tail dancers but probably not as much action in the water. I picked up a couple and hope to get out soon. Has any one been using these lately? I am sure they will be awesome, I have been real happy with most of the Rapala stuff.
So far, all I can catch trolling cranks are pike! Some nice ones too!! Might take until July for the walleyes to really pattern on the cranks. Anyone have any success with the Minnow Raps yet? Brett Erickson
During the warm stretch we had on lotw's recently I used some over some sand bars and hooked into some walleye. I also got a few bass when trolling near some points and rock reefs with them.
I was having the same problem for Lakes in Lanark County, Ontario. Yesterday, I struck it rich on the minnow rap and caught 3 walleye - 16.5 inches, 17.75 inches and a 20 inch. They were all fat bastards.
There are 3 factors at play here in Lanark County. The first is the harsh winter we had - too much snow and ice. The second is too many overcast days until now. The third is the abundance of bait fish. Here's how the factors combine to explain why the bite was not on until recently : The abundance of bait fish coupled with the fact that we had too many overcast days means that the walleye had too many opportunities to feed, and hence the walleye I caught were all really fat bastards. I caught a 14 inc one as well that was a blimp. So, the odds of fishing at a time when the walleye are feeding are slim because they've had too many opportunities to feed.
Now the third fact : too much ice and snow means that the runoff will create very cold water. The walleye are very sluggish as a result and will tend not to expend too much energy on the crank baits.
The abit fish have diminished in the lakes now due to the heavy non-stop feed for the past month, so the opprotunities to catch walleye will be greater. Also, one needs a stretch of clear day weather, so that the classic evening fish will produce results.
