The Jigging Rap ’ s Roots
When Rapala introduced the Jigging Rap in 1965 , the wellknown lure company had one target audience in mind : ice fishermen .
Little did company officials know that one day it would become one of the most successful open-water winter bass baits on the market .
“ It had been primarily an ice-fishing lure until roughly 2010 , when Al Lindner began telling the world about its effectiveness in open water for walleyes and smallmouths ,” says Dan Quinn , field promotions manager for Rapala USA . “ That really helped to tell fishermen about its open-water applications and expand its use for bass fishing .”
The bait became an attractive alternative to jigging spoons , which were and still are a popular way to catch bass in deep water .
But jigging spoons mostly flutter straight up and down when fished vertically . The Jigging Rap is presented vertically , but has the added advantage of darting and gliding erratically and enticingly when it is presented to either suspended or bottom-relating bass .
Today , there are many variations of the Jigging Rap on the market . Rapala has introduced the Snap Rap , which has a more exaggerated glide , and the heavy Flat Jig , better suited for fishing current and deep water .
Lawyer likes to fish the Turnback Shad , a bait made by Freedom Tackle that glides away from the angler when he snaps it . Others have found success with Northland ’ s Puppet Minnow and Lunkerhunt ’ s Straight Up .
Lawyer ’ s Favorite Scenario
Jigging baits are rapidly growing in popularity in regions such as the Ozarks , where clear , deep-water reservoirs provide an ideal setting for fishing them .
“ I ’ ll go into a creek , idle through there and look for the deep flooded timber ,” Lawyer says . “ If you don ’ t have at least 25 feet from the bottom of your boat to the top of the timber ,
Lawyer finds suspended bass in winter around flooded timber in creeks .
it ’ s not worth fishing . The bass will be in those treetops , waiting to ambush shad . And a lot of times , they ’ ll be grouped up in the winter .”
Still , Lawyer doesn ’ t wait for his locator to light up like a pinball machine .
“ I want to see bait there but not an overwhelming amount ,” he says . “ I ’ m looking for a pod of baitfish , and maybe 10 to 15 fish around those baitfish . That ’ s when I know I can get their attention .”
PHOTO BY BRENT FRAZEE
Rapala Snap Rap
Freedom Tackle Turn Back Shad
Rapala Jigging Rap
Rapala Flat Jig
Northland Puppet Minnow
Lunkerhunt Straight Up Jig
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FLWFISHING . COM I NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017