Posted by Bass Fool on 2003 AM:

Basserachi ... Floating Rapala

Basserachi ... I love fishing floating rapalas. I've tried Husky jerks for suspending fish but I don't like the action compared to floating raps. But it is hard to get the floaters to suspend.

From reading some of your posts ... and others ... it appears you weight floating rapalas. Can you explain how .. or give me a few tips I can try.

Thanks

Posted by theole34 on 2003 AM:

suspend dots or suspend strips. lead adhesive. experiment with that for depth.

robbie

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Posted by joe pido on 2003 AM:

those sticky weights wooooorrrk gooooddd....

joe

Posted by fishEguy on 2003 PM:

"those sticky weights wooooorrrk gooooddd"............lol........yes, yes they do sir ..........

Welcome to the board "fool".........

Good advice given so far. I'd like to add that if you enjoy tinkering, you can also drill holes in the baits and add bb's or other types of weight. If you use bb's, you can experiment a little and get them to rattle as well..............

Michael

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Posted by Bass Fool on 2003 PM:

Floating Rap

Thanks fella's .. it was my understanding suspend strips and dots wouldn't work on the much more buoyant floating Rapala. Also, I understood that the drilling and spilt shot addition robbed the Rap of action. Do allthose things and you might as well throw a Husky Jerk .. no? I understood Basserachi was doing something different.

Posted by joe pido on 2003 PM:

Michael, Ive tried the drilling thingie. Leave this to the pros. For one whose all thumbs, I wasted a few Raps "experimenting" with the drill. Amounted to a lot of $$$ if you're not careful.

Thats why I love those dots/strips and sticky weights. In a heartbeat, you can change from a floater to a suspending model and vice versa.

Joe

Posted by fishEguy on 2003 PM:

I hear ya Joe.........you'll usually have to send a few baits to the cemetary learning how to do the drilling thingy, but some guys find that enjoyable, especially if they can get the exact action or balance out of their baits that they're looking for, and not all of us are "all thumbs" either......lol..........

Plus, I look at it this way. If some guys have no problem spending $15-20 on a new high end bait, then some may not mind chopping up 3 or 4 Raps for the same price learning how to get that "right" action they're looking for. Once they know how to do it properly, it's only a $4-6 investment for 1 new lure after that.
But I agree that the stick on's are definitely the easier method.

Bass Fool, you may also want to try adding shots, or twisting a little bit of heavy wire around the shank of the treb's. You can also use the Rap with a split shot rig, adding weight to the line itself ahead of the bait. The minnow will ride a litttle higher than the splits in the water column, but it is still effective for triggering strikes. These methods can get a little more detailed if you use your imagination.

Just something to think about, maybe Basserachi will expound upon his technique(s) for you soon.....................

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Posted by Hooked Solid on 2003 PM:

One thing you can try without altering the bait at all is to add the biggest split rings you can get away with.Doesn't seem like much but it makes a huge difference.Also, you can put different rings in different spots to get different actions.Nose down,Tail down, etc...Hope that helped a little...><>...HS

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Posted by Gregg on 2003 PM:

Re: Basserachi ... Floating Rapala

quote:

Originally posted by Bass Fool
Basserachi ... I love fishing floating rapalas. I've tried Husky jerks for suspending fish but I don't like the action compared to floating raps. But it is hard to get the floaters to suspend.

From reading some of your posts ... and others ... it appears you weight folating rapalas. Can you explain how .. or give me a few tips I can try.

Thanks

Have you tried the countdown minnow?

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Gregg

Posted by JOHN G on 2003 PM:

you know Gregg, the only problem with the countdown is that it has a different action than the floaters...now, that difference may be the ticket at times, but not others....also, the profile is different with the countdowns.....

JOHN G

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Posted by fishEguy on 2003 PM:

This is what a bait with slight modifications should look like. This is particularly effective in ultra clear/heavily pressured waters.

I know what your thinking, and yes, I am considering becoming a lure designer. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I know I'm obviously talented in this area......................

Never hurts to change out the rear hook to a slightly larger treble w/feathers either..........

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Posted by Gregg on 2003 PM:

You know I think you got something there
Now we have to figure out what it is

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Posted by JOHN G on 2003 AM:

FishE, what you have there is a Frankenstein monster! LOL!

I don't doubt that it would catch fish, but it no longer represents a floating rapala anymore....

JOHN G

Posted by fishEguy on 2003 AM:

Man, you guys really know how to drag down a guys self esteem......... ..................

Here I thought I could make a fortune with my finely honed master lure making skills!.................................

It's just a joke, I wouldn't use that bait if Loomis offered me free rods to fish with it!.....................did I really just say that??...............lol....................

Michael

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Posted by Mark G on 2003 PM:

Mark (Basserachi) showed me one of his modified floaters once, and from what I remember it had small tubular lead weights on the shaft of the treble hooks. They looked like the pinchable lead weights you can wrap around line for texas rigging. If you use the right amount of weight (they weights were about the size of split shots) you will get a suspending action similar to the husky jerks, but probably a bit truer.

I wish I could remember more accurately how it was done, but until he posts about it my less than clear recollection will have to do.

Hope it helps, and I plan on trying some similar tinkering this season...I'll let you all know how it goes.

Mark

Posted by basserachi on 2003 PM:

I'm sorry I neglected this thread, but I must have missed it...Please don't be offended "bass fool"...I just missed it, that's all...

Mark G, a great guy by the way, did have a fairly accurate account of what I do to modify my floaters...

I do this for several reasons...First, the Original Rapala Floater is so benign and slim in profile that it generates tons of strikes at times when thicker, more intimidating baits like HJs, Countdowns and even LC Pointers wont...So, since I liked the baits so much, I wanted to improve their appeal in a greater number of applications...That meant adding weight for a number of reasons...

First, I was looking to add weight to these baits in order to enhance my casting distance with them because they are so light....The unexpected bonus that came out of this experiment was that I got them to suspend...So here it is...

I use the Shaw Grigsby HP weights...These are the ones designed for use inside tubebaits with his special HP hooks...The weights are really light, cylindrical, and have a thin small wire loop that is designed to hold them on his HP hooks...They loop perfectly onto the splitrings that hold the trebles and without being too obtrusive to the look and action of the bait...You keep the "slim non-threatening look" of the Original Minnow in contrast to the HJs and CDs, but now with a comparable weight to those baits...

The HP weights are perfectly sized for this application and can be quickly added...You would need a shitload of Dots and a lot of time to do this same job on a balsa bait like the floater...The other adhesive weight methods are good also for easier applications, but my method leaves your bait completely versatile in that you can switch from center to rear or even to the front treble for different suspending looks and/or actions...Besides, the adhesive weights not only don't they allow you the quick versatility that my system does, but they lose their adhesive quality after a change or two and they are easy to misplace when they get loose....I don't use them much anymore...The HP weights come in small, med, lg (I forget the exact weights) but they are well suited for this...

I thought the Shaw Grigsby HP Hook and Weight System sucked when I tried it, so I was just trying to make use of these weights that I had accumulated from my unsuccessful experiments with his hooks...

For this new purpose, they are better than using traditional bell sinkers which are often too heavy, bulky (bell shaped) and have a much thicker wire loop that can be restrictive to the treble on the splitring...The same goes for a lot of the dropshot cylinder waits and the BPS or XPS internal tube weight cylinders....The wire is just too big to stay neat on that splitring and keep the bait as close to original as possible...I don't generally change out the split rings to bigger ones...More hang-up potential is added when you do that, and surprisingly, the added weights alone don't add to that potential...

For a "frozen" flat suspending pause, I would loop two of the small weights through the split ring that holds the center treble hook...To do it correctly, you will need to put one on each side of the hook shaft leaving the treble housed in the center...They just hang off the split ring a little short of the hookpoints, very naturally, very symmetrically and not too inhibiting to the lure's natural action...You will definitely get more distance from your casts...Beyond that, experiment with these weights to get the suspending effect that you want...You may have to add more or less weight to get a "true suspension" from a bait or a "slow riser" effect, etc...Experiment with all three treble stations for different effects and mix up the weights as needed...

When I do this, I also change out the treble hook that houses the new weight on it's splitring and replace that hook with a Gamakatsu EWG treble in a size or two larger than the manufacturer's hook...Usually that means that I use a size #4 EWG for the Rapala F11 or F13...This gives me more of a hook point exposed beyond the weight's bottom...

I have never hooked a fish that wasn't landed with this modified bait...That oversized center hook always hooks them and holds them on all the time...Its like a grappling hook in their face every time...A lot of two-hook, hook-ups and many three-hook hook-ups also...Sometimes the hook gets fouled on itself, but it's a small payback in return for all that this lure does for me...

TRY A DRESSED TREBLE HOOK IN RED TO HIDE SOME OF THE NEWLY ADDED LEAD IF YOU FEEL IT IS TOO VISIBLE and OBTRUSIVE FOR THE WATER CLARITY YOU ARE FISHING...

I had a day on Titicus last year with this bait...I caught 18 fish... 15 of them were over 3lbs and the other three fish over 4lbs...It was all on a single modified bait like this...I did all that over a couple of hours...Now, I keep several of them set up in my box in various patterns and with various weights for different suspending characteristics...

I'M LOOKING TO IMPROVE ON THESE MODIFIED BAITS BY USING THOSE CYLINDRICAL TUBE WEIGHT/RATTLES ALSO DESIGNED TO GO INSIDE A TUBE...THIS WILL ADD WEIGHT FOR CASTING, NOISE FOR ATTRACTION, AND SUSPENDING CHARACTERISTICS...ALL THIS, WHILE PRESERVING IT'S PERFECT STRIKE PROVOKING APPEAL, IT'S UNINTIMIDATING PROFILE/IMAGE AND THE ACTION THAT THE ORIGINAL FLOATER HAS BECOME FAMOUS FOR...I JUST HAVEN"T FOUND A SUITABLE WEIGHT/RATTLE FOR THE JOB YET...

To fine tune a very buoyant bait like the Original Floaters to suspend, once you have added this initial weight to the center splitring, try some Suspend Dots or Suspend Tape to the lure belly "if you must"...But for a faster and a more outstanding job, use "Lead Golf Tape"...They sell it at Kmart and it is made by a company called "Golf Digest"...Much better than the Suspend Dot and Suspend Tape System and you can trim it to size nicely...

Any questions, just e-mail me...

basserachi@aol.com

Good Fishing

Mark

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Posted by Mac on 2003 AM:

Fly tying lead wire can be purchased in several sizes (diameters) and is excellent for wrapping treble hook shafts....

Posted by basserachi on 2003 AM:

Hi Mac,

Thanks for the tip but I don't think you can get the weight needed for this job from any wire wrapped around a treble without impeding that hook...Because you will need a lot of it to suspend a 13 cm balsa wood bait...This belly weight system uses free moving weights independent of the hook so it can still swing freely and grab...

But I do use the lead wire on other baits when I want to add a lesser amount of weight...

Mark

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Posted by jofish on 2003 PM:

Nice skrit Who 's YOUR TAILOR!!