Shad Rap vs Reef Runner

[Fish Head]

I use Shad Raps and Flicker Shads about 80-90% of the time when I'm trolling. Is there a situation when you use a long, banana shaped, narrow bait like a Reef Runner instead of a shad shaped crank bait? Is it season, water temp, weather, structure vs. open water?

[chief]

I'm hardly a walleye expert. Having said this, my personal experience tells me that fish in really large systems, ones with extensive basins, and smelt, cisco, or tullibee forage bases, seem to prefer banana-shaped baits. Maybe they seem more natural here?

Like you, I use Shad Raps and Flicker Shads extensively. I use them primarily because they run true consistently. They're reliable and cover the depths I most often troll. When I use banana baits I use Tail Dancers-- again, because they're consistently true trackers.

My lure loyalties are driven by practicality and function. Lots of lures have been around a long time, so they all must work. Reef Runners have fanatic followers, for me, however, they require a lot of

tuning which drives me nuts.

[Stick in Mud]

I'm brand new to trolling, but in my extensive experience (one year), the bigger banana-style baits did better fishing deep basin areas and/or mudflats. I tried using them in shallow last fall and did pretty poorly. I wish I could be more help.

[JohnMickish]

Carmike has a pretty good handle on it. Large deep open water basins are great for the Reef Runner and also the deep Husky Jerk (betcha didn't think of that one). Forage bases like tulliee, whitefish and ailwife seem to favor the banana baits too.

Reef Runners and DHJs run supreme on water like Erie and Green Bay, and I am going to guess with the Zebs in Mille Lacs, they will turn on there too in the next few years.