How do you fish your jigging Rap's?

[Fish Fry Guy]

Do you tip them with minnow heads? With spikes or waxies? Or do you fish them clean with no meat? Also, do you jig agressively to attract them and then slow down? What is your tactic on these fine lures?

[looneyducer]

Great lure, whether it's ripped, jiggled, or deadsticked. I almost always tip them with something, a minnow head or some waxies. I've also seen the little ones tipped with three full minnows. Crazy, but that's a killer outfit. Jig 'em in and then give 'em a nod or a bob, depending.

Oh, and you're best off hooking your minnow heads from the forehead down on them. They don't tangle up on the end hooks as much.

[gill man]

In general a Lift-fall - pause. That is your basic attract mechanism. If a fish moves in you can do another lift fall pause sequence. A lot of times fairly agressive fish will nail it as soon as the bait pauses. If not, I like to bounce (nod if you're Doug Stange) the rod tip just a little bit, maybe 1/4 inch movements. If still no hit, keep slowly bouncing the rod tip while slowly raising the bait. A lot of the time, if the fish will hit at all, it will hit while doing this manuever. What you are trying to do while bouncing the rod tip is to get the bait to rock front to back.

If the fish fades away, try the lift fall pause again until it comes back. The try something a little different.

Just experiment a lot. It can really vary day to day, or even hour to hour. Some days they like an sharp, agressive lift and fall with a short pause. Other days a little slower, smoother lift with a longer pause. Sometimes shaking or pounding the bait will bring fish in. Sometimes a lift fall will trigger fish, sometimes they want it slowly raised up while slightly shaking or rocking the bait.

I would say I 'generally' tip these baits with a minnow head on the middle treble, but last year I started fishing the bait plain and had some luck with it. I used to be more of a jigging spoon guy, but after watching Doug Stange's Jigging Secrets video I learned that these swimming lures are pretty versatile. You can do lots of little triggering things with these baits.

Always remember, like any fishing, experimentation is the name of the game.

gill man

[Surface Tension]

I use them for lake trout, probably my go-to lure in fact.

Tip the bottom treble with cut ciscoe or half a chub.

Lift the rod and let it fall while keeping in contact with the lure. Hits come as the lures settles. The rate of lift depends on the mood of the trout. I'll give fairly sharp lift, fall, lift again and let settle.

So I'm talking lake trout here but the same can go for eyes. Use your sounder! As your going though your reps jigging, keep an eye out for a fish entering your cone angle. Although Lakers can come screaming in and nail your lure often times they'll come in slow and the strike is much like a walleye. So you have their interest, don't stop jigging but don't jig aggressively either. Slow the lift and its hight. Your watching your flasher to see where that fish is. If its still inside that cone angle and getting closer, keeps the lifts slow and less frequent. If its lit red and at your lure don't lift but give tiny nudges. After few few seconds start lifting slow and hold. Often it'll rise up with that lift and strike. If that fish starts to leave the cone angle give a lift and fall to get it back.

Still no strike, then take the lure away by swimming it up 5' as you reel in. Often you'll get a mad hit just by doing that. If the fish is still outside the cone angle, start your jigging reps again at the higher level. You can repeat this cat and mouse game all the way to the surface. When you run out of water take the lure away by pulling it out of the water. Wait about 10 seconds and let it fall to about 7' under the ice and hold on tight because a that laker could be screaming in for the kill.

Back to walleyes, doesn't matter what swimming lure I'm using, its a slow lift and free fall while keeping in contact with the lure. When an eye gets into my cone angle I stop the lifts and give short bursts of tiny bounces, giving them dead time to strike. If they won't commit I'll slowly lift and hold but unlike a lake trout won't take the lure and further away then a foot.

[Ferny]

For eyes/saugers I like to pound it on the bottom to "call them in"! I think you stir up the bottom when you do that.

Then lift it up about half a foot and jiggle it. If that doesn't work I snap it hard about 2'up and let it sit motionless. I always use a minnow head or half a minnow.

Perch tip take off the center hook and tie a tiny hooked dropper (Wazp used to make them) hook 3"-6" lower and put 1 Eurolarvae on it.

Good Luck,

Ferny.