Floating Jerkbaits

[The Rooster]

I've carried around Rapala original minnows for 17 years and hardly ever touched them due to the smallish sized hooks they come with. I believe a size 7. The one time I've ever had a strike on one I missed it and always thought that was why. A couple of years ago I swapped all the hooks out to size 6, a size larger, and they look much more likely to hook up, but now they don't float right anymore. They sit low in the water, and when jerked they dive and are slow to rise again. This might be a good thing in some situations but I don't know when or where. I normally just twitch them on top when I ever use them. Does anyone know if there is a topwater jerkbait made that floats well and has large enough hooks to hook up on a strike?

I know it's silly that after this long I don't know of any and haven't tried other types but I mostly use other lures besides these. I was just sitting here looking at my tackle and saw the ridiculous amount of these things I've bought through the years and thought it's finally time to do something about them. Either figure out how to make them work or sell them all and get something different.

[OkobojiEagle]

Rapala Flat Rap

 

 

oe

[Scott F]

Don't let the smallish hooks keep you from fishing them. Many times, bass will just smash into a bait to stun it before they eat it which may be why you did not hook up. Trust me, even with huge hooks, you won't get every fish that takes a swipe at your bait. Those floating Rapalas have caught more fish than any other single lure in history. Give them another try with the original hooks. Just make sure they are sharp. I catch a lot of bass on lures with #8 hooks. If a fish gets a bait with sharp hooks inside his mouth, the hook size should not be much of an issue.

[The Rooster]

Ok, this gives me hope. I'll change the hooks back because I much prefer the original action. Man what a hassle that is going to be. Sore fingers for sure. I guess I'm going to have a lot of spare #6 hooks laying around. Good thing that's the size my favorite crankbaits use.

[smalljaw67]

Don't let the smallish hooks keep you from fishing them. Many times, bass will just smash into a bait to stun it before they eat it which may be why you did not hook up. Trust me, even with huge hooks, you won't get every fish that takes a swipe at your bait. Those floating Rapalas have caught more fish than any other single lure in history. Give them another try with the original hooks. Just make sure they are sharp. I catch a lot of bass on lures with #8 hooks. If a fish gets a bait with sharp hooks inside his mouth, the hook size should not be much of an issue.

 

This is very true those little hooks hold but they aren't designed to be used with 10 or 12lb braid, 8lb mono and a good drag will keep from bending the hooks out. Other baits I do really well on is the shallow model floating Rattlin' Rogue, ARB 1200 series, those are wicked in summer over weed beds in clear water. Another I really like since it came out is the Rapala Flat Rap in the 8 and 10 size, these are subtle and will draw strikes from pressured fish but they respond well to angler input and when fished aggressively will give off a lot of flash and dart hard from side to side. The last one that I just started using the last 2 seasons but is quickly becoming a favorite is the Bagley Bang-O-Lure, they have such a wide kick to them and the larger one is a big fish killer, in fact the average size fish I get on those is bigger than on all the others, the size and action seem to draw larger strikes and I now use it when I am trying to get bigger bites.

[Raul]

My man, Rapala 7´s are panfish baits, no wonder why they come with teeny tiny hooks.

 

My first 10+ lber was caught with a Rapala 11 rainbow trout pattern. The problem with upsizing the hooks on those baits is that they added size kills a lot of the action of the bait.

[Dwight Hottle]

Raul is spot on. You should be using sizes 11 & 13 in the original floater. You can even use the size 18 for lunker bass.

[The Rooster]

Maybe so but I don't like the models with 3 treble hooks on them. I don't buy baits that are that way due to tanglement. Two of the hooks on the Rapala models are close enough together that they can catch on each other.

Also, I always fish these on 8 pound line on a spinning rod. Nothing more.

I changed all the hooks back to the original ones. We'll see how they work.

[Comfortably Numb]

Cheap snap ring pliers work really well.

 

I got these

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-5-1-2-Mini-Split-Ring-Pliers-7056SR/280749648912?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222006%26algo%3DSIC.FITP%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D19853%26meid%3D4864563870541409496%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D8938%26rk%3D0%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D390751255779

[Pz3]

Cant say I've lost many fish on the Rapala Floaters / Husky Jerks. I would say just keep at it too

[WIGuide]

Small hooks don't mean less hookups. I've fished a bait before called an "inch minnow" which is literally an inch long with about the smallest trebles I've ever seen and they hold fish just as good as the bigger ones do. 

[Raul]

Maybe so but I don't like the models with 3 treble hooks on them. I don't buy baits that are that way due to tanglement. Two of the hooks on the Rapala models are close enough together that they can catch on each other.

Also, I always fish these on 8 pound line on a spinning rod. Nothing more.

I changed all the hooks back to the original ones. We'll see how they work.

my friend, remove the middle treble hook, it wont hurt the action.

[The Rooster]

Ok, maybe I'll try one then. I always thought taking hooks off, or changing their size affected the action. That's what happened with mine anyway.

[Raul]

Ok, maybe I'll try one then. I always thought taking hooks off, or changing their size affected the action. That's what happened with mine anyway.

 

Changing the hook size in those baits ( like Rapala original minnows ) can kill a lot of the action, my suggestion is, if you want to change hooks do it for the exact same size and gauge, now is not necessary to go around changing for better hooks, they already come with very good hooks ( VMC ), before, Rapala used Mustad hooks on their baits, so really I´ve never seen the need to change the hooks unless it´s needed.

 

In the original minnow you can change the action of the bait by slightly bending up or down the nose wire, bending up makes the bait wiggle wider, bending down makes the bait wiggle tighter and IMHO, you should always tie that particular bait with the Rapala knot.