X rap vs shadow rap?

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

What’s the main difference between rapala x raps, and shadow raps? When you you pick up one or the other? And what about the rip stop and husky jerk?

[rgasr63]

The shadow rap I have nothing good or bad to speak of. The x-rap I have used and own a few is the summer jerkbait for me. IT takes strong and long jerk motion to make the bait dance. The rip stop is a shallow jerkbait suspending stye hard jerks are used and the foot on the rear of the bait makes the bait back up and level off.The Husky Jerk is a big producer for me but this bait uses softer jerking or twitching action imparted to it. 

 

 

[fin]

I haven't used the Husky Jerk, but I've used the others. In my experience, there's not really a very big difference in how the different bodies all swim. Sure, there's a little difference, but whether it's worth buying more is a personal preference.

 

They come in different depths and sizes, and that's where the real difference is. Shad Rap comes in shallow, medium or deep, and they are very different from each other. I like the Rip Stop deep, but I don't care for the action on the medium. I've never tried an x-rap deep, but I love the mediums. I'm sure the deeps are good.

[MN Fisher]

There also different actions when you stop actively working it

X-Rap and Husky Jerk are suspenders - does their best to hover in place

Shadow Rap is a slow-sinking - it slowly drops.

Rip-Stop is a slow riser - it'll lift it's nose up slightly and slowly start making it's way to the surface

 

 

 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

Is it worth almost 2x the price of the husky jerk to get the shadow rap or x rap? 

[gim]

I am not a big fan of rapala jerk baits but given the choices here the shadow rap would be my selection.

[MediumMouthBass]

The Xrap and Xrap deep in sizes 8 and 10 i really like, and i have alot of them.

For the price they have some really great colors and a good action, ill throw them alot in the more open parts of the river or lake.

Husky Jerk and Down Deep Husky Jerks have 2 places in the tackle box for me, 1 is for getting down as deep as possible. And 2 is they are cheap if bought on sale so ill throw them alot in pike/pickerel waters. Both the above are suspending

The Original Floaters are something that you may or may not need too. Like the name suggests they float, they are very skinny lures and do something different than most bass see. I really like throwing these outside lily pads or above shallow grass. Also very cheap and great options for pike/pickerel waters.

The regular Shadow Rap is too shallow diving for me, i dont have any but i buy the Shadow Rap Shad Deep instead. (it doesnt go that deep regardless of its naming). They are slow floaters.

So ill probably use these around rocks, if i feel it hit rock/wood or something ill back off let the thing rise slowly and hope for a fish to hit it.

The Ripstop and Ripstop Deep are very different to me in terms of shape and how to fish them, Rapala made them to be jerked fast and then come to a quick hard stop. I bought some to try for fishing the lake when the smallmouth are in a aggressive mood.

 

While all of these are great and have their place, if you just want the basics that work just get a few Xraps in size 10, and some Huskey Jerks in size 8, 10, and 12.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

An X rap is more of a do it all JB, it does everything well.  The round body of the X rap gives it good roll on a swim or twitch which makes them versatile.  The SR is more of a modern design slash bait, with flat sides and tight action.  It has a similar walking action when enough pressure is applied but does it in a shorter distance than X rap and is more prone to blow out IME. 

While the X rap is good I think the SR is one of the only Rapala JBs I use anymore, because I like the slow sink.  The drawback is both lack a weight transfer system which really hurts distance in comparison to other JBs on the market.  The hooks on either of them aren't very good and for another 2$ you can get a Duo which IMO is a superior bait, if you want a suspending (slow float in reality).

[zell_pop1]

X rap is a good JB and catches em. I like the original floater Rapala too, like what was said around pads or shallow grass works really well for finicky bass.

[Mbirdsley]

so this might be a dumb question.  i’ve used orginal rapala’s since i was a kid.  However, we either used them like crank baits or trolling.  because they are made of balsa if you stop moving them they will float right to the surface.  so i’m assuming they have to be continuously twitched or no? as jerk bait i’ve not had good success at all with them. 

 

I’ve also had success with the originals on rivers  where i just let it sit on top of the water and just gently pull the rod tip enough so the bait ever so slightly bobs up and down with just the tinies ripple imaginable.  

[MediumMouthBass]

 

3 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

so i’m assuming they have to be continuously twitched or no? as jerk bait i’ve not had good success at all with them. 

@Mbirdsley several different factors can alter how slow/fast the Originals float. Like size of lure, what type of line/its diameter. So depending on that and also the depth im fishing i either work it really slow or fast.

But usually ill twitch these in slower durations/longer pauses then my usual jerkbaits (suspending),

they really work well fished very shallow (when im fishing these i can usually see the lure in the water most of the time, that should give an idea of how shallow im talking about).

Especially near or above grass and aquatic weeds, one or 2 jerks and then pause, ill wait and see if a bass comes up. If it does and bites then great, if not ill keep giving it a twitch or 2.

You can even let it float all the way up to the surface, when fishing them this way they will come right up from the grass and hit it. I like to think of them as subsurface walking baits/spooks.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

23 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

so this might be a dumb question.  i’ve used orginal rapala’s since i was a kid.  However, we either used them like crank baits or trolling.  because they are made of balsa if you stop moving them they will float right to the surface.  so i’m assuming they have to be continuously twitched or no? as jerk bait i’ve not had good success at all with them. 

 

I’ve also had success with the originals on rivers  where i just let it sit on top of the water and just gently pull the rod tip enough so the bait ever so slightly bobs up and down with just the tinies ripple imaginable.  

The vast majority of balsa baits are going to be super high floating baits out of the box, which makes them hard to fish like a contemporary JB.  As soon as you lose tension the bait will rise very fast, which can be good if a fish is right on it, but for finicky fish I want the bait to suspend or sink slowly.  

Plastic just makes more sense, cost and consistency wise for JBs, but I'm a big believer in certain balsa cranks, just wish they weren't so costly.   

  

[TnRiver46]

On 4/23/2024 at 9:17 PM, Mbirdsley said:

so this might be a dumb question.  i’ve used orginal rapala’s since i was a kid.  However, we either used them like crank baits or trolling.  because they are made of balsa if you stop moving them they will float right to the surface.  so i’m assuming they have to be continuously twitched or no? as jerk bait i’ve not had good success at all with them. 

 

I’ve also had success with the originals on rivers  where i just let it sit on top of the water and just gently pull the rod tip enough so the bait ever so slightly bobs up and down with just the tinies ripple imaginable.  

The fun begins when the original rapala makes it to the surface. No it does not have to be continuously twitched, the big ones slurp it when it’s just sitting still on top. 
 

OP: the differences in the x rap and the shadow rap are many. Like MN fisher said, the shadow rap sinks. Most x raps I’ve used suspend , have had one or two that wanted to float. The x rap is a fatter bait , shadow rap flatter sides. Seems like shadow rap might me slightly longer. The lips are a slightly different bait which gives them different action. The x rap has a wider jerk, they call it a slash bait. 
 

both of them are great but I’ve had several x raps explode inside a tackle box, keep them in the dark if possible