Rapala DT 20

[Muddy]

breaking on rock

I Fish mostly DT's when I am cranking which for me means slaming them into shrunken rock piles. Since the first year I have yet to brek one this way. I did break one by getting it wrapped into the trolling motor, but not on the water.

[Muddy]

breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

i emailed rapala not long ago about busting the lips off their cranks and got this back:

Thank you for your email and letting us know about your experiences with our lures.

Rapala can make an indestructible lure that will never break but it will not have the action and unique construction that provides such great productivity. As you know, many factors cause lures to become damaged. Rocks, Weeds, certain Fishing Techniques, miss use, Line strength, drag, and bottom structures are some factors that cause lures to weaken or become damaged. Time and time again, when we test and study lures that have broken, the results show that some hindering factor had caused the lure to weaken. If you think your lure was defective and not damaged by other means as listed above, then here are some options for you to pick from:

1. Take the lure back to the store where you purchased it for refund or replacement.

2. Send the lure to us for replacement.

ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

Thats why your name is Skunked Again and Mine's not

[TheBeast]

From my warehouse the true DT20's aren't even on the market yet.  Here is the memo they sent out:

Rapala has announced that these lures will not be available until late March early April.  The issue had been that the production lures were only hitting 15'.  This problem has been solved.  Rapala would not let this bait hit the market till they knew for sure that it is a 20' running crankbait.

Well let me clarify though that memo was concerning the SureSet serie that are equiped with SureSet hooks on the front and rear.

[MALTESE FALCON]

I fish crankbaits the majority of the time. I fish ALOT of Rapala DT series baits and have NEVER had one break. In fact I've never had a Rapala lure of any kind break.

Falcon

[warmer]

dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.  

dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

[roadwarrior]

I buy most hardbaits from BPS locally. Any lure, from any

company, that is defective, becomes defective or breaks

gets exchanged. I have never had much discussion and

have never been denied. On the other-hand, they don't

replace lost lures!

8-)

[Muddy]

dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.

dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

YEA RIGHT!!!   Then why do you keep buying them, if you have so much trouble. What does every defective Rapala wind up in your tackle bag?

 Geezzz, gimme a break.

[warmer]

dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.

dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

YEA RIGHT!!!

yeah right? as in... you think im lying?

answer this question, and then ill respond to the rest of your post.

Then why do you keep buying them, if you have so much trouble. What does every defective Rapala wind up in your tackle bag?

Geezzz, gimme a break.

[Pitchinkid]

I love the Rapala DT Series Crankbaits. I have broke 1, due to a large rock on bank that i hit with a poor cast. Ive seen 2 others broke on a bridge in Guntersville.(not mentioning no names).But it was caused by the fisherman. I hope all of you continue to quit buying them, just more for me

[tyrius.]

dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.

dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

What are you doing differently than everyone else?  Are you using very strong braid with a very tight drag?  What are you hooking them on to pull the lips out?

Seems to me that you're doing something different than normal to experience this.

[tyrius.]

But it was caused by the fisherman. I hope all of you continue to quit buying them, just more for me

Me too.  Maybe then they'll go on sale and I'll be able to get more!!!

[Primus]

I've beeen fortunate enough not to have a lip break on the DT baits that I've used, in my area I'm usually fishing outside the weedline, ripping through grass or ticking the tops of stumps. I have ripped a few lips from some nice bass with them  

[warmer]

What are you doing differently than everyone else? Are you using very strong braid with a very tight drag? What are you hooking them on to pull the lips out?

i dont know what i am doing differently.

i would say that i got a bad batch of them, as i bought them together in bulk, but i have had trouble since then as well.

i do not fish braid w/ my crankbaits. i keep my drag soft enough.

i am not easy on cranks, but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

"why do i have them in my tackle box?" muddy asks.

well muddy, im glad you asked, the dt has a superb action, and runs true to depth. additionally, the casting distance that i get is superior to all other baits in the same class (although strike king has fixed this problem on its latest release).

i am happy to know that they will take returns. i wonder if this is true for returned lips only? i mean, sometimes on a windy day, you just cant find the other half of the lure.

[tyrius.]

i dont know what i am doing differently.

Odds are it is something, because your experience is outside the norm.

but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

Rapala is pretty much all I fish and I've never broken one.  I still have a couple jointed minnows that I fished when I was in high school.  I've only ever seen one break and that was due to user abuse.  

The freaking things like to get stuck between rocks though, but that goes for nearly everything I fish in that spot.

[skunked_again]

breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

i emailed rapala not long ago about busting the lips off their cranks and got this back:

Thank you for your email and letting us know about your experiences with our lures.

Rapala can make an indestructible lure that will never break but it will not have the action and unique construction that provides such great productivity. As you know, many factors cause lures to become damaged. Rocks, Weeds, certain Fishing Techniques, miss use, Line strength, drag, and bottom structures are some factors that cause lures to weaken or become damaged. Time and time again, when we test and study lures that have broken, the results show that some hindering factor had caused the lure to weaken. If you think your lure was defective and not damaged by other means as listed above, then here are some options for you to pick from:

1. Take the lure back to the store where you purchased it for refund or replacement.

2. Send the lure to us for replacement.

ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

Thats why your name is Skunked Again and Mine's not

heh..............if, IF im not catching fish like i caught fish with the DT's i might be forced to do things id rather not.

im excited to see how other baits work.

[skunked_again]

i dont know what i am doing differently.

Odds are it is something, because your experience is outside the norm.

but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

Rapala is pretty much all I fish and I've never broken one. I still have a couple jointed minnows that I fished when I was in high school. I've only ever seen one break and that was due to user abuse.

The freaking things like to get stuck between rocks though, but that goes for nearly everything I fish in that spot.

had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

[warmer]

had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

haha! thanks for posting that.

i was going to pile up the 5 or so that i have laying around and take a picture, but my camera has been loaned out.

[Muddy]

Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently own 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.

I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

[skunked_again]

Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently won 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.

I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

the DT 10 and the DT 8 are my all time fav. bait. i just dont want to buy them 8 times.

[Muddy]

I think I see why we differ, I never use the thin flat ones or the sure sets. I bought a couple of the sure sets and they hung up on everything in my boat, I am clumsy by nature. I really can not call on my experience with these Rapalas because I do not use them

I am sure some one like Micro or Stringjam knows more about these

I prefer fat cranks in craw fish and blue gill patterns.

[Shadcranker]

My local BPS said they got a shipment of DT20's back in the Fall, but they sent them all back, bc there was a design flaw with the baits. I was going to try a couple, but now that I've heard that, I'll just stick with my DD22's and FF Shad #7's.

Honestly, when the summer crankin bite is really on, I don't think it matters much what you throw, as long as you can get down to them. Most of the fish on the ledges I fish are in 8-15 ft anyway, so a true 20 ft bait is not really necessary for me.

[Bassaholic84]

Ill be buying some at the BPS spring classic. (I Locked the baitmonkey in the closet until then) Ive never had a problem with Rapalas.  

[Muddy]

My local BPS said they got a shipment of DT20's back in the Fall, but they sent them all back, bc there was a design flaw with the baits. I was going to try a couple, but now that I've heard that, I'll just stick with my DD22's and FF Shad #7's.

Honestly, when the summer crankin bite is really on, I don't think it matters much what you throw, as long as you can get down to them. Most of the fish on the ledges I fish are in 8-15 ft anyway, so a true 20 ft bait is not really necessary for me.

 They were not holding a true 20 ft, so Rapala recalled them.

[tyrius.]

had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

Yeah, the broken lip issue is one that some Rapalas had.  As far as I know it has been fixed.

It's the pulling the lips out issue that I've never heard of.

[Lucky Craft Man]

Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently won 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.

I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

the DT 10 and the DT 8 are my all time fav. bait. i just dont want to buy them 8 times.

Where did you get a DT8?

For those that have a DT20, how much would you say they weight? TackleTour must have a misprint in their ICAST review of the DT20, because they have it listed as weighing 3.25 oz. I can't imagine it would weight anywhere near that. If so, I will have to use a swimbait rod for deep cranking a DT20 (if I ever can find a DT20 to buy). Thanks.