I personally had great luck using DD22 cranks early this morning but it seemed like I couldn't reel the bait fast enough.  I saw 4-5 different fish follow the crank all the way up to the boat.  One or two of them would have gone 3lbs which is what we were looking for.  Tournament sized keepers.

I tried really fast retrieves, slow, jerk-pause, fast retrieve with jerks, etc.  They just wouldn't bite it.  I did catch one on a slow steady retreive later.

At the same spot, I switched to a Rapala X-Rap that has a feather tail and I was catching fish then because I could work it faster and retreive it faster with erratic jerks like a jerkbait.  They would come up from deep water to chase this one.  The water I was finding bass in was 25ft. -30ft and the water is clear down about 12ft.  I missed a few because they jumped off but I landed at least one.

OK, finally.....my question!

Is there a deep diving swimbait or a double jointed Rapala that will dive down around 15-20ft?  I want something that has a realistic swiming action that I can retreive fast.  My lake has really clear water and the bass are used to conventional baits.  A fast erratic jerking crank that looks like a real fish would be a killer bait right now.

Any thoughts?

why does it have to be a diver instead of just a sinker?

I've got several soft swimbaits but there are some issues with that type of bait vs. what I am looking for. I have some Lake Fork shad swimbaits, Storm swimbaits, etc. but they all have a single hook, much less action, and I can't regulate the depth as easy as a crankbait.

The Rapala X-Rap "Extreme Action Splashbait" (what I used) is almost perfect for what I want but if I can can get a more erratic & realistic swiming motion and it will be the pefect bait for multiple locations on my lake because you can fish it like a crankbait or jerkbait. I could make it go down to about 6ft but that's with me retrieving it pretty quickly on a 6ft. spinning rod with erratic jerks. When they hit it, there was no doubt they were on it. The faster I would retrieve it, the more they wanted to chase it. Soft swimbaits would be hard to fish like this because you don't get as much action. Only the tail moves. The X-Rap darts, swims, vibrates more, etc. If there was a jointed crankbait that could get down to 15ft, that would be good enough.

Again, I watched several good bass follow my DD22 right up to the boat and then turn away. Probably 10 from the same area. I just couldn't retrieve it fast enough or make it more erratic. Well, not without working me to death anyway. The color was "Rootbeer". I've had good luck with that color in clear water. It just looks like a reel baitfish. So I know the color was OK. Just wasn't fast enough and erratic enough to produce a strike.

I just found the Rapala X-Rap "Deep 10" lures.  They are supposed to go down a little deeper than the other series that I am using.  They are also supposed to hold their depth when paused.

I'm affraid the "Rapala Baitmonkey Rep" just arrived in my tackle bag......not a good thing either considering these puppies are $7-8 a pop.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

Never used one but maybe one of these?

Dan

Well I found some Rapala Deep Divers.  They might work pretty well too.

I guess what I am looking for is something that puts out a lot of vibration, fast, erratic action and can be fished pretty fast.

The feather tail on that Rapala is what makes it so great.  That think just looks too cool compared to a normal crankbait like a Norman or DT10.

If I changed out my DD22 with a feather tailed hook, that might would have helped me this morning.

this is the only real swimbait that i know of that dives much deeper than 5ft

http://www.***.com/descpageSWMJRAGO-JRCR.html

i don't know how to do one of those clever little links like dan does, lol!

Never used one but maybe one of these?

Dan

The Jackall Giron is a shallow running bait. These dive but not all that deep:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat600382&id=0031284119698a&navCount=1&podId=0031284&parentId=cat600382&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600382&hasJS=true

Why not a big lipless crankbait? They put out a lot of vibrations and you can burn them back to the boat.

Why not a big lipless crankbait? They put out a lot of vibrations and you can burn them back to the boat.

Thats what I was thinking. Just use one like 3/4-1oz

I have never tried this, but I read an article where a guy put a rapala on the end of a carolina rig to go deep and twitch and jerk some deep water bass. It might be worth a try.

this is the only real swimbait that i know of that dives much deeper than 5ft

http://www.***.com/descpageSWMJRAGO-JRCR.html

i don't know how to do one of those clever little links like dan does, lol!

I have one of those Rago's FB but couldn't find it on TW this time :-/

To make a "clever little link", do this:

[url = paste your link here ] key in whatever words you want to describe the link

Remove the 'spaces' when you do it.

Dan

I didn't try a lipless crank because it has a tight wobble. I wanted something that darts like a jerkbait with an erratic action but swims deeper than 8ft. The bass were following the DD22 crankbait but they wouldn't strike it. A lipless crank has less action but........it would be a good chaser bait for fast speeds.  Thus the name "Speed Trap". I'm affraid that the bass on my lake are used to the rattles in lipless crankbaits. I can't get them to hit one no matter what I try. I may try removing the bb's to tone it down a bit. In two years, I've caught one bass on a rat-l-trap. He hit it as soon as it splashed the water too.

I know Lucky Craft makes some jointed jerkbaits, I want something about like that but goes deeper than 8ft. Anyone know of anything? I'm not finding anything but some of the Rapala trolling cranks. Those might work for what I'm looking for.

This is what you need: Illex Freddy Long Horn, aprox. 6.5" and 1.3oz.

http://www.angelcenter-kassel.de/ack/images/illex/98196.jpg

You can get this bait only in Europe. Here for example:

http://www.bigtackle.de/product_info.php?info=p7086_Illex-Freddy-Long-Horn-170-Sakana.html

jb,

  first off, when you have followers, they are interested, but there is something they didn't like about the bait.

I can't say what your bass are currently feeding on, but do know in Texas,  that the shad have spawned numerous times this year and the majority of the shad are small at this time of year.     Maybe try smaller cranks first.

   A slight variation in crank color also.    With clear water or fairly clear water, I some times down size my line, down size my trebles, and my baits.

Yesterdays great adjustment came on weight vice colors.    I normally use 1/4 oz or smaller on T-rig, but yesterday they wanted a faster falling 10 inch, my color has been on, but it was the weight that saved the day.    I did try some other colors but had nothing going until I opted for faster dropping bait.

What depth do you think you are getting down to?   How do you know for sure?

There isn't anything i can't fish or cover with Storms swimbaits.     One hook don't matter if the fish aren't hitting anyway.    And my lakes have so much timber, you can't afford to have treble hook stinger.    

Making that simple adjustment is a confidence statement to yourself at the end of the day.    

Just remember, the fish have already indicated to you they are some what interested in that bait, now just make that small adjustment.

matt

Again, I watched several good bass follow my DD22 right up to the boat and then turn away. Probably 10 from the same area. I just couldn't retrieve it fast enough or make it more erratic. Well, not without working me to death anyway. The color was "Rootbeer". I've had good luck with that color in clear water. It just looks like a reel baitfish. So I know the color was OK. Just wasn't fast enough and erratic enough to produce a strike.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

Is the "Rootbeer" the only color you tried?  When fish are following that far many times a simple color change will turn into strikes.  You've got the fish's attention, now you need to mix it up and find the color they want.

If you want to get the X-rap (or any crank) deeper get a three way swivel and rig up a sinker and a leader to the crank/jerkbait.  You would have to experiment with the weight of the sinker to get it suspend where you want it.  Or even more simply swivel and pinch a slipshot sinker a foot or two in front of the lure.

If you just want it to suspend deeper experiment with suspend drops/strips.

I can't say what your bass are currently feeding on, but do know in Texas, that the shad have spawned numerous times this year and the majority of the shad are small at this time of year. Maybe try smaller cranks first.

What depth do you think you are getting down to? How do you know for sure?

There isn't anything i can't fish or cover with Storms swimbaits.

They are feeding on larger baitfish I believe but it depends on location. Some feed on threadfin in coves and some feed on baitfish in the deeper main lake waters.  I think my DD22 was getting down to around 18ft or so.  It was hard to tell but I was in 22ft of water and I don't think I ever touched the silt bottom on the shelf were were on.  They would swim up to get the 6" Rapala but they would only chase the DD22.  Which led me to believe the larger size and erratic action is what was triggering strikes.  Does that sound logical?  My buddy tried a DD14 in a shad color and one in a craw color.  Both good baits but no bites.

How do you fish your Storm swimbaits?  I like fishing them like a jigging spoon....up and down like an injured shad.  I also swim it like a jerkbait too but the action has to be pretty quick to keep the little tail moving right.

I have hopped and yo-yo'ed them off road beds and such, but normally in open water, I swim them slowly thru the schools.

Tom Redington has great fall articles on his web site about finding and catching the fall bass, and help on finding the active bass.   Don't know if he posted it on here yet.     great article, good info.

Matt