Shadow Shad Rap- The lure of 1250 casts

The “fish of 10,00 casts” moniker suits the musky well. I have spent more time chasing the toothy critters this spring than any other. I’ve located fish, seen fish, had fish follow, but hadn’t been able to put the whole thing together, so for a few days I turned my attention to pre-spawn bass on Loon Lake, in southern Noble county.

I spent much of the morning bouncing and swimming jigs off the first break beyond emerging pads, largely to disinterested fish. The spring has been a roller coaster, and it has kept the fish between patterns all year.

As I worked my way around a south facing bay I located several stumps in six to eight feet of water that were each holding a couple fish. Out of frustration as much as anything I wanted to throw something different at these fish to elicit a strike, and while I would normally reach for an X-Rap, as I have been a huge fan and had great success with them since they came onto the market, I remembered I had one of the new Shadow Rap Shad Rapala recently introduced.

I had yet to throw the bait yet, and wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. The profile is a little larger than the X-Rap I am used to, and by comparison the Shadow Rap, to me, almost looks awkward. That opinion changed once I had it in the water. I popped it along the boat several times to get a feel for how it moved and reacted to slack-line twitches as well as full jerks.

It didn’t disappoint. Big, erratic kicks, paired with a slight rise at the pause, I was convinced. I had made seven casts around the stumps, starting on the outside, working my way nearer to the bank.

It happened on the eighth cast. After working the lure past the stumps, I was set to retrieve and make my last cast at the area. Just as I took in the last of the slack on the line the rod bent and my drag immediately started clicking. No need for a figure-eight on this one, I guess.

Fishing alone this morning, I managed to ready the net while working the fish, and also got my phone in video mode, just in case. After several failed attempts to position the fish for the net, I truly thought I had it; of course it had other ideas. It was over rather quickly. You can hear the splash in the video, that was when the line let go. It wasn’t a monster by any means, but a respectable fish to be certain.

The next time I fish those stumps several things will be different, but the lure certainly won’t be, The Shadow Rap Shad is firmly locked into that spot. Math has never been my strong suit, but if the musky is the fish of 10,000 casts, then that makes the Shadow Rap Shad, the lure of about 1,250 casts.

I like those odds.

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Watch a video of the musky breaking off Trent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjNBIlbzKno&feature=youtu.be