July 07, 2013
By Ned Kehde
The Rapala Scatter Rap Crank is one of the four new balsa baits that Rapala introduced to the angling would during the Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake, Oklahoma, Feb.22-24. They became available for anglers to purchase in late March.
It is a two-inch floating crankbait that weigh 5/16 of an ounce and can dive as deep as eight feet. It doesn't rattle, which appeals to numerous crankbait anglers who ply heavily fished waterways. It sports two No. 5 VMC black nickel hooks, and what the folks at Rapala call a Scatter Rap bill.
The design of the bill allows the Rapala Scatter Rap Crank to veer radical from side to side when anglers vary the speed of their retrieves from slow to fast.
Anglers who have worked with it for the past three months report that its balsa body is sturdy, and the paint can withstand a lot abuse without becoming nicked.
It is available in the following 14 colors: baby bass, bluegill, dark brown crawdad, firetiger, Helsink shad, hot mustard, Ike's blue back herring, Ike's Caribbean shad. Ike's demon, Ike's disco shad, Ike's old school, Ike's smash, Ike's Mardi Gras, and Ike's Penguin. Mike Iaconelli of Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey, and touring professional angler on the Bassmaster and FLW circuits helped create eight of the 14 color combinations.
It is a small enough crankbait that some Midwest finesse anglers will occasionally employ it.
It retails for $8.29 to $8.99.
Endnotes:
(1) Here's the link to the blog about the Rapala Scatter Rap Minnow: http://www.in-fisherman.com/2013/06/29/gear-guide-rapala-scatter-rap-minnow/
(2) Jacob Wheeler, who is a young and talented professional angler from Indianapolis, says the Scatter Rap Crank has become one his favorite baits — especially when he is fishing flats in five to seven feet of water that are embellished with aquatic vegetation. He retrieves it with 5:1 ratio reel at a slow to moderate pace, allowing it swim slightly above the top of the vegetation.
