Any advice on casting small 3inch rapalas further

[mig rod]

The lake I fish at the water is super clear. I've been having great results with small 3 inch Rapalas for both Largemouths and Peacocks. The problem lies in being able to cast these light weight lures further. I can't seem to get better then 20 feet or so. I don't want to use a lead weight since the water is so clear it will deter the fish from biting. Any of you have any secrets in casting light weight top water plugs at least 30 or 40 feet. Would love to hear them.

[Bionic]

Mig have you tried the #8 Xrap? It has a lillte more weight to it. I use a 6'10" finess spinning rod with 8# braid and can cast beetle spins and small plugs
pretty good. The 8# braid is still strong enough to horse the peacocks out. Also Think about adding a 20# floralcarbon leader as well for the clear water.
With this set up you should have no problems. I have landed small tarpon down there on this rig as well.

Scott

[mig rod]

Hey Bionic (Scott)
Thanks for the advice. I have a Shimano rod and reel combo that should work good with 8# braid.

No I haven't tried the new X Rap rapalas. I use the old school floating minnows. They work great but have no weight in them for better casting distance. I might give those new X rap a try and see if they have an X rap in 3 or 3 and a half inches.

Thanks again.

[outtaline]

Hey mig try the longer rod I use an 8' 8-15lb allstar it will wip just about any thing I can throw a jerk bait with no weight 100 feet to a snook cruising the beach kind of hard to get used to but it will also help you keep them out of the weeds

[mig rod]

Hey Outtaline

I have been looking into getting a longer rod. Allstar rods do look sturdy.
Thanks for the advice.

[Questor]

I tried balsa Rapalas and my solution to the same problem was to stop using them and start using something I could cast. There are plenty of good alternatives.

But if you absolutely must use the Rapalas, do the following:
1) Get a split shot sinker weighing about 1/8 ounce
2) Drill a hole through the center of gravity in the body of the lure, being careful not to sever the wires.
3) Epoxy the split shot into the hole.

This is a trick used for making the lure neutrally buoyant, but it also adds weight and casting distance.

I still keep a couple of Rapalas like that around for smallmouth fishing.

[mig rod]

Hey Questor
Very cool idea. That should definitely get me some longer casts. Thanks

[Brian]

I posted a question earlier about a Mitchell combo that I once had that was weight balanced on the end. I eventually found rods from the Basspro shops that had the same type of weight balancing system at the butt end. I believe they are in the extreme series that they offer. The system comes seperate, but it has brass weights that go in a cap seperately for adjustments that screw on to the butt end of the rod. Depending on the weight you use, I know that it allows me to throw, in my best guess, about 30 - 40 % farther than my normal rig used to. It does take some getting used to, but once you learn it, you won't want to use anything else. It helped my accuracy and distance tremendously, even with braided line.

Brian

[trailtrekker]

Hey Mig!,Good evening, I use small rapalas here in N.Y for giant brown trout and walleye at night topwater and to cast these light weight lures I use power pro 10lb test (2 lb) diameter with a 6lb mono leader tied to the braid with back to back uni knots. I use a bait caster and a seven foot rod, medium or medium heavy graphite. The stiffness of the graphite, the length of the rod, a strong back to back uni knot with the ends trimmed as small as possible to fly unrestricted through the guides, once you get the hang of it, you'll be measuring your casts in yards! Shimano makes an excellent casting reel, the Shimano Callisto, 40 bucks and has lasted me years of catching bass, walleye, trout,stripers and I've even used it for crappie in extremely clear water. It has a great braking system that once dialed in you can cast a mile.Bass pro has a Wally Marshall casting reel for 40 bucks too, made for crappie, I use that one for bass only and that little green reel has always been reliable and one of my favorites. A cheap way to find out if my method will work for you, but I really think you'll like the increase of distance you'll see in your casts. Change the set up to your preference, use fire line instead of power pro if you like, an eight foot rod instead of seven, line diameter, test out and find whatever works for you but braid and a casting reel will definitely allow for longer casts. And the purpose of the mono leader to the braid is for when setting the hook on top, you need a little stretch so you don't tear the hook out. God bless, good luck, have fun and catch fish! Hope this helps, Trailtrekker

[ShallowStalker]

Larry did a show for walleyes at night about 7 years ago using doctored rapalas by either drilling and inserting weight into them or injecting water into them with a syringe. It was on in-fisherman hope this helps