The Rapala Shad Rap is a legend unto itself for it many year of top end fish catching ability and year in and year out is one of the best fishing lures on the market.  Born out of the need to find a crankbait that would mimic the profile and swimming motion of the ever tasty shad, the Shad Rap graces the tackle boxes of many fishermen in the world today.  This is due to it being a lure that flat out catches fish.  Ask any fisherman who has used the Shad Rap more than once and they will tell you that the lure is deadly effective for cathing fish, especially walleye and northern pike.

Rapala Shad Rap Shallow Runner Lure HOT STEEL COLOR    US $3.25

Original Rapala Shad Rap WALLEYE COLOR    US $.99

The Shad Rap is offered in 5 sizes (RS4, SR5, #7, SR8, and SR9), with sizes 5, 7 and 9 being the most popular.  The smaller the number, the smaller the bait.  Fisherman cast and retrieve the lure, but the most common use is to troll it behind your boat and work structure quickly.  A new comer to the Shad Rap family is the jointed Shad Rap, which is available in sizes 5 and 7.  Same great profile as the classic shad rap with the broken tail action that drives fish crazy.

In addition to trying to match the size of the Shad Rap to the bait fish present and the attitude of the fish, the depth the crankbait dives to is imminently important.  To that end, here are the maximum depths that these lures generally dive to:

Standard Shad Rap Series:

Shad Rap RS #4 - 11 feet deep
Shad Rap SR5 - 9 feet deep
Shad Rap #7- 11 feet deep
Shad Rap SR8 - 15 feet deep
Shad Rap SR9 - 19 feet deep

Jointed Shad Rap Series:

Jointed Shad Rap JSR05 - 14 feet deep
Jointed Shad Rap JSR07 - 17 feet deep

As with any crankait and fishing lure color can play a prominent role.  To that end, Rapala has developed a wide array of colors to suit just about every fisherman's dream whether you are chasing walleye, northern pike, bass or another species of fish.  My favorite color is the classic silver and black, which has been very successful for my boat over the years.  If you are in stained waters I would suggest giving the Fire Tiger or the Clown (sometimes called Hot Tiger) color a serious look.  Other popular colors include blue/chrome, perch, crawdad (especially for smallmouth bass), and Silver/Yellow.  Once you zero in on a color that the lake prefers you are not likely to be without that particular Rapala Shad Rap!