Jigging Rapalas

When trout are running ten pounds and smaller in popular waters under pressured conditions and in tough-bite situations, few lures are the equal of the Jigging Rapala. Like the original floating balsa wood model, which not surprisingly is my favorite open-water trolling lure, the jigging Rap looks so natural that no matter how many times a lake trout sees it, it never becomes conditioned to the lure.

I stick pretty much with the two biggest models (the W9 and W11), and I almost always tip the lower treble with either a piece of sucker meat or the ragged cut-off head of a minnow. When the trout are chasing ciscoes and smelt, the chrome blue Jigging Rap is a dead ringer; the perch and glow tiger patterns excel when trout are feasting on perch, which is far more often than you’d ever imagine.

I never tie directly to this lure, favoring instead a premium snap. And I always experiment with jigging actions that range between a constant slow up and down yo-yo motion and a snap, pause, snap. Just remember three things when you’re using a Jigging Rap: The lure is still moving enticingly long after you quit jigging and pause, so don’t overwork it. And hone the front and rear hooks to razor sharpness when you replace the stock treble with a high-grade hook like the Gamakatsu (try one size larger).

Up, Up, and Away

During the ‘70s, the hottest winter trout lure was the airplane jig—a heavy lead-head and lead-bodied jig with wings and a bucktail skirt. When you lift one of these up and down, they circle and swim for miles under your hole just as their namesakes. But for some reason, in some places, the airplane’s effectiveness has tapered off lately. Like buzzbaits for bass, the trout appear to have become conditioned to them. Or maybe it’s just that spoons, Jigging Raps, and tubes have provided such a fresh new alternative. Nevertheless, airplane jigs can be an important arrow in your winter trout quiver.

The best airplane jigs are homemade and fashioned around a single 3/0, 4/0, or 5/0 hook like the Gamakatsu. (They also lack the tiny, flimsy, ineffective trebles on the wings that rarely hook fish and all too often wrap around your main line). I once owned one of these hand-crafted marvels that was nothing short of awesome, a gift from a visiting Minnesota game warden. For almost ten years I could catch trout with it when nothing else worked, and I was once asked seriously how much money it would take for me to part with it. But sadly, that giant lake trout I told you about earlier, broke my line and swam away with “Oscar the Trout Grouch” firmly attached to its lip, and I’ve mourned its loss ever since.

It’s All In The Fall

Nine out of every ten lake trout you catch will hit your bait when it’s falling. That’s why it’s so important to let your tube jigs and spoons descend on a controlled slack line. You must maintain contact, on the other hand, with airplane jigs, and to a lesser degree jigging Rapalas, as if working a yo-yo.