The Shad Rap Core Four
Now is the time of year to throw the best cold water crankbait ever made and the clear winner of that title has been the same for four decades – the Rapala Shad Rap. Of course there may occasionally be another choice that does better in limited circumstances, but despite numerous swings at the champ no one has been able to thread the needle and consistently beat it.
When it was introduced in my early teenage years it came in four fairly rudimentary colors – Crawdad, Silver, Shad and Perch. Today, the basic #7 comes in over 50. There are “Elite” versions that are made from the same balsa, but with a through-wire system and 2X VMC trebles, for added durability, particularly in toothy critter country. They come in some much more realistic color patterns, reminiscent of certain JDM lures, and yet I wouldn’t trade them for the same “core four” that I’ve been using since The A Team was on television.
Of those four, perch is the one I use the least, but would likely use it more if I lived up north. The crawfish pattern is my early spring choice, and the shad pattern gets more play in the late fall. Stock up on them and be confident.
Shad
Silver
Crawdad
Perch
Shad Rap Color Notes
Maybe I’m not remembering correctly, but I feel like the original Crawdad pattern was lighter and more muted than the current version, so I like to fade them in the sun a la David Fritts.
The area where Rapala has come the furthest on new Shad Rap color patterns is in the craw arena – to include Blaze, Dark Brown Crawdad, Mossy, Red Crawdad, Ike’s Demon, Olive Green Craw, Delta and Rusty.
They’ve also extended the Ike’s Custom Ink patterns to the Shad Rap, including Blue Back Herring, Caribbean Shad and Ike’s Demon.
For walleye and salmon trollers, try Black Wonderbread, Headspin, Glow Pink Squirrel, Juicy Lucy, Moldy Fruit, and Voodoo Haze.
Miscellaneous Shad Rap Notes
The #7 – which is the Shad Rap I throw the most -- weighs 5/16 ounce and casts like a potato chip. You can throw it on baitcasting gear, but you should in most cases throw it on spinning tackle.
It’s a multi-species magnet, and we’ve hooked plenty of pike and several muskies on them, so be prepared to lose a few if you fish where toothy individuals reside.
If you want a smaller profile without sacrificing casting distance, consider the smaller versions of the Jointed Shad Rap.
It’s not very snag-resistant, especially around wood, so keep a lure retriever handy and be prepared to retie often.
When chasing big South American fish, many anglers like the Super Shad Rap, which is 5 ½” long and weighs 1 5/8 ounces.
