Minnetonka, Minnesota -- The balsa-wood crankbaits that have helped a number of the nation’s top bass pros win tournaments will soon come in five new Pro Custom color patterns to help anglers better “match the hatch.” The new patterns for the Rapala DT-Series crankbaits will include three baitfish-matching patterns and two crawfish imitators.
The new Big Shad, Green Gizzard Shad and Citrus Shad color patterns imitate baitfish, including – but not limited to – threadfin and gizzard shad.
The new Rootbeer Crawdad and Chartreuse Rootbeer Crawdad patterns, not surprisingly, imitate crawfish (also known as crayfish). Five DT-Series models – sizes 4, 6, 10, 14 and 16 – will be available in all five of the new patterns. DT-20s will come only in the three new shad patterns.
Rapala fishing professionals Ott DeFoe, Jacob Wheeler, Mike Iaconelli, Seth Feider and Terry Bolton have all won top-level bass tournaments within the past 18 months with bass caught with Rapala DT-Series crankbaits. The new patterns will help them, and recreational anglers across the country, more precisely imitate regional baitfish forage species in a wide variety of water and weather conditions throughout U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Not only did a Rapala DT-4 help DeFoe win the 2019 Bassmaster Classic on a Tennessee River reservoir, a Rapala DT-10 also helped him win a March 2020 Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tournament on a small reservoir in Texas. Adding to the magic of that moment was the fact that the color pattern of his productive Rapala DT-10 was a prototype of one of the new ones, which he personally helped Rapala develop.
“Big Shad, that’s what did most of the heavy lifting,” DeFoe said after winning that Bass Pro Tour tournament in March.
“DT” stands for “Dives To.” Rapala DT-Series crankbaits dive fast to pre-set depths and stay in the strike zone longer than any other similar crankbaits. A Rapala DT-10, for example, dives to and swims at 10 feet; a DT-16, to 16 feet, etc.
In clear to lightly stained water, Rapala DT-Series color patterns, which comprise more-natural-looking green, brown and/or silver hues, generally get the most bites. In stained to muddy water, brightly colored Rapala DT-Series lures usually prevail. Here’s what the five new DT-series color patterns look like:
- Big Shad has a metallic green-and-purple back, a gold lateral-line stripe, silver sides, a gray-green belly and black shad spot.
- Green Gizzard Shad has a metallic green-pumpkin back, silver scale-pattern and metallic white sides and a black shad spot.
- Citrus Shad has a sky-blue/green back, chartreuse and metallic white sides, a chartreuse belly and an orange throat.
- Chartreuse Rootbeer Crawdad has a green-pumpkin back, chartreuse sides with a crawdad-shell pattern and an orange belly and throat. It’s covered in metallic green flake.
- Rootbeer Crawdad has a green-pumpkin back, bone-colored sides with a crawdad-shell pattern and an orange belly and throat. It’s covered in metallic green flake.
Built of balsa wood, Rapala’s signature material, Rapala DT-Series crankbaits swim with an inimitable tight wobble and can back out of cover better than copycat cranks, floating up and minimizing snags. They combine carefully placed internal weights, a tapered fuselage and a thin tail to create a unique crankbait action. Rapala DT- Series lures have an MSRP of $8.99 (US).