Rob has been using the Rapala MaxRap lure in the field for about 3 months now after a recommendation from Dean Ferguson, GM of Rapala Freetime Australia. For those who aren’t familiar with the MaxRap, it is a short-lipped, thin-bodied, minnow shaped lure designed to run 1-2 feet below the surface. Accurately weighted to suspend in freshwater and slowly rise in saltwater, the big selling point of the MaxRap is its casting distance. Equipped with Rapala’s patented internal MaxCast mechanism, the MaxRap is all about achieving maximum casting distance, a point that Rob has been keen to put to the test over the past few months.
Over to you, Rob:
I’ve been using the Rapala MaxRap lure for about 3 months now and OMG… it is THE hottest new lure for 2010.
ESTUARIES
I first cast a Rapala MaxRap off the bank in the Clyde River at Batemans Bay, and even though Dean Ferguson had told me how far they go, nothing could quite prepare me for the end result. WHOOSH! Out she flew. Here was a lure that had all the desirable attributes of a shallow running minnow and yet casts nearly as far as a metal slug!
Walking the bank while making a few test casts, I hastened towards the local bridge upon realising that I could suddenly reach the bridge pylons from the bank.
The idea was to cast in towards an eddy behind a pylon, some 50 meters away. An easy task as it turned out for this lure when using 15lb braid on a 40-sized Salina reel. Having made the cast, I was then able to suspend the lure and twitch it right in the strike zone. I have fished this area many times before and know that I can’t reach this spot with a soft plastic and while it is in reach with a metal slug, these sink too quickly.
A bait ball bursting to the surface another 10 metres past a bridge pylon received a cast. A couple of twitches while maintaining contact and BANG! A hook up on a solid 60cm tailor was the result. Needless to say the bait fishos who were watching on were rather disgusted and came over for a chat.
A good number of tailor, bonito and salmon followed while I fished and chatted (my specialty…). I have also been using this lure with good success on jewfish, but you will have to watch the show for more hints and tips.
A NEW ROCK FISHING LURE IS BORN
A few days after the Clyde River experience, I got to use the lure off the South Coast rocks with keen New South Wales South Coast Anglers, Ray Smith and Anthony Stockman. The lads wouldn’t believe me as to how well the MaxRap casts until they had a try and like me, cracked up. This rock session saw a steady flow of bonito, salmon and tailor landed. As all good rock fishos know, the advantage of a long casting minnow is that it’s easier to spin for the hours on end that rock fishing often entails purely because you don’t have to wind the suckers as fast. The added bonus is that they also stay in the strike zone longer.
In practice, all of us found that a stiff rod was needed to plug these babies the absolute maximum casting distance. Your typical 2 to 4 kilo bream stick is just that little bit soft and the Rapala MaxRap can overload it in good hands, resulting in a loss of casting distance. I’d recommend using a stick in the 3 to 6 kilo range if chasing distance with the MaxRap. Equipped in this manner, the MaxRap was falling only just short of the same setup casting 30g metal lures.
TROPICAL FLATS
As you will see in some of our later episodes, the Rapala MaxRap works a treat on queenfish, various trevally species, mangrove jacks and more. In particular, the MaxRap was a boom when fishing the tropics flats and other shallow water fishing scenarios where long casts are an absolute necessity to get the lure in front of the fish before they sense the boat. Interestingly, this extra casting distance in combination with the MaxRap led us to the capture of some interesting new species.
FRESHWATER AND BARRA
I have heard a few whispers that some anglers are doing well casting for XL brown trout on the lure. Impoundment Barra anglers are also using them (when they can find them – I believe there is a there is a shortage at the moment), and I hear they can handle having the hooks upsized (where needed) though the new premium spark point nickel VMC hooks fitted as standard on the MaxRap are up there with the best…
COLOURS
I love the RH “Red Head”. No surprises here as this is a proven performer especially in the tropics. The “Flake Green” is a good choice in clear freshwater scenarios while the “Flake Blue” is good in clear inshore saltwater conditions. There are many more awesome colours to match your local baitfish populations, but the long casting, action and slim profile of the lure are the most important things to this lure.
I can’t wait to try the Rapala MaxRap on more species. It is in the top tray of my tackle box and it will be getting a run in my travels around the country.
Tight Lines,
Rob Paxevanos
