THE BASS COLLEGE

Hello!

I'm sure everyone has or has had a Rapala Broken Back Minnow or three in their tackle box at one point or another.  It is one of my favorite lures to fish for both Largemouth and Smallmouth bass in our area.  This lure is virtually snag-proof.  I say that because if you know you're approaching an underwater brush pile, simply stop the retrieve, let the lure float to the top and slowly bring it over the cover before speeding up your retrieve and letting the lure dive again. 

There are multiple ways to fish this lure - aside from just varying your retrieval speed.  I especially like fishing this lure in the late spring when the bass are still in the shallows.  I will throw the lure parallel with the bank (when possible) and instead of a steady retrieve, I will try a fast retrieve followed by a float to the top and repeat.  I've had quite a few strikes on the fast dive after you've let it float up a time or two.  It tends to trigger a reaction on fish that may be post-spawn and protecting their nest.

Just something that has worked for me and I hope it works for you.

Thanks!

Jerry Kryspin, Jr.

Oh yeah - sometimes I add a small split ring to the front of the lure to increase the side to side play.

One can never forget the classic, replacing back section with a soft plastic curly tail grub.

Alot of the new swimbaits have taken this idea and made the baits more realistic with better paint schemes and tighter wiggles.

...And a shreded soft swimbait saved tail is perfect for complementing the jointed minnow, or a jointed shad rap.

LOL I like that. Man you are one modifin' beast!! Yeah!!

Yeah, probably no more than any regular fisherman who's put some thought into improving a mass produced lure to really make it a personal success.  I also like how the crank wiggle of the lure can change by how much soft plastic you press up against the front lure section to achieve a uniform tight wiggle.  Leave space at the joint for mazimum broken wiggle.

Yeah I also modify many different lures. I have altered several swimbaits, buzzbaits and recently a chatterbait to perform in a better way.

Jointed Shad Rap modified for use of plastics with a trailer hook.

cool

A very old Jointed Rapala with the wire frame in tact for plastics modification.

Photo of power bait tube added.