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jimbojonez
Joined: 04 Feb 2012
Posts: 295
Location: Berlin/Kensington
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 Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| i bought some HJ-6's after reading about your success with them. I killed snappers and blues with the glass minnow while I was vacationing in RI during the summer. Those things just stay in the strike zone so long. |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| jimbojonez wrote: | | i bought some HJ-6's after reading about your success with them. I killed snappers and blues with the glass minnow while I was vacationing in RI during the summer. Those things just stay in the strike zone so long. |
Congrats! Happy to hear somebody has picked it up from my tips and success!
Want to make sure you did the retrieve I mentioned that works the best for them to hit. Also, did you get any doubles with the snappers? |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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Rapala has been good to me so far this spring with surf fishing.
Landed a new personal best CT keeper 32" 12 pound 12 ounce striped bass with a flake ayu Max Rap MXR-13.
Beat the skunk twice while other person wasn't using Rapalas.
Had a fun time catching my very first weakfish with purpledescent Clackin Minnow CNM-9 and blue sardine Saltwater X-Rap SXR-10.
Earliest time of the year I've ever caught a bluefish was the 17th with a mullet Saltwater Skitter Pop SSP-9.
Amazing how a smaller freshwater Rapala can catch you a much bigger fish in the salt! 3 1/2" CNM-9 caught me a 24" weakfish! |
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Redneckangler
Joined: 05 May 2012
Posts: 851
Location: Meriden, CT
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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Michael,
I'm not sure if they guys sponsored by Rapala could rattle off so much about their lures. I know where to go for questions! I often don't know what exactly I'm tying on.  I had to send a photo of my "tackle box" to Pradco, and needed to double check that I weeded out all Rapala stuff. I do like a lot of Rapala's other lines as well. Now if you switched over to Rebel, Bomber, Xcaliber or other Pradco lines, I could probably get you some swag!
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Weekly reports from around CT, the LIS and beyond. |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Thought I'd keep this topic alive by reminding people about how even a small Rapala can catch you a big fish.
Recent catch being a 28.5" 11 pound 14 ounce striper on a 4" Rapala Flat Rap FLR-10
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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Ever since mid November, striper fishing has been very slow at Seaside Park.
During October and early November I had outstanding action with 3 certain lures.
3 1/2" Rapala Skitter Pop SP-9 was the primary topwater. 2 local buddies saw me getting the action, which made them offer me $$$ for one of the other SP-9 I had with me. Once they rigged it and casted it out there they were getting plenty of explosions. Another thing the SP-9 did for me was got me into a bluefish blitz and landed a few blues, with the biggest being a 28" 7 pound 14 ounce blue.
I had 1 day in early November with the SP-9 and the legendary 4" Rapala Flat Rap FLR-10 that resulted in a total of 27 schoolie stripers!
One other topwater the stripers were addicted to was a 3 1/2" Rapala X-Rap Walk XRW-9. The X-Rap Walk isn't just a walk the dog lure. It can also be worked like a pencil popper because of its spitting, chugging, and wake action. |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Today 2/8/14 Jeff and I hit the ice. I gave him a glow tiger Rapala Jigging Rap W-3 last time we were out and have taught him the special "snap" technique and making sure not to put any bait on the lure.
While out today Jeff landed his first striper through the ice and got into a few yellow perch jigging with the W-3. He also tried jigging with a live shiner and a small jighead rigged with mealies but had no hits on those 2.
Saw another fisherman jigging with the same lure and not adding any bait to it. He was hitting yellows pretty good vs others.
Rapala Jigging Raps and Jigging Shad Rap are masters of jigging while ice fishing and require no extra bait to be rigged. Important to learn Rapala's "snap" technique to send out vibration and get the lure to circle all around acting like a live shiner. |
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fishfinder
Joined: 19 Jun 2011
Posts: 1672
Location: Naugatuck, Ct.
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| Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:15 am Post subject: |
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Mike, you kill me when you say you outfished m9st people with sea robins. I honestly have 2 lures that everytime they hit the water water and there are searobins around it immediately gets a searobin on it so I never throw it in those spots!!!!! I brought my sister to the reef and she wanted to see and catch 1 as she never seen a sea robin so I gave her 1 of those 2 lures and first and every cast just about she produced 1. I would rather get skunked then catch them myself. To each his own but keep that in mind when your catching searobins and the guy next to you isnt, he maybe trying hard to NOT catch those! I also try hard not to catch sunnies.
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Crest Daddy
Joined: 20 Jan 2011
Posts: 994
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| Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | Thought I'd keep this topic alive by reminding people about how even a small Rapala can catch you a big fish.
Recent catch being a 28.5" 11 pound 14 ounce striper on a 4" Rapala Flat Rap FLR-10
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FYI there are unrecovered bodies where this fish was caught
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Trust me. Use waxworms ! |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Crest Daddy wrote: | | Michael wrote: | Thought I'd keep this topic alive by reminding people about how even a small Rapala can catch you a big fish.
Recent catch being a 28.5" 11 pound 14 ounce striper on a 4" Rapala Flat Rap FLR-10
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FYI there are unrecovered bodies where this fish was caught |
Hopefully someday I'll get swept in with them  |
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Crest Daddy
Joined: 20 Jan 2011
Posts: 994
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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try walking out on the ice there if you really wanna give it a go. There are unrecovered bodies in there like i said.
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Trust me. Use waxworms ! |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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| fishfinder wrote: | | Mike, you kill me when you say you outfished m9st people with sea robins. I honestly have 2 lures that everytime they hit the water water and there are searobins around it immediately gets a searobin on it so I never throw it in those spots!!!!! I brought my sister to the reef and she wanted to see and catch 1 as she never seen a sea robin so I gave her 1 of those 2 lures and first and every cast just about she produced 1. I would rather get skunked then catch them myself. To each his own but keep that in mind when your catching searobins and the guy next to you isnt, he maybe trying hard to NOT catch those! I also try hard not to catch sunnies. |
We had no choice that day at the Reef. No matter what we threw the sea robins were hitting. We could tell there were no stripers or blues around whatsoever. The buddy was actually trying to catch fluke while I was the one who caught one. I don't mind having light action C&R fun with sea robins when they're the only ones around, but I know many people can't stand catching them. |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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Earlier I was on the phone with a local striper surfcaster I know from Seaside, who is also the one who got me into the new striper spot.
He said he was at Cabela's recently and saw Rapalas on clearance. 4 certain models he couldn't resist cleaning off the clearance were Skitter Pop SP-9, Flat Rap FLR-10, X-Rap Walk XRW-11, and Saltwater X-Rap SXR-14.
He told me he'll make sure every time he goes to the striper spot when it's plug season, all he's gonna throw is the FLR-10, which he says stripers of all size go crazy for there ever since I got him to use that lure last year.
He has become addicted to the SP-9 ever since that November evening at the city boat ramp.
I told him about the action of the X-Rap Walk and how it can be worked like a pencil popper and shoot like a bullet with braided line. He said he'll try it out this season and if he's pretty impressed with the action and catching plenty of fish, he's gonna forget about his Rebel Jumpin Minnow and smaller Cotton Cordell pencils.
It just takes 1 fisherman to get the others more confident in certain lures they've never fished with until they actually witness it, like that trip on the Housy with the SSR-9. |
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Michael
Joined: 28 Jan 2012
Posts: 3823
Location: Bridgeport
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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This evening at the city boat ramp, the guy I call the master surf caster of Seaside Park and Bridgeport made me an offer.
He's been out on his kayak hitting topwater stripers with a 5" Zara Spook while I'm getting action from shore with the SP-9. Both of us are getting pretty much the same sized fish while he has better access for better quantity and some keepers.
He told me he'll give me a 300 yard spool of Sufix 832 if I give him Skitter Pops. The deal we made is I give him 2 SP-9 and 2 SSP-12 for my choice of pound test 300 yard spool of Sufix 832.
He said if he gets great action with those lures from the kayak and also surf casting, he'll make sure he passes it along to others he knows. |
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