by Bruce Middleton, December 25, 2007

This series of crank baits automatically dives to the depth you need…

Rapala’s DT series of crank baits have been around for quite a few years now and have been shown to be a proven winner. Actually Rapala lures today hold 126 World Records for 110 species of fish in 56 countries. Now that is an impressive track record of proven performance. No other lures even comes close to this type of reputation. The Original Floating Minnow was first introduced into America in 1963 and since then this one single lure has sold over a million units a year, every year right up to now and is still going strong. Each and every lure is hand tank tested and is made from the finest Balsa wood the company can find. They use only the top 8% of the wood they look at. That is being very picky. I would think that it is safe to say that every bass fisherman who has fished for longer than one year owns at least one of these impressive lures.

This series of cranks gets it DT name, which is short for ‘Dives To’. So no matter which series you pick, a DT-4, a new introduction in 2007, a DT-6, 10 or 16, you know at a glance how deep the lure will dive. Of course there are some variables like line weight and type of line that will effect the depth of the dive by a foot or so but in general they hold very true to the depth printed on the box.

In a side-by-side comparison, it’s easy to pick out which DT is the 4,6,10 and 16. The bills get longer and wider the deeper the crank bait dives too. This is a common trait inherent to all crank baits. The three determining factors that affect the depth a crank bait will dive to are the angle of the bill, the length of the bill and the width of the bill. A bill that points down away from the body of the crank bait will be a shallow diver and a bill that points straight out from and in line with the crank bait will be a deep diver. The longer the bill is the more water it will resist against and therefore the deeper it will dive. And the wider the bill the more surface area it has and therefore the resistance it can add to the water as it’s being pulled along which makes it dive even deeper. A crank bait with a long and wide bill will be a very deep diver.

The DT series also comes in twelve great colors, with Blue Gill, Silver, Parrot, Steel Purple and Hot Mustard, which are my favorites. But one thing you do have to pay attention to is the color and patterns of these baits at different depths. As a scuba diver, I am well aware that colors fade very rapidly the deeper you go. Colors like Parrot work great at the 4, 6 and 8 foot level but at 16 feet the colors look completely different. At this depth I have found that silver and blue gill work the best. They just seem to produce more flash at depth that other colors do. This is a fact that must be recognized when fished deep, colors fade. But not only water depth must be taken into consideration but water clarity too. In clear water you will want to use a lure colors that has a lot of flash to it. Bass will be feeding by sight under these conditions and a flash can be seen from a long ways away. You need to add foil or silver for flash to the lure. In off colored and dingy water you will want to use more and brighter colors. That is to say lots of reds and oranges, bold patterns and the like. Don’t use subdued patterns here, save them for clear water. Also think about what the bass sees. Try to match the hatch and use colors that resemble the baitfish the bass is used to feeding on. If they are feeding on perch and blue gill then use those colors exclusively. Keep the color scheme as basic as possible, natural colors that blend into the water just like real baitfish do and don’t get too fancy. It’s best to use bland colors most of the time than to over do it and use colors that go way overboard. The bass will always pick the bland ones, leaving the fancy ones for the smaller inexperienced little bass who don’t know any better yet.

The DT series crank baits look like a real fish in body design and profile, more so than most hard lures. They can be fished fast or slow and stop and go to get that up and down action for the added dimension of erratic movement that bass love. With a fast and slow motion and a life like profile it’s ultra important, since bass use their eyes to determine if they are going to commit to a final strike or leave the bait alone, to make the lure act as alive and real as possible. Real fish don’t move all the time. When they do move it’s usually only for a short distance and when they run they are sprinters. A quick dash and then they run out of gas. Think and act like a fish to catch more fish. Never get distracted while fishing. Think just about fishing. If you think just about what you’re doing, you’ll forget about work, home, troubles, etc., and that is very relaxing indeed. The DT series of crank baits is a powerful set of tools to cover a lot of water at different depths. I don’t think there is a bad color in the whole series and that is unique. It’s like saying that you like every song on a new CD you just bought instead of 4 great ones 3 ok ones and the rest stink.

Red also works well. Crawfish are a natural prey of bass and no matter the time of year, if crawfish are being eaten, they will have some red on them somewhere. They may not be all red like they are when they first molt but there will always be red somewhere. We know that red is an attractant color for bass and some of the DT series have a splash of red or deep orange on them in the eyes, gills or on the throat patch for added appeal, but as these are fish colors, red is not the main color.

They are also well-balanced crank baits. They can be cast a county mile, the leading hook tucks nicely in under the body when running through weeds so it’s hard to hang up or get weeds all over it. Although I do recommend that you replace the front hooks with bleeding bait hooks for extra red flash. I mean it can’t hurt and hooks are very inexpensive. This red hook up front also seems to act like a target and most bass will have the front hook in their mouth and the rear hook will be caught on the outside of the head somewhere for a really secure double hook up. This is because bass target the prey fish eyes and try to swallow the fish headfirst so the fins don’t get stuck in its throat. I also add a white-feathered hook on the back of some DT crank baits. This gives the lure a fishtail look and covers up the bare hook on the rear end of the lure.

These crank baits also dive a lot faster than most crank baits. They get down to depth in just a couple of turns of the reel handle and stay there. Even when you get them to the boat, they are at depth. The last two feet you are bringing the crank almost straight up and not a slow rise like a lot of other crank baits. It gets down to the level their designed to run at and they stay there until they’re at the boat. This keeps them in the strike zone much longer than any other diving crank baits, which in turn means more strikes. Anytime you keep a lure in productive water longer your chances of catching bass goes way up.

As a search bait the DT series is incredible. You can cast it so far it’s amazing. This fact alone lets you cover more water faster. A search bait is made to cover lots of water fast and the DT fits that bill to a TEE. And with a snap added (not a snap swivel) to the line you can cover so many different depths in the water column that virtually zero to 20 feet is covered in 360 degrees is no time at all. Now that’s impressive.

Did I forget to say that these lures were well made. Hand crafted, hand tank tested and indivually inspected. They are a beautiful lures just to look at and hold. My first one I almost didn’t want to tie it on because I didn’t want some nasty old fish to mark it up. But they have caught me some great bass and for the most part still look great. I own about 14 now I think between the different sizes, colors and designs. I don’t think I have one that hasn’t caught a bass at one time or another.

I think the only downfall of the series is that to own the whole series, which I would love to have, would take up a whole tackle box all by itself. That’s 12 colors and 4 depths each, there are now three DT series so that comes to 144 lures. 144 times $5.75 equals $828 plus shipping. MMMMM. Well maybe I’ll be picky and just get the ones I need for now. And that is just the DT series, Rapala makes hundreds more different lures that are just as good.

Retrieved at an almost steady pace with a slight pause to it, the DT series is a real fish magnet but it can be used as a suspending crank bait as long as you don’t wait too long between pauses, just a second or two. I like to use them in this role for one particular reason. Any time you add an up and down action to crank bait or any lure or bait for that matter, it imitates a wounded baitfish better. A wounded baitfish in trouble will go left and right but it will also dive and run for the surface. Most baitfish run to the surface to escape a predator. This up and down action adds that extra dimension that bass find irresistible; they just have to strike it. By adding a pause, the balsa DT rises then reeling makes it dive and jump left and right with the built in action of the lure. With this stop and go retrieve, you can add another presentation to the repertoire of ways to catch bass with this lure.

This lure is a natural choice along rip-rap banks. You can cover all the depths from the shallows right out to deep water. It’s also a natural around flooded trees. Active bass are near the surface actively looking for a meal. Bumping the DT into limbs and the trunks of trees causes reactions strikes as everyone knows. And you can go down deeper to see if the neutral bass are in the mood for a little action too just by changing to a deeper model, which takes only seconds with a snap. By snap, I mean a snap and not a swivel snap. Remove the swivel and just use the snap. The swivel adds weight to the front of the lure and effects its action. It also collects grass and weeds that must be cleaned constantly. Lose the swivel.

New for 2007 Rapala has introduced a new line of the DT series of lures, they are called ‘Flat-sided’ and they come with or without a new hook called the ‘Sure Set’. The new Flat sided DT lures looks exactly like the regular DT series of lures except that they are flat sided. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, LOL. This means they give off more flash as they are retrieved. They also have a tighter wiggle to them as apposed to a regular DT crank bait. They act a lot like a lipless crank bait in that they have the inherent tight wiggle and remain upright no matter how fast you retrieve them.

The Sure Set hook is a regular treble hook on two sides but the third hook is elongated and looks like an EWG, an extra wide gap hook. This hook acts like a trailer hook does on a spinner bait. It hangs back behind the main other 2/3s of the hook incase it is short struck. Now the Flat crank bait comes in five of Rapala’s most famous colors and the Sure Set comes in ten different colors. Together they cover the best colors that the Rapala line of lure includes but not all.

Also new for 2007, Rapala has introduced a Minnow Rap. It is 3 ½” long and comes in 12 colors. It is a hard jerk bait but smaller than most but at the same time it looks like a traditional crank bait. It is a hybrid crank bait that is sure to win a lot of bass angler hearts. On some, the lip is clear and on the others the lip is painted. Remember, when a lip is painted it adds to the length of the lure and when it is clear it doesn’t add to the length. These new Minnow Rap crank baits are mid range divers (9 feet) but the big item to watch for is the hooks. Those crank baits with a red painted lip come with red hooks and the clear lips ones come with black nickel hooks. This new search lure is sure to be a hit as with all Rapala lures. All lures are tank tested and adjusted at the factory before packaging and the famous reputation and name goes on the packaging.

In addition to the Minnow Rap is a Fat Rap, a variation on a theme, which resembles the Minnow Rap but is stouter, although some would just say fatter and shorter. It comes in all the Rapala colors and is just as worthy of the brand name as any other of these bass catching lures.


The X Rap, which was introduced two years ago now. has been a phenomenal hit as a slash bait or jerk bait as it is more commonly called. It is taking the small mouth bass fishing community by storm but it works on large mouth bass as well. This 6 inch lure is long and lean with a feathered tail that has the most erratic pattern of movement to it when twitch of any lure I have ever seen. It even dives up and down on its own. This makes it perfect for a ripping lure over the tops of weed beds and grass. But it can work just as well out in the open where bass are suspending. Because of its erratic motion bass are drawn up to and it draws vicious strikes. This is another must have lure for any bass fisherman.

Rapala has worked hard these last few years to bring out three new lines of lures. Their continued reputation for quality and ability for their product to catch bass and other fish is well understood and appreciated by the pros and amateurs alike. I’m anxious to try mine out this year and see what they catch for me over this coming season.

Finally, go out and have fun with this versatile series of lures. Enjoy!



bpmiddleton@peoplepc.com