Lure Testing Trip: Rapala Twitching Minnow vs. Exude Soft Plastic
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Reports, Fishing Tips, Fishing with Otis, Product Reviews
In preparation for some making some product review videos, I went out on Tampa Bay and forced myself to try out a couple new lures that I’ve never used before.
The day I was able to get out on the water had strong winds from the East (10 to 20 mph), so I chose some wind-protected shorelines to fish in hopes that I could get some fun sight-fishing in.
Here are the lures that I was testing:
- Rapala X-Rap Twitching Minnow: hard-plastic twitch bait
- Exude: Soft plastic jerk bait rigged on a weighted hook
And I thought it would be fun to bring my dog Otis along for the fun. He’s a year and a few months old now. Although he still has a LOT of energy, he is actually calm when in the boat while fishing.
However, his calm completely goes away as soon as he hears the drag going out at which point he is completely out of control.
This brings an added challenge to landing fish since his 100lb body is going all over the place… including overboard as you’ll see in the video below:
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Conclusion
Given that this trip was just a quick morning excursion from around 8:00 in the morning until noon, the action was pretty good considering that I was on day 1 of testing out the new lures.
This is a testament to the fact that baits aren’t nearly as important as most people think. The most important factor in being able to consistently catch fish is to know how to find the best feeding zones based on the tides, season, weather, etc.
Once this is mastered, you’ll be catching quality fish on a consistent basis even without having to rely on live bait or some special lure.
If you’d like help finding the top feeding zones throughout the seasons, then be sure to sign up for our new webinar that teaches how to consistently find feeding fish anywhere in Florida (and beyond)… it’s 100% FREE!
Register here: How To Find The Best Inshore Spots Anywhere In Florida [FREE Webinar]
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Aaaaahahaha i lllooovvveee it your awesome anybody that loves dogs is a friend of mine i would love to go fishing with yoh my bucket fish is a snook never caught one but hopefully someday i will anyways i live your pup i have a shitzu westy mix breed not really a water dog like old otis is but she loves the boat although her patience isnt to good she gets bored fast but as for the exude yes thdy are by mister twister i believe and although they are not new still a very good stickbait i use them sometimes but the x-rap is very good here in northeast fl i like the ones that have a diving bill i troll them sometimes in the wintertime for trout the gold and black do good in our tannin stained water here its not clear like it is where you fish but still great fishing to be had your awesome luke never thought i would find someone who loves inshore saltwater as much as me you must have a great woman in your life who lets you fish so much your a very blessed and lucky guy and one hell of an angler keep up the great work and thanks for doung it????
How do you fish the artificial lures that you were using? (the retrieve/twitching of it/speed…etc)
Here’s a link to a video that shows the double-twitch retrieve method that I used for both of these lures: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-retrieve-soft-plastic-jerk-bait/
Hey Luke….loved the video of Otis. That is a new “walk the dog” technique that I had never considered before. Otis seems to do it perfectly.
Haha! I wish he understood the word “walk” when out on the water… he seems to only know “run”.
Hey Luke……..Otis looks awesome – just hope you can train him to keep a bit farther away from those trebles. I’ve tried both the twitchin minnow and twitchin mullet (along with the new similar rapala subwalk), and prefer the mullet. It’s a bit lighter (7/16 vs 1/2 oz) and seems to ride a bit higher in the water, so it’s an option to fish like a topwater walk-the-dog lure when the floating grass is around. I’m really sold on elaztech and the Z-man soft plastics, and have drawers full of the other “softies”. Thanks for all the great info you provide.
Thanks for the tips on the twitchin minnow Gary! I’ll be sure to try the twitchin mullet next chance I get.
Yes, I worry when using multi-hook lures when Otis is on the boat. And my rule now is to always replace all trebles with single hooks for the preservation of him, me, and the fish I release.