Troll much? You’ll go bananas for the new Scatter Rap® Tail Dancer®. Combining the wild, wide-tail action of a banana-shaped balsa body with the evasive, erratic action of the Scatter Lip™, Rapala’s newest offering is the ultimate deep-diving multi-species trolling lure. “For the angler who trolls, it’s probably one of the most exciting baits
to come out in a long time,” says James Holst, host of “In Depth Outdoors” on the Fox Sports North channel. “For trolling, that banana profile is just so productive.”
Featuring a tapered tail, internal rattle and two No. 4 VMC® Black Nickel Round Bend Hooks, the Scatter Rap Tail Dancer runs 11-to-19 feet, depending on line size and boat speed. What it does in open water behind the boat will dupe even the most discerning of gamefish.
“When trolled, the Scatter Rap Tail Dancer will move 5, 6, 7 feet to either side, off the center line, without changing depth or the quality of the action of the bait — just like baitfish do,” Holst explains. “Baitfish don’t just monotonously, endlessly swim in a straight line, and neither does the this lure.”
Although a big gamefish will often follow a lure over a great distance, “The less likely he is to eat it, if that bait doesn’t do something different,” Holst says. “Very often, they will just peel off after they get tired of watching that bait for awhile and nothing different happens.”
Before the advent of the Scatter Rap Tail Dancer, Holst says, the trolling angler often had to trade some action for efficiency. “When I’m casting, I can impart extra action to get a bait to dart side to side and trigger bites; when I’m trolling I can cover a ton of water, but my bait moves in a straight line at a consistent speed with little horizontal change,” he explains. “I’ve got the best of both worlds now, because I’m combining that triggering, side-to-side action that crankbait casters love with the efficiency of trolling.”
When a trolled Scatter Rap Tail Dancer kicks sideways, it creates an illusion to a pursuing predator that it might get away, triggering a strike. “And, it’s really the only lure ever created that can do that,” Holst says.
Measuring 3-1/2 inches and weighing 7/16th of an ounce, the Scatter Rap Tail Dancer is available in 16 color patterns: Blue Flash, Perch, Flash Perch, Firetiger, Gold, Golden Alburnus, Red Tiger, Clown, Bleak, Yellow Perch, Rainbow Trout, Purpledescent, Pink Tiger UV, Green Tiger UV, Orange Tiger UV and Silver.
“What’s wonderful is many of the color patterns imitate forage species found in larger water bodies like Lake of the Woods, Green Bay and the Great Lakes,” Holst says. “It’s quite a game-changing bait for these areas, because we’ve never really seen anything like this.”