When trolling for deep-dwelling gamefish, anglers have often had to trade a little lure action for efficiency in covering water. Then along came Rapala®’s Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerkbaits, a trolling lure that offers the best of both worlds – the ability to be pulled at any speed and still run true, and a one-of-a-kind searching action.
“For guys that like flat-line trolling or even lead-coring, this bait’s got a great wandering action to it,” says Jeremy Smith, a Lindner Media personality who appears often in the influential Angling Edge and Fishing Edge TV shows. “You don’t have to speed up the boat or make long turns. In a straight line, this bait is wandering. So it’s got a lot of triggering characteristics built right into it.”
Triggering action is provided by a uniquely curved Scatter Lip™, a feature of all baits in the Scatter Rap line-up. The Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerk comprises the body of a traditional Husky Jerk – “a great bait that probably most of you have in the tacklebox,” Smith says – with a Scatter Lip up front, rather than a traditional diving lip.
“Guys that like to cast and to troll for walleyes know that the Husky Jerk is one of the most productive suspending baits of all time,” Smith says. “And now we’ve got the deep version with the Scatter Rap bill.”
A Scatter Lip is a “built-in triggering mechanism” that gives “revolutionary” evasive action to all the lures in the Scatter Rap line-up, explains Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Legendary Angler Al Lindner, co-founder of In-Fisherman and host of the influential Angling Edge and Fishing Edge TV shows. Thanks to its special lip, a Scatter Rap perfectly mimics a spooked baitfish fleeing attack, moving unpredictably from one side to the next, back to center, and then kicking out to one side again. That’s something most baits can’t do when trolled.
“On a straight-line troll, these baits are back there hunting and searching and basically doing the work for you,” says Tony Roach, an in-demand Minnesota guide and media personality.
Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerks’ built-in ability to change directions, Lindner says, is what makes them so effective for trolling. “Baitfish don’t swim in a straight line from Point A to Point B,” he explains, “they skitter and scatter this way and that – especially when a big predator is in hot pursuit.”
In addition to wall-hanger walleyes, big northern pike, muskies and trout will also attack Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerks. “Fish love it,” Lindner says. “You need to get some of these if you’re a troller.”
Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerks come in 23 color patterns: Blue Ghost, Clown, Firetiger, Gold, Green Tiger UV, Pink Tiger UV, Redfire Crawdad, Silver, Silver Blue, Yellow Perch, Helsinki Ghost, Hot Tiger, Olive Ghost, Pink Clown, Purpledescent, Purple Clown, Glass Blue Minnow, Glass Clown, Glass Minnow, Glass Perch, Glass Pink Clown, Glass Purple Perch and Glass Purple Sunfire.
“I stick to a lot of natural-colored baits, especially in high sun and clear-water conditions,” Roach says. “But when I’m fishing dirty rivers or tannic waters, or extremely dark waters, I rely heavily on the UV colors and the more bright colors to put more fish in the boat.”
Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerks measure 4 inches and weigh 3/8 oz. They are designed to run nine to 12 feet, depending on line size and boat speed, but “there’s a wide variety of ways to get those baits even deeper,” Roach says.
Troll Scatter Rap Deep Husky Jerks at about 2 mph on 18-pound-test Sufix® Performance Lead Core line tipped with a 30-foot leader of 10-pound-test Sufix monofilament line. Depending on the depth he’s marking fish on his electronics, Roach will let out “anywhere from 2 ½ to 3 ½ colors” of leadcore, which equals about 25 to 35 feet.
“Whether you troll shallow or deep, the Shadow Rap Deep Husky Jerks are going to be one of those go-to baits that you must have in your tacklebox,” Roach says.