The Hot Head

By Andrew Ragas

I grew up fishing many northwoods lakes with the X-Rap in Hot Head color. It was the hottest little lure for me when it first came out in the mid 2000’s. Then for a long while, I think my fish at a few lakes grew conditioned to it and it was placed on retirement for a few seasons. Smallmouth bass are peculiar predators, notorious for exhibiting curious behavior towards their environments and surroundings. At times they will sneak up to check out and sniff a lure. Sometimes they will completely ignore everything altogether. While other times, they will smash and crush moving baits and anything in sight. Anglers who are passionate about smallmouth bass fishing live for these magical moments when schools of fish transform into attack mode and feed on anything in sight. 2018 was the re-birth of the Hot Head, in sizes 08 and 10. It was a go-to for customers and I throughout the spring and summer seasons when smallmouth were on a baitfish feed during spring pre-spawn, and early summer post spawn.

A Color for all Water Clarities

The Hot Head color is perfect for northwoods smallmouth. It contrasts best on my tanic brown waters, and can be seen by fish from miles away on the clearest waters. It’s the only X-Rap color one ever needs. Traditional wisdom suggests that these bright colors should only be used in waters with reduced clarity. Unfortunately I break the rules of the bass fishing color barrier. Over the years I’ve learned that these bright colors have little effect on the fish in lakes with the clearest water clarity. The erratic action of the retrieve along with its bright color actually attracts fish from a distance and entices them into striking more often than using something that looks more natural and matches the hatch.

Due to its slender profile and strong construction, the X-Rap is built for accurate, long distance casting. The X-Rap incorporates a long-cast design, enabling weights to shift during the cast. Its weight-forward design is a benefit because it allows anglers to cover vast amounts of water quickly, making it an effective search bait. What separates this suspending jerk from others is I can fish this one comfortably with my favorite 7ft med. heavy spinning rod with high-speed Quantum Smoke 30 Speed Freak reel.

The key characteristic of the X-Rap is that it can be fished in any type of manner and according to the moods and feeding patterns of the fish. This correlates with the retrieve of the X-Rap and the way it is fished as it involves a lot of mixing and matching according to the behavior of the fish. Smallmouth bass that are situated in shallow and mid-depth ranges are known to be most aggressive, and clearly exhibit their competitive nature. These fish tend to ambush and feed in groups of up to half a dozen fish. This behavior is most evident in spring as fish school together in staging locations in preparation for spawn. When hooked, it is a common occurrence to have followers trailing behind, attempting to steal the bait. Competition and aggressive feeding in spring is very high. When smallmouth are located in the shallows, and can be seen in the water feeding and traveling in their packs, the best way to fish an X-Rap is to be as aggressive as possible. I make long casts so as not to spook the fish, and use erratic retrieves with frequent jerks. Fish will usually strike on the pause. I have observed that when fish are located near structure, they will make frequent trips into shallower or deeper water if necessary. Therefore, it is important to make adjustments along the way in terms of boat positioning and casting angles.

I’ve had some of my best and most epic days of X-Rap structure fishing during windy conditions by following the windblown shorelines. However, if fish are showing signs of aggression then they can be caught in nearly all conditions. My success with the X-Rap is always dictated by the activity and aggression levels of the fish. For instance, on days when smallmouth are active and striking everything in sight, I prefer retrieving the X-Rap with an erratic hard wrist twitching and rod ripping motion. In this situation the rod tip is pointed down towards the water and I employ a rapid erratic rip-pull-rip motion through the water. After a series of 3 to 5 rips, I allow the lure to pause for a second before resuming the motions again. Another tactic that works well is the sweep retrieve. This is similar to the hard twitching retrieve but instead of rapid erratic jerks I use longer, more powerful jerks with slightly longer pauses.

On some days there are occasions where smallmouth are in negative moods. These scenarios occur during cold fronts, early mornings when daily water temperatures are at their coldest, and on calm sunny afternoons. In these situations I significantly slow down my rate of retrieve by making long casts coupled with long pauses. Sometimes dead sticking the X-Rap is required to elicit strikes from smallmouth. It is important to note that this style of retrieve works well in other adverse conditions such as when fish are suspending in open water. There are many other great methods for fishing the X-Rap. However, the best retrieve is one where the angler can be creative and form an aggressive retrieve that is based according to the behavior of the fish. In addition to retrieve, another important factor leading to success is that this style of fishing is very visual. The majority of my strikes are often seen in the water through the aid of polarized sunglasses. Having a keen eye on the suspending jerkbait being retrieved through the water and reacting quickly to smallmouth when they are seen ambushing the lure leads to increased catch rates.

Braid or Mono ?

Everyone always asks whether I fish with mono or braided line. Fish them however you get the best feel, and with whichever line type seals the deal for you. With XR08, my go-to is a 7ft medium hvy fast action spinning rod with Quantum Smoke Speed Freak 30 spooled with 8 lb mono. Call me crazy, but I stick 99% of everything that strikes. Meanwhile with XR10, I fish with a 6ft 10″ Med HVY fast Quantum casting rods with 6;3:1 gear ratio reel spooled with 10lb mono. Again, I fish this bait with tackle that gives me the best feel, most line stretch for shock absorption, and lure manipulation. The same can be done with light braided lines with fluorocarbon leads. But I have seen too many large fish get lost due to improper rod actions, too tight of drag settings, snapped leader knots, and less than ideal line stretch. The X-Rap family of baits comes with a pair of razor-sharp VMC trebles, but I recommend swapping them in favor of Trokar Tk300 round bend treble hooks. They’ll pin more fish for you, even with minimal hook-setting power. I’ll keep about 10 of these baits in my boat at all times. You might want to consider too, when it comes to catching northwoods bass in spring.