Killer Shallow Water Technique
submitted by catt

Down in South West Louisiana we have numerous shallow water marshes with depths ranging from 1 ½ – 2 ½’ filled with various type of vegetation with the most predominate being water lilies. My favorite such marsh is Lacassine Wildlife Refuge which has produces numerous double digit bass every year. Probably the most productive way to fish these shallow water grass fields is with any type of weed less top water bait. With the recent popularity of plastic frogs, imo, they have became the #1 lure of choice for many bass anglers.

As many of y’all may know, going against the grain of what is popular will often produce better results simply because it’s different.

Enter the Rage Tail 10” Anaconda with its unbelievable tail action. I use this awesome worm and a simple technique to set the bass population into a feeding frenzy. Texas Rig a 10” Anaconda with a Strike King Saber Point Round Bend Offset 5/0 hook weightless. Cast that bad boy into the thickest, nastiest, lily field around and start working it across the pads like a big ole snake, stopping it in every opening regardless of size and hold on tight cause you just might get you’re rod broke. The bass will also explode on the Anaconda while working it across the surface sending a shower of water and lilies high into the air, heart stopping to say the least.

Simple yes…effective absolutely

Rage Tail Gives Back to U.S. Veterans
by Jason DeFreitas

Every once in a while an opportunity comes along that allows a person to make a monumental difference in someone else’s life.  My father and I came across one of these moments the weekend of May 16, 2009, when we were able to participate in a charitable fishing event for wounded veterans who have served in our United States military.  The event, “Take a Wounded Soldier Fishing”, was put together by a nationwide charitable bass fishing organization named Team Bass Hunters.  The team’s Event Organizer, Captain John Avalos, is an ex Navy Seal veteran who was wounded during service.  He contributes much of his time to helping members of the military who have been wounded during service.  Individuals with boat in tow donate 20 dollars to sponsor a soldier and take them out for a day of tournament style fishing with the overall biggest fish determining the winner.  Categories include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striper and crappie.

As members of Team Rage Tail, supporters who help spread the word about Rage Tail products, we volunteered our efforts to represent the company and give back to the community.  Steve Parks, designer of the baits together with Strike King Lure Co, was able to contribute two hundred packs of plastic fishing baits, stickers, business cards, and official 2009 Strike King Catalogs.  The veterans received their own bag of goodies each day and were able to experience the products first hand.  My dad and I were responsible for giving these packages to the soldiers, teaching them how to rig up the baits, and making sure that they had a great time on the water.  To top it off, Team Bass Hunters and other sponsors went the extra mile and contributed more tackle, pre-lined rods and reels, extra baits, and t-shirts for the event.

On both days we had the privilege of working with a great group of soldiers from the Walter Reid Medical Center in Washington D.C.  When the bus arrived with the soldiers, we had a meet and greet type session to get acquainted.  Afterward, the wounded veterans received their bags and packages of fishing gear followed by help and tutorials from all the participating anglers to better their knowledge of their gear and baits.  Some of these tips and pointers came directly from members of Team Bass Hunters and other bass fishing professionals.  This was a great one-on-one experience to have with the soldiers as both my dad and I were able to personally show them how to rig the Rage Tail baits and give them pointers on how to fish them.  After the information session, each veteran paired up with those who provided boats for the day and headed out on the water for a memorable day of fishing.

Although my dad and I did not have our boat on the first day, we were able help a couple of the veterans get set up with their chosen angler.  On day two we were fortunate to have our boat and fish with a soldier named Rodney.  Most of the morning and afternoon was spent talking about our families, fishing, and college football.  The rest of the time we tried our luck at catching largemouth and smallmouth bass.  The day presented classic post front tidal conditions with winds between 20 – 35 miles per hour, but we had the opportunity to fish some of the most unique backdrops in the country with the setting of the Pentagon, Washington Monument, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial within our view for parts of the day.  Although the wind and fish were not cooperative it didn’t matter, we had forged the kind of friendship that can only be created by spending a day together on the water chasing the next catch.

Back at the weigh-ins each day,  all the anglers, sponsors, soldiers and their families met up for grilled hot dogs, burgers, snacks and drinks.  The fish were weighed and the participants were all pleased with the outcome.  On day one, soldiers Scott and Jason came in first and second respectively for largemouth bass.  Scott weighed in a three pound eight ounce bass that would hold up for big bass of the tournament.  It was caught on one of the Rage Tail baits we handed out that day, the Space Monkey.  Jason weighed in a two pound nine ounce largemouth that held on for second place over the two day tournament.  Other fish caught on day one included catfish and striped bass.
With the adverse weather conditions of day two no largemouth bass were weighed in, but the one fish of its kind brought to the scales was caught by one of the soldier’s sons.  Jason’s little boy, Daniel, a local fourth grader in the D.C. area, managed to hook into a small largemouth despite the tough fishing conditions throughout the day.  He was awarded a trophy for the catch and received a big smile from his dad.  That emotion summed up the entire tournament.

This particular event wasn’t about the biggest fish that was brought to the scales or catching a limit of bass.  It came down to our pride in the United States military, Jason’s pride in his son as he watches him blossom into a young man, and the pride we have in ourselves.  Over these two days we watched a man who suffered injuries that required both legs to be amputated use his arm strength to do things some may not be able to imagine.  Despite people trying to help, he wanted to do things on his own and prove that no injury is enough to take away one’s will, motivation, and determination to be self sufficient.  Seeing him there with his family– happy, proud, and most importantly having fun– showed us that despite tragedy, we are able to make a difference in big ways if we just give a little bit of our time and commitment to these courageous, brave-hearted individuals.

If you haven’t had the chance to be a part of such an event and this has peaked your interest, it only takes a moment of research to see what is available in your area.  These events are held all over the country on a regular basis, and any one of them could use your help.  If you have trouble finding information, two great resources are www.woundedwarriorproject.org and www.uswoundedsoldiers.com.  There are other ways to contribute aside from being at an event or if there are none in your area.  Supplying donations, networking, and marketing are all great ways to help.  There’s a soldier and a family out there that need you, now is your chance to make a difference.

Question: Denny, why do you like the Rage Chunk?

Brauer: The Rage Chunk is designed to be the trailer for the Denny Brauer Premier Pro-Model Jig. It’s the perfect size, so the angler doesn’t have to add anything to make it fit on the jig. Also, he doesn’t have to bite off a portion of the bait and then worry if he’s bitten off too much or too little for the chunk to look natural on the jig.
The Rage Chunk is the perfect size when it comes out of the package. The angler only has to thread it on the jig and go fishing. The Rage Chunk has the same kicking action with the claws as the Rage Craw does. Strike King has incorporated all the good properties of the Rage Craw into the Rage Chunk. I really like the Rage Chunk because it has all the kicking and the swimming action in its pincers as the Rage Craw. When the fish are really hitting the jigs on the drop in thick cover, I’ll use the Rage Chunk as my trailer.
I always match the color of the Rage Chunk to the color of jig I’m fishing, which is based on water clarity. When choosing jig and trailer color to match the color of lures to the color of the water and the sky, remember to change colors when the light penetration changes. When fishing on a clear day and cloud cover rolls in, the time has come to change color. When fishing in clearer water and moving into slightly-stained water, change the color of your bait.

If the wind picks up, and there’s a little chop on the water, the light doesn’t penetrate as deeply, and the color needs to be changed. When the light penetration into the water becomes less, use darker colors, and when the light penetration into the water increases, fish with more-natural colors. When the water’s calm, use a lighter-shade bait, and when the water becomes choppy, use a darker-shade bait.
Weather and water changes will happen throughout the day, so when I get to the lake, I make a decision on the color I’ll fish. I start with that color, but then I pay close attention to the water and the weather changes and change the colors of my jigs and my lures accordingly.

Question: Denny, what’s your take on the new Rage Toad?

Brauer: Toad baits have been around for a while, and they’ve been really popular for the last few years. Most lure companies have their own versions of the toad. Strike King’s Rage Toad is different from other toads because Strike King has enabled the angler to slow down the retrieve of the toad type of baits and keep it in the strike zone of a bass for a longer time. We’ve incorporated the best features of a toad bait and a frog bait into the Rage Toad. A frog bait hops along and sits still, and a toad bait has a swimming action. Strike King’s Rage Toad does both.

The Rage Toad also produces a different sound than any other toad on the market. Most toads make a plop-plop sound as they’re reeled across the surface. A Rage Toad has more of a swimming action, which Strike King has achieved by changing the material of its toads to tough plastic. All the Rage baits are made from a plastic that has the toughness and the density to match the fishing application for which they’ve been designed. In other words, if you’re fishing with a toad made of really-soft plastic, that lure is a one-time fish bait. Then it’s destroyed, or it slides down the hook, making it hard to fish the bait correctly. Strike King’s Rage Toad has all the advantages of the soft plastic, yet it’s a much-tougher bait.

Question: Denny, how do you set the hook when a bass takes the Rage Toad?

Brauer: All fishermen are guilty of setting in the hook too quickly when bass take a top-water bait. When fishing toad baits, it’s critical for your success to fish braided line. A higher percentage of bass that strike the bait are landed with braided line, especially when fishing the bait over and through heavy vegetation where most people fish toads. Because the braided line has no stretch in it, most fishermen will jerk their baits away from the bass before the bass have the baits in their mouths.

For that reason, making sure the rod tip is at the right angle is critical to getting a good hook set and timing the strike correctly. To get the fastest hook sets, most anglers point their rod tips straight at the toads as they retrieve the baits. Instead, I hold my rod at a 45-degree angle to the surface of the water. This way, when the bass takes the toad, the fish can load the rod by pulling the rod tip down and continue to load the rod when I pull the rod tip up and set the hook.

Getting the proper hook set when fishing the toad is a timing issue. Yes, I’ve pulled the toad away from a bass before the fish has the lure in its mouth. But I don’t like to let the bass have the toad too long. If I let the bass have this lure for an extended time, the bass will go down in the vegetation and swim toward the boat to reach deep water. Even though braided line is designed to cut through vegetation, there won’t be nearly as much force in the strike if the bass swims toward the boat as there will be if you strike the bass before it makes the turn and starts swimming toward the boat. If I can feel the fish before I strike it, I know which way the bass is moving and how to set the hook before I actually set the hook.

I also can learn a lot from the way the fish attacks the lure. If there’s a big explosion on the bait, I assume the fish has the toad. If the bass take the bait like this, I can’t react fast enough to take the toad away from the bass. If I start missing strikes, I have to adjust my tactic. I have to slow down and wait to feel the fish before I set the hook. I have to adapt each day to the way the bass take the bait on that day. I’ve seen days when bass won’t blow-up on the toad. They’ll just boil the water and suck in the bait. On those days, I really have to be concentrating on the lure as it comes across the water, give the bass more time to get the bait well in its mouth and almost feed the bass the bait before I set the hook.

Question: You can’t daydream and fish the toad, can you?

Brauer: Yes, you can. On some dayss, you’re better off being almost semi-conscious when fishing this bait. If you concentrate too hard on the lure, you may see the water move, the fish readying to attack the bait, and you may concentrate so hard on the lure and the fish that when the bass comes out of the water to take the bait, you immediately try to set the hook and will end up jerking the bait away from the bass. There are times when daydreaming and being less focused will enable you to catch more bass.

In this situation, you have to know how well you can control your emotions and reflexes when you see a bass approaching or blowing-up on the toad. When you see the bass move, if you can’t slow down your emotions and your reflexes, you’re better off daydreaming and waking up when you feel the fish take the bait. If you can force yourself to not strike the bass when everything in your body and mind tells you to hit it, you can watch the bait, let the bass take the toad and then set the hook. Most people probably are better off daydreaming when they’re fishing the toad.

Question: Denny, why do you like the Rage Craw?

Brauer: To catch more bass, I’ll fish a non-traditional lure in a place that calls for fishing a traditional lure. The Rage Craw is a classic example. If the water where I normally fish a tube has too much tube pressure on it, I’ll fish a Rage Craw there. Or, if I’ve already fished a tube, I’ll return to that spot and fish a Rage Craw, giving the fish a similar type of bait that looks really different. Bass are finicky. They have moods. The tube is a subtle presentation that resembles a dying shad, which you can present to very-docile bass. When the bass are in that same type of mood, they’ll take the bait.

If the bass are very active, you can catch more bass quicker with active baits like the Rage Craw. The pincers on the Rage Craw have an unbelievable action –displacing large amounts of water. So, when the Rage Craw hits the bottom, it sits on the bottom like a crawfish in a defensive position with its pincers up. The Rage Craw also is an excellent flipping bait to fish in heavy cover. If the bass are accustomed to seeing a tube or a jig in heavy cover, and I flip a Rage Craw into that same cover, I drastically can increase my odds for getting the bass to bite.

Question: What are your favorite colors of Rage Craws?

Brauer: Most of the time I like darker colors. Black-and-blue is my choice for most waters I fish, because it adds a little something extra to the bait. If the water’s clear, I prefer green pumpkin. The same rules of selecting colors for the Rage Craw apply to selecting colors for any other lure – match the color of the lure to the color of the water. I try not to have favorite colors. When I get to the lake I’m fishing, I look at the color of the water and the sky. If I have a sunny day with relatively-clear water, I’ll use more-natural color lures. If I have cloud cover, I’ll use darker colors. I carry every color Strike King makes in my tackle box.

Question: What pound-test line do you fish?

Brauer: That depends on water clarity. If the water’s muddy, or if I’m fishing matted grass, I’ll probably use 60- to 80-pound-test braided line. If the water’s clear, I may use fluorocarbon line. If I’m flipping and pitching, I may use line as light as 20-pound-test fluorocarbon line. If the water clarity is average, I’ll probably use 25-pound-test line.

Rage Tail Fans Fishing Video

Below is a short user-submitted video of Rage Tail fans doing what we each love the most, to fish. For many of us, Rage Tail Baits represents more than just a soft plastic bait we choose to use; RT is a company to believe in, with a solid foundation that revolves around family and friends having fun and taking time to enjoy the finer, more subtle things in life so easily taken for granted or passed over and so easily forgotten.

We hope you enjoy this video of the Rage Tail family making the most of life.

You can add your comments below…..

When asked his thoughts on the new Space Monkey, Denny Brauer was quoted:

“The Space Monkey is a creature bait unique from any other creature bait on the market. It’s a combination of several successful baits. The back legs resemble the Rage Craw, and it has two additional smaller side appendages with the action of a Rage Craw. The real secret to the Space Monkey is the legs are positioned differently from the legs on most creature baits, giving you a totally-different action.

It’s a more-subtle presentation than the Rage Craw, and the legs don’t kick as violently. Too, it doesn’t have an elongated look like most creature baits. I prefer to use the Rage Craw as a drop bait for suspended bass holding in cover. Because it’s compact, the Rage Craw can move through heavy cover, and it produces a lot of action as it drops through a tiny hole.

The Space Monkey also can be fished as a jig trailer to give the jig a completely-new look. Not only are there tentacles kicking on the back side of the jig, but there are two arms that reach outside the skirt strands and kick to give it action. My favorite way to fish the Space Monkey is to Texas rig it like I’d fish a worm.

You also can Carolina rig the Space Monkey because the lure’s designed to plane-off in the water as you drag it behind a Carolina rig. This bait is ranked right up there with a lizard as far as being effective on a Carolina rig. However, the Space Monkey has a different look from the lizard, which causes bass to bite it more readily. Too, I like the name of the Space Monkey. You can’t forget a name like the Space Monkey. And, when you say Space Monkey, there’s only one lure tied to this name. When you say lizard, there’s a million-different types of lizards associated with that name.

To test the power of the Space Monkey, I gave one to another fisherman on a tournament practice day. I fished with several soft-plastic lures with a lot of wiggle action similar to the Space Monkey. The angler using the Space Monkey caught five bass to the one bass I caught. The difference in our success wasn’t simply angling skill. The Space Monkey allowed the other fisherman to be more successful, proving that it will perform even in competitive fishing conditions.

I like the new line of soft-plastic lures created by Strike King because each lure is unique and produces a different type of pressure wave the bass can feel and interpret. None of these new lures look or feel the same to bass. On any given day, any lure may catch bass. But on tough days, when the bass don’t want to bite any bait you’re fishing, the Space Monkey gives you a different bait to present to the bass that will turn on the bass bite.

I’ll fish it all three ways. However, I probably won’t drag it on the bottom like I will a traditional Texas-rigged plastic worm.”

This short video is an introduction to the Rage Tail line of soft plastic baits produced by Strike King Lure Company. Take a minute to watch this video to see what the rage is about.

Click the video below to see a demonstration of how
to hook the Rage Tail Shad.

Video Clip from Kim Stricker’s Hook n’ Look TV Show
with John Barns of Strike King.

The Rage Tail Shad is best rigged weightless, tail up on a 4/0 to 5/0 extra wide gap hook. It has a unique and exclusive tail design and is engineered like no other soft plastic bait. It makes an unbelievable splash with a side to side body action and displaces a tremendous amount of water . You can vary your retrieve from quick to slow and achieve the desired action you need depending on the water conditions.

This is a “WOW” topwater bait!

You can also see some detailed pictures of rigging the shad here: http://www.ragetail.com/ragetailshad.html

The Rage Tail Lizard is a “next generation” soft plastic 6 ” lizard recently released by Strike King Lure Company.
This lizard is unlike anything ever released to bass fisherman and sure to become a great lure for anglers to entice those big bass. The vibration produced coupled with the great color selection makes it a great choice for any angler.

If you would like to add your feedback and comments about the Rage Tail Lizard, feel free to add them here.