a follow up on the new scatter raps. i have a few of the SCRM-11, the minnow bodied one, reported runs 6-9 feet deep. AMAZING lure!! catches fish like noones business, even early spring when you are supposed to work it slow and it works best on a faster retrieve. i just kinda pumped it on retrieve and it worked like a charm. i have a feeling it will troll in the 10-12 foot range, perfect for a late thaw like this year for our first week of june trip.

the only issue i had with the new lure is that i ticked bottom and broke the lip off of one. sent it back with the warranty and had a new one at my door in 6 days. thats good service!

That's how I know! I once bought a battery powered light and chum thing either from the back of a "Boy's Life" or "Outdoor something or other." My Dad just laughed saying it was my money but I always caught more fish than him.

i dont disagree db, the guys at rapala sure know how to catch me!

I still say lures are designed to catch fisherman. If they catch fish as well... eh, that's simply a bonus. 

i have a problem. i was wandering through ACE hardware and stumbled upon their small fishing section. (who knew??)!! i found a couple of mismarked clearance rapalas... the new for 2013 bx minnow... one was purpledescent and the other was the baby rainbow trout *cringes* needless to say, i came home with 2 more.

i use both for both. it really depends on my mood which i use. when its windy i grab the spinning stuff if the breeze is gonna be in my face because casting light stuff into the wind on a baitcaster is no good. when its cold i go with spinning gear. i dont like the mist in my face/hands when its cold. when its warm though i like it so the baitcaster is the rod of choice. anytime i use live bait its on a spinning rig as well, too much snap during the cast with a baitcaster for live bait. any slip bobber fishing is on spinning gear as well. i like the control of backreeling on a spinning set up over the drag on a baitcaster as well. i can cast light soft plastic setups about the same on either rod so thats a wash. i switch it up because i like the right handedness of baitcasters but i have the handle on the left side of my spinning setup. allows me to fish non stop all day and never get tired by just changing rods.

i mentioned baitcasters a lot in this thread because we were talking trolling. i prefer the baitcaster for trolling because i have the drags tightened all the way down on my spinning stuff. i like the backreel. for trolling you need the drag.

Jax you are the man! WOW that is a beauty, that has to be a great story on 6lb.

Calm down, breathe, 

I have never popped a really big Muskie.......a few decent ones but nothing like that. Secretly thinking about going back to WCPP to that Muskie lake up there and see if any big boys want to play........but we'll see.......a few blocks have to fall into place first.   

Jax.......you mention lots about baitcasters........don't you use spinning for lighter applications?

dont get me wrong, i like mono. my largest fish have come on mono... like this one on 6lb test (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

but i think that has to do more with presentation than line. most of my biggest fish have come on small lures, light line, finesse fishing. i think if i spent the same amount of time using large lures on braid as i do small lures on mono my percentages would even out but who knows.

on a similar thought, i have not tried mono or flouro carbon line on the current rod/reel combo that i use. when i first started using a bait caster i used a really stiff rod and a cheap reel. not a good combo to learn how to cast. so i had lots of issues and i originally started with mono on that setup. maybe this spring ill try mono/flourocarbon on one of my setups as i have 2 identical ones. then i can fish them with identical lures and come to a conclusion from that!

I'm with you Jax on having 3 or 4 ft of FC leader material when trolling, but I also like it for casting and usually have at least 3' when backcountry snook fishing. I like 8ft FC leaders when floating down a chunk of sardine to a big snapper......super stealth daytime mode if the current is light (of course it is a big snapper and not a small one     ).

We have exactly opposite results in backlashes!! My lashes with braid are usually impossible to get out and I usually reach for my cutters........can you say "Master-Tangler" 

I used straight braid last August in a number of situations and they ate it........4 pike in the 9lb class and one walleye at a bit over 6lbs which ate a muskie in-line spinner sporting twin 8/0 treble hooks..........big lure

On the other hand I also related striking out on straight braid on a reef that was incredibly hot just the week before while trolling mono. Trolling to fast, to slow, wrong lure, not eating?............or maybe they didn't like the braid? I fish to catch big ones. A fish snob? Perhaps. But I get bored catching 2 lb walleyes and 2 lb smallmouths pretty quickly. I would rather catch 14" crappies. "Wow, look at the size of that one"!

My thinking on the braid is it might just cost me Mr Big.........that 10lb walleye is thinking about eating and at the last moment turns aside........instead a 3 pounder eats and I think "wow, this braid is great, I have another one".........How do you know if the braid isn't costing you the bigger ones as they turn aside at the last moment deciding something just isn't right?

Of course the test is to fish side by side with one guy using braid and another mono. The pros use braid to great effect. But in the crystal clear waters of canoe country with mostly open water I'm not buying in. Heavy weed beds and timber is a different story and so is deep vertical jigging as well as fishing in strong current........but for most applications I like mono.........no extra knots to tie, stealthy with a little stretch......perfect. Here Fishy, Fishy 

I am currently looking for a line counter that will handle 8lb test. It needs to be small and hopefully quite a bit lighter that what is typical in line counters to make for good portaging. I absolutely loved knowing exactly where my lure was in relation to the bottom. For someone who trolls pretty much everywhere they paddle this helps in alleviating hassles as well as putting fish in the boat. Although I often wonder while fishing with the line counter if fishing 12" off the bottom is as good as fishing 2 or 3 or 5 ft off the bottom where the bait is more visible. Ahhh, fishing, the thinking mans game.......... or not! 

when i troll, i use a 4 ft fluoro carbon leader with the crosslock snap and the barrel swivel junction. this makes replacing the leader easier, imo. while trolling you dont really cast much(just to reset after you catch one). anything longer than 4 feet seems silly to me up there, the fishing pressure is so low that as long as you dont have a super obnoxious line right on the lure you should be fine, but, my brother uses fireline crystal (looks like dental floss in the water) a big white line right to the hooks and catches enough fish, so who knows. when i go to cast i simply snip off the knicked up 2 feet or so and have a 12-18" leader of flouro for casting. the barrel swivel junction is something ive used while tipup fishing for years prior to using braids on a bait caster so it just seemed logical to use that approach.

i think there are multiple advantages of using a braid up there over a full spool of mono but most are my personal beliefs.
1. on a baitcaster- if you ever get backlashes with braid they are easy to get out and dont kink your line creating weak spots
2. if you do break off, you only lose the leader portion and dont lose large chunks of line leaving you short spooled
3. on a baitcaster-i like the feel of braid on my thumb for casting over mono
4. on a baitcaster-my reels are spooled with braid year round so i dont have to change-im lazy
5. on a baitcaster-i like the braid because it has ZERO memory, mono/fluoro still have a tiny bit and i find it casts better with braid
6. sensitivity, you can see what your lure is doing on braid. you sort of can on mono, but with braid you can tell the difference between rocks/gravel/sand/mud bottoms if you are hitting bottom