i tend to put firetiger and natural perch pattern in the same boat when it comes to color choices. both are quite similar with firetiger being more obnoxious and triggering an aggressive response and perch bringing out the more finicky or seasoned fish that want something very natural. with that said, my tackle box contains more firetiger cranks than perch pattern ones by a margin of 14:2. the perch ones spend nearly all of their time collecting dust in the tray because i only really ever use them in SUPER clear water. because the two patterns are so similar, the firetiger is my choice in dingy water, stained water, at night, or at dawn.

sometimes i think that i might over analyze what baits i use. when it comes to choosing between perch or firetiger, i go with firetiger because more fish should be able to see it. what are your thoughts?

Sometimes I do tend to repeat myself

dont get me wrong, im not against natural patterns. when i do find myself looking for a natural, i always end up turning to silver. whenever i use live bait, mainly minnows, i have great success on 3-4 inch shiners. my largest walleyes have all come on soft plastics (i fish them 75% of the time i would guess so the numbers are skewed) and the next few came on silver shiners. so it only follows when i reach for a natural pattern crank i look for silver. i find it a little more attractive and reflective so its easier to see.

this year during our trip, i plan to do a lot more walleye targeted trolling than previous years. that means staying out well past dark and running cranks over the reefs and deep areas near dropoffs. i picked up a few new cranks for this application to give myself more variety in coloration and rattle/no rattle. previously my arsenal for this style of trolling was a blue/silver shad body x rap XRS8, firetiger shad rap SR7, deep down husky jerk gold DHJ10, a parrot shad rap, and a glass ghost x rap XRD08.

since then, i have added... a moss shiner x rap XRS08, purpledescent shad rap SR07, a hot tiger shad rap SR09, a silver blue shad rap SRRS07, a firetiger trolls to minnow 15ft, firetiger tail dancer 20ft, and a scheels pro pack of flicker shads in yellow perch, hot tiger, and firetiger.

our trip is july 6th-13th and the wedding is august 13th.

i troll those same baits but let out a bit more line to get them to dive those few extra feet. i run 15/4 powerpro and 14/6 fireline, so you can get some pretty deep lures by letting out a little more line. i usually dont go deeper than the 25' range with cranks, however. beyond that, they put a bit too much stress on my equipment for my taste. i did get my hands on some keel weights for this year to sink my J11 down into that range if i paddle slow enough.

i had a red tiger 30' tail dancer, but i ran it aground so many times that the lip began to curl under and i think it was running more as a modified 25'er. i couldnt handle seeing my rod curl in half so much and then bounce and load up on bottom like that. after all, i spend so much time with my rods its almost like they are my babies.

Jax:
Suggest you purchase some shares of Rapala stock as well given your lure selection.

J