Rapala Shad Rap Size 7 Deep Runner
         When is a great lure not a good lure?, this may seem a strange question but it fits this particular lure to a tee. Now be for I go any further and I hear some say but wait the size 7 Shad Rap is a freshwater lure, this maybe so in some countrys but in Australia it's also sold as a salt water lure.
        I have used the Shad Rap size  7  for many years now and as a lure for
casting for species like barramundi and mangrove jacks in Australia's tropical north, I rate it in my top two lures. It casts like a bullet it has one of the best
actions for barra that I have seen on a imported lure and the colour range is second to none, it gets down into the strike zone nice and fast , all these things make  the Shad Rap size 7 a great lure, BUT!!!!!!


         Ok but what?, well the problem is tail strength (click on pic A) and water seepage  and at a Australian retail of anywhere between $14 and $18 (angler in the States will be shocked with those prices) it can be a expensive lure to use. The water  seepage
is not a problem confined to this model  most Rapala's suffer from it, the water seeps in through where the hooks attach to the lure body making the lure heavier
and the balsa inside very soft and soggy also the salt water affects some colours
turning them a milky colour (click on pic C). This problem can be over come by filling around the wire eyes with 24 hour araldite.
         Unfortunately with the tail strength problem there is no answer, but  many of the lure that have broken on me have gone on to catch many fish, Shad Raps have a very good inner wire frame so with a bit of masking tape and araldite they can be repaired (click on pic B).
           So there you have it if your willing to put up with the bad side of the
Rapala Size 7 Deep Shad Rap (and willing to pay the inflated price) you will have one of the best little barra and jack lures on the market, and by the way try the shad colour barra love it.


Brett Read

B

C

A

Repaired but still taking

barra

Colour gone dull and milky

Weak Tail

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