Rapala’s Scatter Rap Glass Shad

‘Potato chip lip’ is the secret to lure’s wobble

Some anglers refer to the plastic lip recently added to the Rapala Glass Shad crankbait as a “potato chip lip,” which is what it closely resembles.

Whatever they call the distinctively curved and angled plastic lip, it works. As the newest member of the Scatter Rap Series of artificial lures, the Glass Shad is triggering  gamefish to bite from one end of the country to another. Bass, walleye, pike and other species fall for the new crankbait.

Mark Fisher of Molthen, Minnesota, the man behind its design, said he is proud of the unpredictable action in the Scatter Rap Glass Shad.

Rapala’s chief lure designer, a 17-year veteran with the artificial lure manufacturer known worldwide for decades, talked about it a few days before the start of the 2018 Bassmaster Classic.

Plastic lip is key

The Scatter Rap Glass Shad gives anglers a rattling and suspending crankbait with a durable, see-through body featuring a special plastic lip that gives it evasive, erratic action with a distinct wobble — like a spooked baitfish fleeing attack.

“It was a two-year project in all. We’re very thorough, let me put it that way. We ran it through a lot of key guys (pro staffers and others) off and on through the development. They were impressed,” he said.

When designing innovative artificial lures, Fisher said, he and others continually “push the envelope.”

The “potato chip lip” is all about influencing the crank bait’s “tracking” path on the retrieve.

“What it does is throw the tracking off. When you actually use it, it’s hard to believe how it works because it’s so simple,” he said, adding it dives to 10- to 14-feet deep.

“When we started working on the project, we said, ‘Let’s make a Glass Shad Rap that would have a built-in concept to lose tracking to attract neutral fish,’ ” he said.

That makes them effective for anglers who troll them, and also perfect for bass fishermen who cast and retrieve.

The crankbaits with the bold new look and action have been on the market about a year and have been well-received, he said.

Back to front, they are extremely durable. A plastic lip attached to a plastic body makes the lure stronger, he said.  “Here’s the concept. I think it’s one of the most fascinating things. The Glass Shad Rap has been around a number of years. When you talk about putting a scatter lip on a plastic lure, you gain durability with a plastic lip adhering to a plastic body. You put the two materials hand-in-hand,” he said.

“We wanted to make a more durable bait for anglers who long-line troll, or for bass anglers deflecting them off of cover. Plus, a lot of anglers still wanted a plastic bait that rattled. It was a perfect morph … increasing durability issues and putting rattles inside the bait.”

Scatter Rap Glass Shad crankbaits, which are 2 ¾ inches long, are armed with VMC black nickel round-bend treble hooks and are available in 14 colors.

For more information about the Scatter Rap Glass Shad crank bait and other Rapala artificial lures, go to www.rapala.com.

About Don Shoopman 553 Articles
Don Shoopman fishes for freshwater and saltwater species mostly in and around the Atchafalaya Basin and Vermilion Bay. He moved to the Sportsman’s Paradise in 1976, and he and his wife June live in New Iberia. They have two grown sons.