Rapala DT 20 2024

MakhuluBass reply :

I just want to find out if anyone has used the DT 20 yet? I have picked up a couple that have just arrived at our local tackle store and can't wait to throw them this week end.

djmax22 reply :

Nope. Hopefully the bills don't break off like the DT16 I own. Let us know.

BARON49_Northern NY reply :

Yes let us know how they hold up. I declined buying some for the same reason. Sticking with my good old DD22's for now.

5bass reply :

Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago. I use the DT's a lot, (all of 'em) and I'm hard on crankbaits. I havent broken a DT in at least 2 years.

I'm addicted to DD22's also and have been for a long, long time but you cant get 20' out of 'em. I'll be glad to finally have a few DT20's in hand.

burleytog reply :

I would be leery of buying them right now. Rapala had problems getting a consistant 20' out of the baits.

I'm expecting a shipment around late March/early April.

djmax22 reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago. I use the DT's a lot, (all of 'em) and I'm hard on crankbaits. I havent broken a DT in at least 2 years.
I'm addicted to DD22's also and have been for a long, long time but you cant get 20' out of 'em. I'll be glad to finally have a few DT20's in hand.

I broke 3 new ones this past year

CWB reply :

I'd love to try one now but it would break for sure- it would be landing on solid ice!

Cabin fever does strange things to you.

tyrius. reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago. I use the DT's a lot, (all of 'em) and I'm hard on crankbaits. I havent broken a DT in at least 2 years.
I'm addicted to DD22's also and have been for a long, long time but you cant get 20' out of 'em. I'll be glad to finally have a few DT20's in hand.

I broke 3 new ones this past year

Someone I fish with broke one too.

Too bad it was because he was too lazy to pull the weeds off of it and was just slapping it on the water. I told him that he'd break it and he didn't believe me. He does now.

How are your's breaking?

djmax22 reply :

breaking on rock

BassinBoy reply :

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Nope. Hopefully the bills don't break off like the DT16 I own. Let us know.

No breaks for me yet

5bass reply :

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breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

BassBandit35 reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago.

Not that I doubt you. There are 2 review posted at BPS from last month alone stating that the bill does break off easily. So I don't know.

djmax22 reply :

Cranking into rock. I broke 3 all together one was my fault hitting a dock. The other two cranking into chunk rock.

senko_77 reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago.

Not that I doubt you. There are 2 review posted at BPS from last month alone stating that the bill does break off easily. So I don't know.

This could be people getting older baits. I have no doubt that a company like Rapala would fix the problem in a hurry. It's just like the bad batches of Berkley Vanish. The new spools are great, but the older ones are terrible. Every once in awhile you come across one of the older spools that just never sold.

Tin reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago.

Not that I doubt you. There are 2 review posted at BPS from last month alone stating that the bill does break off easily. So I don't know.

Don't trust BPS reviews...lol

When I have had a bad day and need to laugh some always get to me.

BassBandit35 reply :

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This could be people getting older baits. Every once in awhile you come across one of the older spools that just never sold.

True. Didn't cross my mind. They could have bought from their local tackle that sat on the shelf for a long while instead of buying newer ones from BPS.

Simp reply :

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Rapala fixed the 'problem lips' on the DT's a few years ago.

Not that I doubt you. There are 2 review posted at BPS from last month alone stating that the bill does break off easily. So I don't know.

Don't trust BPS reviews...lol

When I have had a bad day and need to laugh some always get to me.

Ya some are bad and some are good. Bad ones are ones that usually start out with "I took this new reel out the other day before a storm hit. The first cast with my spinnerbait into the wind and it backlashed. I expect more out of a $X new reel!" ;D

Btech reply :

Do they reach 20 ft though I tryed one but it didnt seem to dive that deep so it put it in my box and it has sat there for weeks now.

BassBandit35 reply :

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Do they reach 20 ft though I tryed one but it didnt seem to dive that deep

They should be. Unless you used a smaller diameter line like 10 lb test. Most of the DT model are accurate depth unlike Norman's DD22 dives 15-18 feet.

Stringjam reply :

I'm anxious to try one.

I've gotten my DT-16's to 18 feet.....16' is a breeze - - it shouldn't be that hard for them to squeeze a few more feet out of that design.

skunked_again reply :

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breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

i emailed rapala not long ago about busting the lips off their cranks and got this back:

Thank you for your email and letting us know about your experiences with our lures.

Rapala can make an indestructible lure that will never break but it will not have the action and unique construction that provides such great productivity. As you know, many factors cause lures to become damaged. Rocks, Weeds, certain Fishing Techniques, miss use, Line strength, drag, and bottom structures are some factors that cause lures to weaken or become damaged. Time and time again, when we test and study lures that have broken, the results show that some hindering factor had caused the lure to weaken. If you think your lure was defective and not damaged by other means as listed above, then here are some options for you to pick from:

1. Take the lure back to the store where you purchased it for refund or replacement.

2. Send the lure to us for replacement.

ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

Micro reply :

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ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

That's one good thing about Normans and Bombers. You can run over them with an armored personnel carrier and they don't break.

BTW, has anyone tried Bomber Fat Free Shads, the big 3" 3/4oz 18 ft diving model? I have quite a few of these and I like them as well as Norman DD22s.

skunked_again reply :

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ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

That's one good thing about Normans and Bombers. You can run over them with an armored personnel carrier and they don't break.

BTW, has anyone tried Bomber Fat Free Shads, the big 3" 3/4oz 18 ft diving model? I have quite a few of these and I like them as well as Norman DD22s.

i like the bombers ok. a little un-known secret is the bandit 200 series for shallow cranks. its a really good bait.

the next year ill be using strike king cranks sooo well see how t hey fly.

btw.....ive never busted any cranks other than Rapala

bladeslinger reply :

I have busted the lips on a few Lucky Craft RC 1.5's.... >

Randall reply :

I have never broken a Rapala bill that I can remember but then again I don't crank rocks often and fish mostly wood and grass with them. I don't make my cranks dig hard into the bottom either which could also cause the lips to break easily in rock. But I also agree with Rapala in the fact that the thin bill is what makes that bait work. I will take a broken bill or two just to get the action and depth out of the bait. Before the DT series I had to grind and sand all my bills down on other brands and with the DT's I don't have to anymore.

Muddy reply :

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breaking on rock

I Fish mostly DT's when I am cranking which for me means slaming them into shrunken rock piles. Since the first year I have yet to brek one this way. I did break one by getting it wrapped into the trolling motor, but not on the water.

Muddy reply :

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breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

i emailed rapala not long ago about busting the lips off their cranks and got this back:

Thank you for your email and letting us know about your experiences with our lures.

Rapala can make an indestructible lure that will never break but it will not have the action and unique construction that provides such great productivity. As you know, many factors cause lures to become damaged. Rocks, Weeds, certain Fishing Techniques, miss use, Line strength, drag, and bottom structures are some factors that cause lures to weaken or become damaged. Time and time again, when we test and study lures that have broken, the results show that some hindering factor had caused the lure to weaken. If you think your lure was defective and not damaged by other means as listed above, then here are some options for you to pick from:

1. Take the lure back to the store where you purchased it for refund or replacement.

2. Send the lure to us for replacement.

ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

Thats why your name is Skunked Again and Mine's not

TheBeast reply :

From my warehouse the true DT20's aren't even on the market yet. Here is the memo they sent out:

Rapala has announced that these lures will not be available until late March early April. The issue had been that the production lures were only hitting 15'. This problem has been solved. Rapala would not let this bait hit the market till they knew for sure that it is a 20' running crankbait.

Well let me clarify though that memo was concerning the SureSet serie that are equiped with SureSet hooks on the front and rear.

MALTESE FALCON reply :

I fish crankbaits the majority of the time. I fish ALOT of Rapala DT series baits and have NEVER had one break. In fact I've never had a Rapala lure of any kind break.

Falcon

warmer reply :

dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.

dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

roadwarrior reply :

I buy most hardbaits from BPS locally. Any lure, from any

company, that is defective, becomes defective or breaks

gets exchanged. I have never had much discussion and

have never been denied. On the other-hand, they don't

replace lost lures!

8-)

Muddy reply :

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dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.
dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

YEA RIGHT!!! Then why do you keep buying them, if you have so much trouble. What does every defective Rapala wind up in your tackle bag?

Geezzz, gimme a break.

warmer reply :

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dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.
dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

YEA RIGHT!!!

yeah right? as in... you think im lying?

answer this question, and then ill respond to the rest of your post.

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Then why do you keep buying them, if you have so much trouble. What does every defective Rapala wind up in your tackle bag?
Geezzz, gimme a break.

Pitchinkid reply :

I love the Rapala DT Series Crankbaits. I have broke 1, due to a large rock on bank that i hit with a poor cast. Ive seen 2 others broke on a bridge in Guntersville.(not mentioning no names).But it was caused by the fisherman. I hope all of you continue to quit buying them, just more for me

tyrius. reply :

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dt4's to dt10's the lip rips out of the bait on me.
dt 10's - 20's, the lip cracks and/or rips out.

i broke 2 in the last 2 days.

i will now commit to making a pile of all my broken and breaking rapalas and sending them back to the company in one fell swoop.

What are you doing differently than everyone else? Are you using very strong braid with a very tight drag? What are you hooking them on to pull the lips out?

Seems to me that you're doing something different than normal to experience this.

tyrius. reply :

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But it was caused by the fisherman. I hope all of you continue to quit buying them, just more for me

Me too. Maybe then they'll go on sale and I'll be able to get more!!!

Primus reply :

I've beeen fortunate enough not to have a lip break on the DT baits that I've used, in my area I'm usually fishing outside the weedline, ripping through grass or ticking the tops of stumps. I have ripped a few lips from some nice bass with them

warmer reply :

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What are you doing differently than everyone else? Are you using very strong braid with a very tight drag? What are you hooking them on to pull the lips out?

i dont know what i am doing differently.

i would say that i got a bad batch of them, as i bought them together in bulk, but i have had trouble since then as well.

i do not fish braid w/ my crankbaits. i keep my drag soft enough.

i am not easy on cranks, but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

"why do i have them in my tackle box?" muddy asks.

well muddy, im glad you asked, the dt has a superb action, and runs true to depth. additionally, the casting distance that i get is superior to all other baits in the same class (although strike king has fixed this problem on its latest release).

i am happy to know that they will take returns. i wonder if this is true for returned lips only? i mean, sometimes on a windy day, you just cant find the other half of the lure.

tyrius. reply :

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i dont know what i am doing differently.

Odds are it is something, because your experience is outside the norm.

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but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

Rapala is pretty much all I fish and I've never broken one. I still have a couple jointed minnows that I fished when I was in high school. I've only ever seen one break and that was due to user abuse.

The freaking things like to get stuck between rocks though, but that goes for nearly everything I fish in that spot.

skunked_again reply :

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breaking on rock

So when you say breaking on rock, are you talking about casting it up on some rocks on the bank or cranking it into rocks?

i emailed rapala not long ago about busting the lips off their cranks and got this back:

Thank you for your email and letting us know about your experiences with our lures.

Rapala can make an indestructible lure that will never break but it will not have the action and unique construction that provides such great productivity. As you know, many factors cause lures to become damaged. Rocks, Weeds, certain Fishing Techniques, miss use, Line strength, drag, and bottom structures are some factors that cause lures to weaken or become damaged. Time and time again, when we test and study lures that have broken, the results show that some hindering factor had caused the lure to weaken. If you think your lure was defective and not damaged by other means as listed above, then here are some options for you to pick from:

1. Take the lure back to the store where you purchased it for refund or replacement.

2. Send the lure to us for replacement.

ive quit buying Rapala baits all together.

Thats why your name is Skunked Again and Mine's not

heh..............if, IF im not catching fish like i caught fish with the DT's i might be forced to do things id rather not.

im excited to see how other baits work.

skunked_again reply :

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i dont know what i am doing differently.

Odds are it is something, because your experience is outside the norm.

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but rapala is by far the most susceptible to breakage.

Rapala is pretty much all I fish and I've never broken one. I still have a couple jointed minnows that I fished when I was in high school. I've only ever seen one break and that was due to user abuse.

The freaking things like to get stuck between rocks though, but that goes for nearly everything I fish in that spot.

had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

warmer reply :

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had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

haha! thanks for posting that.

i was going to pile up the 5 or so that i have laying around and take a picture, but my camera has been loaned out.

Muddy reply :

Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently own 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.

I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

skunked_again reply :

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Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently won 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.
I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

the DT 10 and the DT 8 are my all time fav. bait. i just dont want to buy them 8 times.

Muddy reply :

I think I see why we differ, I never use the thin flat ones or the sure sets. I bought a couple of the sure sets and they hung up on everything in my boat, I am clumsy by nature. I really can not call on my experience with these Rapalas because I do not use them

I am sure some one like Micro or Stringjam knows more about these

I prefer fat cranks in craw fish and blue gill patterns.

Shadcranker reply :

My local BPS said they got a shipment of DT20's back in the Fall, but they sent them all back, bc there was a design flaw with the baits. I was going to try a couple, but now that I've heard that, I'll just stick with my DD22's and FF Shad #7's.

Honestly, when the summer crankin bite is really on, I don't think it matters much what you throw, as long as you can get down to them. Most of the fish on the ledges I fish are in 8-15 ft anyway, so a true 20 ft bait is not really necessary for me.

Bassaholic84 reply :

Ill be buying some at the BPS spring classic. (I Locked the baitmonkey in the closet until then) Ive never had a problem with Rapalas.

Muddy reply :

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My local BPS said they got a shipment of DT20's back in the Fall, but they sent them all back, bc there was a design flaw with the baits. I was going to try a couple, but now that I've heard that, I'll just stick with my DD22's and FF Shad #7's.
Honestly, when the summer crankin bite is really on, I don't think it matters much what you throw, as long as you can get down to them. Most of the fish on the ledges I fish are in 8-15 ft anyway, so a true 20 ft bait is not really necessary for me.

They were not holding a true 20 ft, so Rapala recalled them.

tyrius. reply :

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had you ever broken one this is what they would look like.

Yeah, the broken lip issue is one that some Rapalas had. As far as I know it has been fixed.

It's the pulling the lips out issue that I've never heard of.

Lucky Craft Man reply :

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Well I have been fishing Rapalas for over 30 years, I currently won 38 , all Balsa and mostly DTs and have broken 2 of them One for slapping against the water and one got caught in a trolling motor.
I as many of my friends use these lures successfully and while I can see people getting a bad run, I know an exaggeration when I see one.

I would say 30 years of expereince qualifies me to know what I am talking about.

the DT 10 and the DT 8 are my all time fav. bait. i just dont want to buy them 8 times.

Where did you get a DT8?

For those that have a DT20, how much would you say they weight? TackleTour must have a misprint in their ICAST review of the DT20, because they have it listed as weighing 3.25 oz. I can't imagine it would weight anywhere near that. If so, I will have to use a swimbait rod for deep cranking a DT20 (if I ever can find a DT20 to buy). Thanks.

TeamBerettaGold reply :

http://www.rapala.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=dt_metal_sureset_series&freshorsalt=Fresh

Rapala has them listed as 7/8oz.

Captain Obvious reply :

I use Norman's mostly but I think I see a pattern from what people are saying

DON'T SLAP THE RAPALAS ON THE WATER OR FISH THEM NEXT TO ROCKS

you do that and they won't break

just my two cents

Derek Chance reply :

Rapala makes fine cranks. As far as not consistently hitting 20 feet, there are not many that do. DD22 will only reach about 17 with the right conditions. I fish DD22 mainly, but that is because they are quite a bit cheaper

Hellbenderman reply :

I have used the DTs religiously for two years. I broke my first one slapping the weeds off and have not broken one since because I stopped that. I figure about 50 real hours of use. I have caught many many bass on these, including an 8lb with no problems. I prefer the DT 10 which I can get down to near 20' holding my rod tip in the water. I have used the new DT 20s and can get them down to at least 25 feet using the same method. However, my DT 20s came with Sure Set VMC hooks and I believe they are much more likely to grab weeds and hold on to those weeds due to the level below the lure to which the hooks extend. I am going to replace the VMC hooks with smaller regular hooks from a DT 16 and I'm sure they will serve me better. They have become my go to crank.

6393

Rapala DT 20 2024

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