Risto Raps ..

how has everyone done on risto raps?? I have heard a lot of negative stuff about them….an u always see them cheaper then other raps..Just wonderin what everyone thought about them….

thanks

Flick

Flick, I think they discontinued them, and yes there was a lot of negative press about them. Where are you finding them? They were the best bait I used for casting rocks last year…….B

they are at fleet farm for 2 bucks a piece

wal-mart has them too, IS this why they are so cheap????? because they discontinued them?????

yep same spot i found them…i bought 5 of them..cause i know they will work….

Flick

Why the bad press? I have done well with them, it is kinda like a shad rap only you can actually cast a risto more than a couple feet. When I saw they were discontinued I got a bunch for 2-3 $ a piece.

Regarding Ristos, my buddy and I took them to Canada and could not get bit on them. We caught Pike, and Walleyes on 12 other kinds of cranks, but nothing on Ristos. They wont make the trip this year.

I bought a whole bunch of risto raps when they first came out for about 6 bucks apiece, because rapala hyped up the fact that tournament fisherman on I think erie caught fish with them. After using them on the river, i think it was an advertising ploy to get people suckered into buying them. I am of the opinion that all they are good for is taking up space in my tackle box so I threw them out. I am a little intrigued by some people saying they actually caught something with them, but I ain’t quite dumb enough to fall into the trap again. If I remember right they trolled funny and were continually getting snagged on the bottom, and in my experience that was the only thing they caught.

labsrule

it would be great if we could get really effective cranks for $2 apiece… but.. well.. I KNOW I cant!!… so instead I use 30# spiderwire and I dont loose too many of the good cranks… and the good cranks catch plenty of fish and I dont have to compromise by using a less than quality bait… these days I just bite the bullet and buy what I KNOW works….. and sure I WILL experiement with other things on occasion…. but I already have so many types, sizes and colors that if all I did was fish cranks it would take me at least half a day to determine what was working! and of course by then the fish would probably change their minds anyway!! thats whats really funny is how they can change the color they want as the day goes on…… and some people even say color dont matter….. hmmmmm….

boy.. sorry I must be in a rambling mood….. back on subject… Ive had NO luck with Ristos… only bought ONE… lost it in the rocks with my 5th cast…. never bought another….. it DID cast well…. but then rattletraps still cast better!…. and I will toss them shoreward before just about anything else….. they work and they are just too easy to use and too inexspensive to ignore…..

You should have been at the Walleye Expo this Spring they had bins full and were selling them for $1.50 each..I am sad to say I have way to many of them and my confidence in them is terrible I’ve not caught a fish on them…not one fish…

But I must admit they only get a few casts…… I’ve had them for a few years now…If I get organized I should put them in a pile and put them up for auction…They well be in good shape cause most have not seen action…..Although If I keep them they may be worth something some day….I bought mine after Norb Wallock won the Pwt trailing crawlers on them…And that is all mine have ever had on them is crawlers I think I bumped a big one once though………

Like many lures the opinions seem split, sounds a bit like discussions on the muskie boards about pigs, a lot of people don’t like them but a few do. I have never used them (pigs that is) I know I have done fairly well with the #5 ristos for just about everything and have caught a couple pike trolling the #9’s. I know one guy who catches walleye trolling the 8’s and 9’s on some lakes near spooner but I have never had any success don’t that myself. They discontinued the floating husky raps too

and some people really like them. Oh well more for me

they discontinued the floating husky raps????? that is not good I like those, they are good for castin along the wing damns and trolling in some shallower rocky water

Wow, a very diverse crowd on this one! I for one have a tackle box full of #5 Rosto’s,and yes, I do catch fish on them. Some of my better days of casting rip rap on the river have come with these baits. I have caught a bunch of Walleye, Smallmouth and Largemouth on Risto’s. I saw them at the walleye Expo this spring for $1.50. Man did I stock up!!!

These baits are balsa and very comparative to the #5 Shad Rap only they have a bigger profile and dive much deeper on a cast. I like them because they are heavier and will cast longer distances than the original Shad Rap. In return I get the lure down deeper and can cover more water on one cast that will only be achieved by long line trolling. If I want the lure to be shallower, I will make shorter cast’s! I feel the Risto will help me cover more of the water column based on the distance of my cast. In return I can make repeated cast to an area vs. just long lining the area once, and pass up a few extra fish.

In my book they are a great crank bait. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!

Hey I like them too.I have a 5lb smallie being done right now who liked them. Hot mustard is my favorite followed by their citrus color. Bass love em!

What I have read on the Risto has been mostly negative, too. I will say I did catch a few ‘eyes on Pool 2 last summer using the smaller Parrot colored Risto. The Chrome/Blue Ristos did OK in Canada for lakers.

labsrule and others, I am real leary of Normarks new lures and all their hype! Reminds me of the Bill Dance Dancin Eel, remember them—-no good! I wait to see if they work first. There are lots of other brands of baits that catch fish. By the way, has anyone caught fish on Frenzys? They are on sale a lot also. I dont own one.

brings back memories of the helicopter lure if you remember that one. All it did was twist your line all up. I have not tried the frenzys either so if anyone has any info let us know.

labsrule

this whole discussion reminds me how minor a part of the fishing market river walleye anglers must be… now the risto rap was NOT a key part of MOST of our arsenals…. but there have been some lures that were and they were closed out just as handily….. almost looks like we river anglers need our own “company”.. a champion that will provide us with the exact colors and sizes WE need… wouldnt it be kewl if we had a river based company that could cater to our needs and NOT close out the hot colors and styles? crank baits seem to be out achilles heal…..

sounds like a wonderful idea, but I have never found a lure that runs exactly like a rapala no matter how hard i’ve tried. It would have to be a pretty good company. These companies also respond to calls and letters when they take our colors away. Rapala took chartreuse off the market a couple year ago and replaced it with clown. Enough people complained and it is back now and we got to keep the clown. If someone can start a company that has lure that acts like a shad rap and caters to river fisherman I am ready to support them.

labsrule

Just wanted to mention that I’ve caught fish on perch patterned frenzy sticks, both shallow and deep. They caught summer walleye for me.

As far as frenzys go I owned two. I caught a couple pike and bass on the big deep divers but both cracked when they hit some rocks and now they sink. They caught fish but broke way too quickly.

Some of it definately is confidence…The wally diver is a perfectly good example..I liked the price..bought some..could not catch anything on them..then one day I watched a fishing partner catch 5 to 1 my #’s with a wally diver v.s. a shad rap–I’ve learned in the spring they really work well…but until I gained confidence..I would not use them at all…as for the risto-rap..I have yet to find any reason to have confidence..and apparently so has Rapala..if they were extremely effective..fisherman would know it, and Rapala would provide it..instead they discontinue it…lesson learned.

hey rivereyes! Watch the fleet farm and gander mtn clearance bins….you CAN find great lures for $2 on clearance… any of the discontinued ones….which ya i know you have to weed through the junky ones but boy they had some great ones in there….the chrome/blue/orange belly shad raps…..in 5,7,8 deep and shallow…and the same for the yellow clown shad rap….and a bunch of other good ones….keep your eyes open ! and half the time you have to ask the fishing guys working there to go in the back and see if there are more of the good ones…. they go away fast from the bin on the sales floor….also the bass pro shops clearance bins have had the storm thundersticks for clearance but i don’t know if you guys have one of those up by you…

and hey any of you who love your risto raps…you can buy mine sitting in my plano box here that i was going to put on ebay this week! lol….but all i have left are the size 9’s…..bought them for erie once and never pulled them out…uhoh hope i don’t get yelled at and told to use the classifieds now!

~jenn

yeah… now THOSE are NOT junky lures!.. shad raps and thundersticks for $2… I will take all I can find!

The Frenzy shallow diving minnows are one of my favorite trolling or casting plugs for big walleye on the river and elsewhere. (Hougie’s got a big smirk ’bout now as he recalls some awesome nights on the river!)

Just about everything has an application… a time and place if you will. But I have no love for the deep divers. I can’t seem to find that application. But I’ll keep looking as I know some guys that really like them.

The Frenzy shallow diver in white with a tan back was by far my most productive lure trolling Lake Traverse last spring. I’ve done well with Risto Raps fishing for smallies and pike, but I’ve never really tried them for walleye.

I cant resist a good discussion on crankbaits. For general purpose river fishing, I like a number of baits, that are plastic, have rattles, cast well, run true, and dive deep.( not all dive deep) I am talking baits that catch Walleyes, Smallmouth, White bass and of course Drum. Here is my list of favorites: Rebel Deep Wee R, Normans Deep Little N. Model A bombers, Bandits, Cordel Big O, and the Rattle Spots. I have had really good success with this group in either chartruse or brown. Shapraps are great for trolling, but I dont use them often for casting. And with all these sales this year, my inventory is really growing. Need to loose some. That is my take on cranks. P.S. I like Hot-n-Tots for trolling.

A couple weeks back I know Gander Mt. had #5 & few #7 Fat Raps for $2-3 in a wide variety of good colors- firetiger, crawdad, chart/white, etc….. They work pretty good year round for me since they have that erratic action that drives those ‘eyes wild.