Well Bubba, you bought a good bait when you got that X-rap. They are one of the best suspending baits I have used yet and I have a bout 1/2 dozen of them but I have also got my but kicked buy a buddy of mine that was throwing a Suspending Rogue in the Rainbow Trout color scheme and did it to me twice before I was smart enough to go buy about three of them. I will throw the X-Rap about 20 times and if it does not get hit in comes off and that Trout rogue goes on. They work really great in the late winter early Spring until the water temp gets into the mid 60's. That is when I lay down my Hard Jerk baits and Pick up my Flukes and I will out fish any hard Jerk baits with Flukes and 60 degree water. Now most of ya'll have to remember when I talk of soft baits 90% of the time I am talking about my baits which react totally different than anything you buy in stores that are made from injected bait makers. So when I say Flukes I am refering to baits that ya'll are familiar with. I called mine Soft Jerk Baits I also make a Senko that is totally round with no flat side 5" long I call Danny B. Stick Baits but I refer to them as Senko's when I talk about fishing on web sites.

Don't know how I ever missed this post. The X-raps are my fav too. But I do like the LC's, just not the price!

Rouges are good suspending jerk baits. Years ago Rick clunn came out with a jerk bait that had a injector hole in the bottom you could put water in to make it suspend. ( they even came with the plastic injector)
Jerk baits suspend differently in cold and warm water. His theory was to use the lake water and the JB could be used to suspend or even fall slightly regardless of the water temp. I have had luck on those also.As a floating on top and suspending....another old lure. I'm sure you remember these Softy

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Kevin Van Dam is known as a jerkbait specialist (among other things). He won the classic in Pittsburgh with this technique. Rogues I think.

I read one of his tips is to always point the tip of your rod at the bait before jerking it. This will give the bait the action it needs.

Also read adding feathers to the tail-end treble hooks gives the fish a target to strike at. Many hard jerkbaits already come dressed with feathers. If I do have to change out the hooks, they have to be red. I have been paying attention and it's true...most of the fish caught will be on the red hook (this goes for crankbaits as well).

KVD is a very good angler but soon as he gets a little age on him you will see him lose that ability he has right now of fishng all of the speed baits he does now and you will also see that trolling motor come down off wide open. KVD's biggest secret to his wins is all attributed to the amount of water he covers. Now as for Z91's comment about that bait designed by Rick Clunn, Yep, I remember it well and made sure I never owned one......... They were made by Bill Norman Lure Company and even though the concept was good most anglers spent more time trying to get the water pressure in the bait correct to get it to work the way they wanted that is became to time consuming and folks quit buying them really fast once they realized how hard it was to get them to balance. I let other folks buy them first and then just sat around and listened to the complaints and never bought one.....

Oh yea as for Kevin winning the Classic in Pittsburg his watercovering and constant moving was the only reason he won that one and it was the smallest weight ever recorded in a classic win in the history of the BASS MASTERS and it was won with a limit of 12 inch fish almost every day. I don't think BASS MASTERS will be taking another classic back there until the fish grow up.......

i like KVD myself i think he is a good fisherman and yes your right he is a power fisher you could call it he likes to fish fast but as he is fishing fast he fishes the bait slow(SOMETIMES) he wants to look for the fish by covering a lot of water. But he wants to keep the bait where the fish are at. He does this in times with like after cold fronts and post spawn conditions when he knows that the fishing is going to be tuff. So he will cover a lot of water but keep the bait in the strike zone as if he came up to a dock or stump he works the bait slower and keeps it in the strike zone. Although he does sometime Power Fish the bait threw the zone if he finds that the fish like the fast erratic action of the bait he will jerk it or twitch it to make the bait have more action making the fish bite cause of reaction. All though that is what i have heard him say i have never been on the water and watched him fish only seen him on the water from TV.

i get tired just watching him, my neck would fall off if i tried to keep jerking it around like he does. he reminds me of a nervious bird that is about to fly and don't kow which way to go, i believe he's part fish.

i like to watch him sometimes but he is not my favorite. My favorite is Mike Iaconelli and Jason Quinn and the G MAN

Iaconelli and Gerald Swindle are too much of a hotdog for me (it's all about them and not about their sport).

They may tone down their acts now that they were suspended for a tx.

I like KVD.

i like Iaconelli when he gets pumped up.

Well, Again I guess I am old school. I do understand getting excited but there is a difference between excitement and stupidity. Their is not one angler out there that at one time or another has not done the Roland Martin OH SON!!! sentence on the water when they set the hook on a big fish. I have watched Skeet Reese break off several fish back to back and not throw that kind of fit. If they didn't they are not human but throwing your gear around and kicking stuff around including off the boat when you find out you were not thinking and didn't turn your Pro air and recirculation units on and your fish die just does not get my vote. It also did not impress his sponsors because he almost lost a lot of them with that fit. By BASS taking the action they did was the only thing that saved him his sponsors. That was very un Professional. You can bet you would not have seen that fit out of Larry Nixon or Denny Brauer, Davy Hite, Paul Elias, Mark Menendez, Alton Jones and the list could go on. KVD as young as he is would keep his cool and just accept his actions and his mistakes. Ike is without a doubt a very good angler and he does have a great ability to catch fish and I will not deny him that. But catching a 2 pound fish does not need to be broadcasted all over the entire lake with his mouth. He just has some growing up to do and he is definately a very good contender for a great future in Bass fishing....

PSYOnelly and trash mouth swindell should not be on TV fishing bad for the children to see if that kind of behavior. They might think that is the way it is supposed to be....
I can only think of two people disquallified in a classic. Want to quess as to who that might be.
IMHO

Well if that is the case Z we had better not let our kids watch any sports cause its all got it in it. Look at Nascar they fight, football they do the same, basketball, look at baseball how many brawls have you seen in baseball. But anyways here is my 2 cents on it.

well you know i watched the video of G gettting d qued and the other guy i cant think of his name right off gave him the ok to come threw but he should have never come threw like that with those specator boats right there like that. I dont know how many of you have seen this video but he was probably with in three feet or four feet of one of the boats and he was up on plain. I dont think that was right and G told the official when he called them that he had the ok to come threw and they ask him if you was at a red light and you had the ok would you run it. So i dont think he meant any harm he just thought that with ok from the other guy fishing he thought it was ok. He wasnt thinking he did apologize at the weigh in. And that was the first time he had ever been dqued. I know a lot of people dont like him and sometimes these guys are probably not the best role models but i have seen more than i can think of get up set out there. Its just like football you wouldnt want your kids to see a late hit meant to be a late hit. But it happens.