Ultralight Minnow and Ultralight Shad

Behold the Rapala Ultralight Shad and Ultralight Minnow! Two of the many new products coming our way for 2012, the new ultralight offerings from Rapala are in response to anglers seeking smaller lures for finesse applications. Fished with 6lb tackle or less, the Ultralight lures are an ideal presentation to very delicate or wary fish. Though small in size, they are appropriately weighted to allow maximum casting distance on ultralight tackle and certainly gives an attractive tight, wiggling action. These snack-sized lures also sink slowly when paused on the retrieve.

I recommend getting a moderately-fast action rod around 5 to 6ft of 2-6lb rating. A 1000-sized (Shimano size standard) reel with 4lb braid or less would be ideal with a 4-6lb leader topping. Clips would be optional. They do make changing lures easier but at the same time dampens the lure from achieving its maximum action potential. That said, I still use snap swivels ;)  

The Ultralight Minnow comes in two sizes:

ULM04 (4cm, 3grams, runs from 0.6-0.9m)

ULM06 (6cm, 4grams, runs from 0.6-0.9m)

The Ultralight Shad comes in only one size:

ULS04 (4cm, 3grams, runs 1.2-1.5m)

The one thing I really like about the Ultralight Shad and Minnow is the exceptional chrome finish on some of the patterns. The scales and eyes look pretty realistic too!

One of my favourite hot colours - CLN (Clown)

Next in line - SBR (Silver Brown)!

It was an overcast day and the weather was fickle. The big fish were not so hot on the bite though the little ones were pretty active. The good thing about ultralight lures is that the fish are less wary of small offerings compared to bigger lures. The lighter and finer leader is also less obvious in the water too which adds on to the angler's advantage. I've found working the Ultralight Minnow with intermittent twitches of the rod tip gives a fast, darting kind of action just under the surface of the water. On the other hand, the Ultralight Shad emits its tight, wiggling action even just by cranking it flat out. Twitching the rod tip causes it to lunge forwards in a more aggressive manner but still maintaining that tight wiggle. 

We caught one...

And another... 

And another....

And another!

We landed a lot of juvenile Peacock Bass up to 2 pounds, which were often considered 'pesky' when we were going for big ones but by significantly downsizing one's tackle, these little fellas definitely gave good accounts of themselves and were absolutely fun! It was one of those moments when you are happily engaging the 'norm' when the odd Biggie slams your lure! Fred was the lucky bloke to have a nice sized Temensis slam into an Ultralight Minnow 06. Although it had him worried a little at the beginning, he was confident of his tackle and it was soon taken care of.

As he was releasing the beauty back into the water, he sighted its mate, a significantly bigger specimen patrolling the deep. Instinctively, I cast out my own Ultralight Minnow.... only to be bullied into submission in the blink of an eye. I had no chance. The fellow took me right towards a huge snag 10m to my left before I could even say "HEEEELLLLP!" There was no way the 2-6lb noodlestick I was using could have stopped him (at least I'd like to console myself and think so!).

Baby Tomans were in love with Shads too 

This one slurped down a Gold ULM