Rapala DT Flat Review

Crankbait fishing isn’t as simple as casting and reeling. If you walk down the fishing aisle of any outdoors store, not all of the crankbaits you see are the same—each runs differently, deflects differently and casts differently. Every crankbait is a precise tool for a specific job. The Rapala DT Flat is a crankbait that I’ve wanted to try for a while and I’m glad I did. Four elements make this crankbait a killer year-round crankbait.

  • Castability
  • Action
  • Profile
  • Color Patterns

Castability

The benefits of a balsa crankbait are undeniable, but many of them can be a hassle to cast. While you can downsize to spinning gear to cast smaller ones, it won’t stop them from twirling like a boomerang. The Rapala DT Flat casts like a bullet, allowing you to hit your targets with pinpoint accuracy. This is especially helpful with the shallower 3-foot model.

I’ve thrown it in multiple conditions, on multiple setups and it has performed very well in all of my tests. Its slim profile allows it to cut through high winds with no twirling or line twist. For a 3/8-ounce crankbait, its castability is impressive to say the least.

Action

The DT Flat has a really unique action, making it a versatile crankbait for all seasons. When you slow-roll it around shallow cover, such as submerged grass, it produces a very tight “shimmy” that draws strikes from otherwise sluggish bass. I’ve also noticed that it never makes the same movement twice, giving it that special “hunting” action that big fish can’t resist.

Conversely, when you retrieve it at rapid pace it emits a wicked vibration that vibrates your forearms as you reel. This technique can be very effective when fishing for schooling bass in the fall of the year.

Profile

I consider the DT Flat to be my “in between” crankbait. Although it is flat-sided, it’s not as slender as most flat-bodied crankbaits. Differentiating your bait from others is always an effective way to catch bass, and I haven’t found a crankbait with the same profile as this one.

This crankbait is also much taller than others, giving it a highly visible profile that draws bass off of cover and from underneath docks to clobber it. Wide enough to use effectively in muddy water and slim enough to use in ultra-clear fisheries, the DT Flat is a good choice in wide range of situations.

Color Patterns

Rapala did a great thing by adding realistic, metallic scales to the DT Flat. These scales provide added realism to the bait, while also making it stand out from the thousands of crankbaits bass see every year. Throughout my testing, I’ve concluded that this small detail does, in fact, make a difference.

Aside from the scales, the different paint schemes are high-quality and different from others. I like that even the more natural colors still have bright highlights, which make the DT Flat stand out from big groups of real shad. When you’re faced with an overabundance of bait, these small characteristics make a huge difference.

With 3-foot and 7-foot depth models available, you’ll find the DT Flat to be useful in a wide variety of situations.

The DT Flat is now discontinued but you can check out all the current Rapala cranks at TackleWarehouse.com.

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