MINNETONKA, Minn. (June 23, 2014) — From the tattoo parlor to the bait shop, the Rapala® DT® series is ready to roll up a sleeve and show off four fresh, new Ike’s Custom Ink colors — Girlfriend, Rasta, Mule and Bruise.
Designed personally by Michael “Ike” Iaconelli, the Ike’s Custom Ink colors are some of Ike’s secrets, he says “using something different, something unique, to catch more fish.”
Girlfriend
The new Girlfriend color pattern resembles a muted take on the famous Firetiger pattern, with the addition of a pink-orange throat flash. “That little bit of flash on the underside — that little naturalistic accent — can often mean the difference between not getting bit and getting bombarded,” Ike says.
“To look natural, it has to mimic the real thing,” Ike explains further in his Bassmaster.com column. “What the Bass sees is what matters.”
Mule
The new Mule color pattern is, essentially, a cross between a classic “bone” tone and a naturalistic craw color. “There’s no better way to accent bone, but to make it a crayfish pattern,” Ike says.
Rasta
A new take on an old favorite, the Rasta color pattern’s green back, chartreuse body and orange belly stripe will look familiar to many anglers — it resembles both the Homer color popular in the Southeast and the Firetiger color that’s a mainstay in the Upper Midwest.
“With Rasta, our take on that classic green-chartreuse combo is more toned down and muted, and there are no tiger stripes,” Ike explains. “But we kept the full orange belly, which can be essential for bites, especially in dirty, stained water.”
Compared to traditional Homer and Firetiger patterns, however, Rasta’s color palette is not nearly as bright.
“Bright isn’t always the best,” Ike explains. “Sometimes it seems to me that fishing lures — crankbaits, especially — are made to catch anglers rather than fish. They take on a gaudy look that’s pretty cool in the tackle shop but might not be so cool in the water.”
Bruise
When it comes to jigs and trailers, “Throwing black-and-blue — especially in colder water — is automatic,” Ike says. “But you rarely, if ever, saw that color combo in crankbaits.” Until now.
Ike’s new Bruise color pattern looks just like it sounds it would — blue and black and tender. Just like a molting crawdad.
“Most crayfish, when they molt — when they come out of their shell — they’re bluish black,” Ike explains. “And that’s when they’re most vulnerable. And fish know this instinctively. They know it’s an easy snack.”
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