# Reef Runner Lures



## Buckeye Ron

I see these Reef Runner Lures advertised on E-bay. Can anyone tell me how these lures work on fish? I am not familiar with them!


----------



## iwdavefish

Reef Runners are darn good walleye baits. I use them a lot up on Erie. I'd imagine they would work just as well on inland waters.


----------



## Hook N Book

Ditto, they're one of the No.1 crank baits for trolling on Erie and they work great on the inland lakes as well. They do catch fish too. If you use them make sure they're tuned to run true, otherwise you could have a real mess on your hands.


----------



## bkr43050

Reef Runners,

I know of a guy who has enough of them in his boat that they would probably sink my boat just hauling them. Obviously he have great confidence in them. I have only used them on a few occasions but they are anice running lure and based on what the guys are saying that use them all the time on Erie, I would say they would be a necessity in my tackle if I was rigged for Erie.


----------



## Net

I've had very mixed results with RR's on inland lakes. More trash fish than target fish. Others I've spoken with have had some success on saugeye with the Little Ripper under certain conditions. IMO, the Reef Runner is the best smelt imitation ever made. Lots of side to side action (horizontal hunt) built in. Perfect for Erie.


----------



## EYE MISOR

i used them on mosquito and caught some decent eyes erie they work great and last year in spring the ripsticks and little rippers wokred awesome on lake ontario for king salmon and brown trout i have about 20 in my box and gonna get some more u should try some

bob


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Eye Misor,
I plan on buying some as soon as I can. Iwas going to check them out at the Fisherman's Warehouse to see if they had them there for sell. Maybe Gander Mountain too.  
Thanks,
Ron


----------



## Toolman

Ron,

Like the other guys have already said, Reef Runners are great baits. (I'm probably who BKR was referring too  ) There are at least 6 different types/sizes of crank baits made by Reefrunner and they all have their place and time, but the Deep Reef Runners and the Ripsticks are probably the top two. Deep Little Rippers also produce well on Erie and they also work great on inland waters, as do the Ripshad.

Tim


----------



## bkr43050

Tim,
I knew you would be able to figure that one out. I figured the thread title would be enough to catch your attention.


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Toolman,
Yes, I found out how many different kinds there were Sunday at Gander Mountain. I tried to get some for the different contours of the lake that I plan on trolling. Got 6 of them not too many but at least one on each pole. So I' ll see what happens  Man they have more colors to choose from than Carters has little liver pills.  
Really hoping to have a lot of fun with them, will let you know


Ron


----------



## Toolman

Ron,

Gander Mountain stocks a pretty good selection of Reef Runners. If you want to see an AWESOME selection, go to Den's Sportsman's Outpost in Vermillion, Walskis in Huron, or a host of other shops on the North Coast. There are colors I've never seen, heard of, or even thought of! I will say that to own all the colors is almost ludicrous.  I try to break the color types into several groups-Brights/flourescents, Chromes/metallics, Naturals, and Darks. I generally buy/carry 2 of the colors within these groups, that way I have a second one to put out in a trolling spread if one gets "hot". Favorite colors I may get 3 or more of.

Brian-That tackle bag got even heavier this winter!  I don't think I can lift it by myself anymore!!  

Tim


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Tim,
I tried to stay with a shad color because of the baitfish in the lake and got a couple tiger colored ones just for the hay of it. But I can't wait to try them. Going to try and get my boat out in the next week I hope.  
Thanks again,
Ron


----------



## bkr43050

Tim,

Don't hurt yourself carrying that bag. It sounds like you may need help with it.


----------



## Toolman

Ron- Which baits did you get-Reef Runner or Deep Little Ripper? In case you have never used them before you will need to "tune" them out of the box first to get the best results. The tuning process is a little trickier with Reef Runners than most other baits, but the results will be well worth it, IMO! 

Brian-All I have to do is get that thing into the boat-then I'm good!  I'm ready-maybe this weekend.

Tim


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Tim,
I got the little ripper Deep & regular and a couple of the Ripshad. I guess that I will need to cast and retrieve before I try trolling with them right. It says to slightly bend the front eyelet to the right if the bait is running left and just the opposite if it is going to the right.
Any special advice you can give me, I would appreciate.  
Ron


----------



## Toolman

Ron,

When I tune a lure (trolling) I let out 6-8' of line hold the rod tip near the water and pull the bait at trolling speed if anywhere close to running correctly it should run true. If not bend the lure eye in VERY SLIGHT increments until it runs right-don't over bend. I then fine tune them by "sweeping" the rod tip forward, imitating a surge of a wave or an outside turn (basically a speed increase). Reef Runners will kick out to the side when the surge (otherwise called a "hunting" action) which I think is a real trigger for following fish. They should kick equally to each side, but quickly regain their track. The process would be the same casting jst follow the bait as it comes to you and make the proper adjustments. 

Tim


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Tim,
Thanks for the information, I am going to print it off and put with my lures so I can have handy reference when I go to tune them the first time.  
Thanks,
Ron


----------



## Bob Why

I currently have over 100 lures made by Reef Runner. Deep Divers, Deep Little Rippers, Rip Sticks, Little Rippers and Rip Shads. I'm a crank bait junky.
Had to put wheels on my tackle bag. My partner says we are going to need a
crane to get it in the boat. I think I need to attend meetings if Fishing Lures Annonimous.


----------



## skipjack

get the tunning tool made for reef runners.it makes it real easy to get them running rite.


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Skipjack,
Where can you find/buy one of the tuning adjusters at?  
Thanks,
Ron


----------



## Toolman

I forgot to mention the tuner. A good tool for tuning Reef Runners and most every other crank bait. Most of the good bait stores on the North Coast carry the Reef Runner Tuner. You can get it on-line here:

http://www.reelbait.com/products.php?child=101

Tim


----------



## Buckeye Ron

Thanks Tim
Ron


----------

