Spring Walleye Action with the Rumble Shad

New Rumble Shad shakes up the water for spring walleye action.

BEMIDJI, Minn. (February 18, 2022) – Northland Fishing Tackle® has made a splash in the premium crankbait category with the Rumble balsawood crankbait series designed by Northland chief bait designer Jarmo Rapala-and fishing is better with balsa. Looking forward to the spring walleye bite, Northland is proud to offer anglers the Rumble Shad, a mid-running crankbait available in three sizes with varying diving depths. You’ll quickly discover walleyes and other species find the lure’s unique roll and tight action simply irresistible!

The #5 dives 5′ to 12′; the #7 dives 8′ to 16′; and the #8 dives 14′ to 21′. All are formed of balsa wood through the unique Heat Compression Molding (HCM) process and feature a welded through wire construction from the tie eye to the tail. Designed to imitate shad, perch, and bluegills, the bait features a tight action, whether cast and retrieved or trolled behind the boat.

The Rumble Shad is available in 15 custom artisan colors, from match-the-hatch patterns to vibrant custom paint themes. The Rumble Shad also features premium short shank treble hooks and an oval split ring on the line tie.

Northland pro Nick Lindner comments: “For me, the Rumble Shad has been a key bait in the springtime period. The #5-the smallest Rumble Shad in the lineup-is a good choice and it’s great for casting or trolling. It’s so good in the spring because of the classic balsa shad configuration that matches the size of the predominant walleye forage in the spring. The Rumble Shad has a subtle action-the wiggle is tight. My favorite applications are right after the Walleye Opener.”

Lindner continues: “You can cast it up onto shallow rocks or sand flats, or alternately, during the first week or two of the season when everybody’s just dragging jigs and minnows on the bottom. With the Rumble Shad, you can cover water faster and find active walleye pods. It’s really a great tool in that situation.”

Speaking to the vast array of 15 color options, Lindner sticks with more natural patterns on clear bodies of water. “On darker stained waters like in reservoirs and river systems,” he says in contrast, “I gravitate to any of the color options with pink in them. That’s been a go-to for me. The color Sneeze, too, has been a real producer.” Bubblegum Tiger Gold Perch Steel Chartreuse

Lindner continues: “I watch the size of the predominant walleye forage throughout the season, starting with the diminutive #5 and moving bigger as the young-of-the-year forage grows in size, which will signal moving bigger in the Rumble Shad lineup.”

Northland Team Pro Jason Mitchell adds: “It’s been an absolute phenomenon in cold water-both pitching and trolling. The Rumble Shad has a nice stall and flutter when you work the rod and stop it. It has a better dive curve than similar-sized and shaped baits due to its thinner bill. For me, it’s been a great slower cold-water bait that just catches walleyes. I think it’s going to be a great bait this spring for pitching, especially early-season river walleye fishing around wingdams, current breaks, rocks, and rip rap.”

Mitchell continues: “The Rumble Shad just has a nice tight and delicate action that tempts walleyes to bite. On the troll, pull it 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 mph and it just comes alive. And when you stop it, the bait backs up and flutters nicely and then doesn’t take much to get it going.”

Northland pro Joel Nelson chimes in: “In the spring I will troll the bait earlier than most walleye fishermen tend to-like the smaller #5 that dives 5′ to 12′. I remember opening up the season on Minnesota’s Red Lake when everybody was jigging; the action was slow and the water was cold. People are slip-bobbering and we’re trolling figure 8’s around them catching fish on the Rumble Shad, just smoking the walleyes. These people could not get bit for whatever reason, but pulling a smaller shad-shaped crankbait was just incredible and we had a three man limit of fish in twenty minutes. So, my recommendation is to fish Rumble Shads early in the season.”

“Then you’ve got the mid- to late-summer period trolling the quintessential last hour of light before dark, pulling them along the weedline and you’re going to catch everything: walleyes, pike, bass, and even big, slab crappies. In the fall, the big sizes are what I turn with big wind patterns on a bunch of lakes. If the wind starts howling you go out on that second or third day and cast the bigger size Rumble Shads out on top of the structure and you crank them down into the rocks, and if you get wedged, just pop the bait out and give it some line and big walleyes will take it.”

#5 LEMON TIGER

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#7 SILVER SHINER

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#8 OLIVE TIGER

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Northland pro Brian “Bro” Brosdahl adds: “The Rumble Shad has a unique tight wobble that walleyes rush in to eat. In testing, I did a lot of pitching and retrieving, and had everything follow and strike. There are great match-the-hatch colors and wicked colorful patterns. I personally think the Rumble Shad is going to be the hottest new walleye bait this spring. You can troll it on a flat line or lead-core. Personally, I like pitching them – a simple pitch and reel or with a few twitches thrown in. It’s a big walleye bait, too. I caught some really big walleyes on it during testing. Ultimately, the Rumble Shad is a fantastic weapon for every angler to take to their favorite walleye hole. It casts well and you can feel the bait thumping while you’re reeling.”

For the quartet of walleye specialists spring can’t come soon enough to break out the Rumble Shad on their favorite waters. Visit your favorite Northland Fishing Tackle dealer and stock up now before the pegs are empty! Blue Tiger Purple Wonder Sneeze