Dan Brozowski finds that something old, something new works for fall fishing success.

When you’ve been fishing for more years than some anglers have been alive, newly release baits may not generate the excitement that they once did. Yet some baits that hit the market pique my interest from a new design standpoint. Being the self-proclaimed tackle “addict” that I am, admiring them from afar just doesn’t work. I have to hold the bait in hand to experience its potential uniqueness ansd to earn a place in my tackle rotation.

About a year ago, a well-known, long-standing tackle giant released a new bait—actually a renovation to a very old and familiar bait: the Rapala Countdown Elite. If you’re familiar with the Rapala product line, you have probably used or at the very least are familiar with the Rapala Original Countdown Minnow. I remember them taking up residence in the old, rusty trays of my dad’s metal tackle box.

The new Countdown Elite has an eye-catching look for sure. It is definitely a much-renovated bait with flatter sides, creating a different profile from the Original, in some unique colors and patterns. With all this new-found glamour to the Countdown, several had to be delivered to my doorstep!

After putting them to work, the new Countdown Elite lived up to its hype and experienced some awesome, multi-species catches. Thus, I added it to my already bursting tackle bag!

Having success with this new bait caused me to turn my interest toward the old standby bait—the Original Countdown. Often, newly renovated baits cause the older models to be moved a bit deeper in the tackle bag or possibly earn time on the shelf. But because of the action and response from fish to the new Countdown, I now had to see what I had been missing from the old style of Countdown baits. Now, the Elite has not replaced the Original, so the old style is still plenty available and doing quite well on its own. In my case, I couldn’t recall the last time I had used the Original Countdown; the floating Original was a regular in my box, just not the Countdown for whatever reason.

So, exploring a different angle toward renovated designed baits, I began researching the old design and found that I wasn’t sure why it wasn’t a regular in my tackle rotation.

The Countdown Rapala was designed many years ago as a sinking version of the Floating Minnow that started it all for Rapala. Its action is similar to the Floating Minnow, but rather than confining itself to the upper water layers, the Countdown sinks and operates at whatever depth active fish are located. With a fall or sinking rate of approximately one foot per second, you can cast out, then simply count down your bait to the proper level, to either search for or return to the depth of active fish.

Besides experimenting with the new Countdown Elite baits, a resurrection of the Original version piqued my interest. Through research and testing, both the new Elite and the Original Countdowns have become tools for finding active levels of multiple fish species. With the onset of fall and dropping water temps, a bait that can work all depths without changing styles or bait sizes becomes a remarkable asset for cold-water fishing success.

Both styles of Countdown Rapalas are designed for relatively cover- and obstruction-free waters; weedy or heavily wood-infested waters will create a nightmare for the dangling trebles. But aside from wood snags, most waters generally lose their weeds as the winter get closer, and fish are either roaming or holding in deeper-water areas. With the uncertainty of what depths the fish are inhabiting on any given day, the Countdown series of baits quickly helps you narrow your search quickly.

Whether you prefer the shiny new Countdown Elite or the earlier-version Original Countdown, as the waters cool heading into the winter season, give these baits a whirl for cold-water action!

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