“Wicked! Where and when can I get some?”

Such was the reaction of bass anglers across the country when the Storm Arashi was unveiled as the secret bait with which Brandon Palaniuk built a commanding early lead in a Bassmaster tournament on the Mississippi River in July.

That was likely the reaction of his fellow Bassmaster pros too. At the time, Palaniuk was the only angler with a Storm Arashi (ah-rah-shee) in his arsenal.

But the Arashi is hush-hush no more. Arashi Silent Square baits are available now at your favorite outdoor retailer and at Rapala.com here. Storm is one of many respected names in the Rapala family of brands.

Palaniuk built a dominating, six-pound lead in the first two days of the Mississippi River Rumble mostly throwing two Arashi models, the Square 3 and Square 5. The numbers in the name indicate the bait’s maximum diving depth.

“Whether anglers need a lure that has a lively rolling action, a tight wiggle action or a moderate rolling action paired with the perfect tail kick, Arashi has them covered,” Palaniuk says.

An ultra-quiet, non-rattling bait perfect for targeting wary or pressured fish in shallow water, the Silent Square features a large head that extends to a thin sharp tail. That combination creates unadulterated buoyancy to back out of cover. And the square-lip design adds increased deflection, creating the perfect match for contacting structure.

The Silent Square 3 is 2-1/8 inches long and weighs 1/2 ounce. The Silent Square 5 is 2-3/8 inches long and weighs 5/8 ounce. Both are equipped with circuit-board lips and an intricately built, patent pending self-tuning line tie, which Palaniuk says makes the Arashi an unmatched force and a bass angler’s dream bait.

Both the Square 3 and Square 5 are available in 12 color patterns: Hot Blue Shad, Bluegill, Baby Bass, Crappie, Blue Back Herring, Wakasagi, Rusty Craw, Mossy Chartreuse Craw, Red Craw, Hot Chartreuse, Parrot and Black Silver Shad.

Black Silver Shad was Palaniuk’s go-to color in the Mississippi River tournament.

“Arashi” means “Storm” in Japanese.

Self-tuning line tie
Three features combine to make Arashis perfect for numerous shallow-water applications, Palaniuk says, noting that they will be just as effective elsewhere in the country as they were on the Mississippi River.

Most unique to the Arashi is the free-moving, self-tuning line tie.

“Once this bait is in tune, it will never come out of tune,” Palaniuk points out, explaining why that’s important. “You can turn this bait on a high-speed real as fast as you can possibly move your hand on the reel, and it will run true all the time. It will never blow out, never kick out to the side.”

Circuit board lip
The Arashi's circuit-board lip construction allows for a thinner bill, which makes the bait durable and gives it more action at slower speeds.

“The circuit board lip tracks the lure true at slow speeds, while precisely and quickly getting it down to maximum diving depth,” Palaniuk explains.

Rotated hook hangers
The Arashi features rotated hook hangers that accommodate larger hooks.

“When you’re burning this bait and fish come up and slap at it, you’ve got a better chance of catching them if you've got bigger hooks on,” Palaniuk explains.

Go Back