Welcome to Fishing Guide

Making Fishing Lures Article

Thumbnail example . For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.

You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.

The Evolution of Rapala Fishing Lures

from:

Rapala fishing lures have been on the market since 1936 and are almost always a staple lure in any angler's fishing box. The original Rapala fishing lures were hand cared out of native balsa wood and cork in Finland by an avid fisherman named Lauri Rapala. Mr. Rapala noticed how fish tended to move towards and bite aggressively at injured baitfish, and he designed a lightweight lure that would move through the water with the same presentation as an injured fish, creating the ideal lure.

The first Rapala fishing lures where experiments, and fashioned out of easy to access materials around the home. The cork and wood was covered with simple tin foil, and the result was even more strikes by large fish thinking they were hitting on injured fish. Photography negatives were melted to make a clear coating that would both waterproof the Rapala fishing lures as well as protect the tin foil covering. The results were amazing, even in a part of the world were fishing was a daily event.

Originally all Rapala fishing lures were made by hand and tested personally by the originator of the lure. As the demand increased more people were hired, but the same attention to personal detailing and hand made trademark action was still in every Rapala fishing lure sold. Even today all Rapala fishing lures are tested in a tank before being sold to ensure that they have the correct injured fish movement in the water.

The original Rapala floater was the only Rapala fishing lure on the market from 1936 until 1965 when several other lures were introduced including the saltwater floater and the balanced jigging lure. In 1974 a jointed diver was introduced to the line and the shad lures were added to the product line in the 1980's.

Since 1999 there has been at least one new version of Rapala fishing lures to hit the market every season. Rapala fishing lures are sold in over 140 countries around the world in sporting goods stores, as well as being sold globally through the internet. There are over twenty million Rapala fishing lures sold annually and these numbers only reflect new lures sold through retail outlets. Rapala also introduced several other fishing gadgets such as a fish and fillet knife in 1964 and a hand held digital weigh in scale in 1989. Normark, the company owning the Rapala line also sells rods, reels, tools and other fishing accessories.

Rapala fishing lures are some of the best in the world, and are still largely made and tested the same way that Lauri Rapala made his first lure out of his home in 1936.

Making Fishing Lures News

Through the Woods: Poor 'possum - Independent News Online

Posted Friday, January 9 at 11:45 a.m. UNDER THE BIRD FEEDERS was a new visitor to the yard, an opossum, with its name derived from its Algonquian name wapathemwa. It was small, shivering, and ravenously ate seed and corn left by the birds. It was so ...

Fishing the Midwest: Resolutions to make and keep in 2009 - Nevada Journal

For many folks, 2008 was a difficult one; and, for some folks, 2009 looks to have its challenges as well. But we press ahead. That's all we can do. With these challenges, we're fortunate to have diversions to, for a period of time, take our mind away ...

Knives are an angler’s best friend - Manteca Bulletin

Over the Christmas break I visited the in-laws who live in Arizona. While cooking for my nieces and nephews I was having a difficult time opening a package of Hot Dogs. My father in law saw me struggling to open the package and offered me his pocket ...

Bass can be caught in winter if angler adapts - Yuma Daily Sun

When the bass bite gets tough in the winter, watch for dying shad on the water - bass will often position themselves quietly under the shad waiting for the dying baitfish to flutter down and provide a meal. The spoon is very effective this time of ...

ODFW Recreation Report - Fisherman News

Winter steelhead season is underway in coastal rivers and streams. Recent cold, wet conditions have made fishing conditions challenging but look for fishing to improve as water levels fall and water clarity improves. Clam diggers will find abundant ...