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Rapala
At Rapala®, we feel it’s our responsibility to provide anglers with their tools of the trade. The lures, tackle and accessories they need to be effective anglers. We don’t take that responsibility lightly. In fact, it’s our mission to always maintain the integrity of design and manufacturing that has become our trademark.
Our promise is that no Rapala® item will ever reach the eager hands of an angler if it is not extremely effective at its intended function.
Rapala has been the world's favorite fishing lure since 1936. Today, Rapala lures, knives, tools and accessories are trusted by fishermen in over 140 countries worldwide. Rapala's reputation stems from a towering list of world record catches, the knowledge of our Pro Anglers and a history of unwavering dedication to quality. Each and every Rapala lure is still hand-tuned and tank-tested to assure it has the Rapala trademark swimming action that big fish can't resist.
It all began with a hungry Finnish guy and a carving knife. It was the 1930s when a simple fisherman made an observation of simple genius: Big fish eat little fish, especially little fish that are wounded. So begins the greatest fishing story ever told. As Lauri Rapala fished the waters of Finland’s Lake Paijanne, he quietly rowed and watched. And what he saw was how hungry predator fish would dart into a school of minnows and attack the one that swam with a slightly off-center wobble. Over and over again.
Our History
Lauri realized that if he could craft a lure that mimicked the movements of a wounded minnow, he could catch more fish, earn more money, and not spend time constantly baiting lines. So Lauri set to work. He whittled. Carved. And shaved. Eventually a lure began to take shape. Using a shoemaker’s knife and some sandpaper, he created his first successful lure from cork in 1936. Tinfoil from chocolate bars formed the lure’s outer surface. Melted photographic negatives the protective coating. But most importantly, it perfectly imitated the action of a wounded minnow. Legend has it that Lauri sometimes caught 600 pounds of fish a day with that new lure. And as word of his abundant catches spread, the lure’s reputation grew. The rest, as they say, is history. That first lure was the forefather to the lure that has helped more fishermen experience the thrill of more big fish than any other: the legendary Original Floating™ Rapala.