A Short Background Of Rapala Fishing Lures
Whether famous brands or no-names, there are lots of companies out there for fishing that produce everything you can think of in the branch from lures, hooks, and rods to beginner fly fishing rods. Heddon and Rapala are two names with tradition in this business. But before talking about Rapala fishing lures, maybe we should first see a little of its history. The lure production was initiated some 60 years ago. Experience and tradition definitely influence the quality of the products and the company’s track record and current unique distribution network, brand portfolio and manufacturing brand gives it a great position for further growth.
Rapala fishing lures were first produced in Finland. Lauri Rapala, the one who founded the business, was born in Finland in 1905 in a poor family, later in life making a buck by working on farms and fishing. As the saying goes ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’, so did Rapala decide to improve his fishing productivity, by developing a better lure. The prototype for Rapala fishing lures saw daylight in 1936 in the form of a carved lure that caused an off-center and wobbled in the water. This initial model is still the basis for a lot of the Rapala fishing lures.
Rapala company won most of its fame after the Second World War. After the war Rapala revived his small lure making enterprise. In the very beginning, all the Rapala fishing lures were made by the founder himself and later on he involved the members of his family in the process as well. Since the very first days of the company, high emphasis was put on testing, and all the Rapala fishing lures still have to go through a rigorous quality checking process.
After the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952, foreign visitors were among the first who took Rapala fishing lures beyond the country’s borders to other countries. Exports began soon afterwards, first toSweden and Norway and then to the USA. In 1957 the business got formalized and the Rapala and Sons / Rapala-Uistin company was established. Further business exposure was achieved with the publication of a complex article in the pages of Life Magazine in 1962. Maybe the fact that the article appeared in the same magazine issue that wrote about the death of Marilyn Monroe, had something to do with the company’s growing popularity in America; however the quality of its products definitely helped.
The rest of the international market opened a lot more easily after success of Rapala products in the United States, but there appeared lots of imitators too. Legal actions have been taken against unauthorized copying, yet, forged versions still exist; yet, the quality provided by Rapala still remains a good criterion of appreciation that is surely unsurpassed.
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