View Full Version : rapala sold out
just read marks post on another subject. i think everyone should know he is right. rapala sold out to a chineese company . worlds largest maker of crank baits. they have flooded the market with cheap imitations of the old products. take a look at them,they dont look as nice and they sure dont run as nice. we use a swimming pool to test crank baits and these are no where near what the used to be. thats why the big bins in the stores. try some shad raps by lindy if youre looking for a good bait. even at $1.99 the rapalas are not wprth it.
Rivertown Sports
04-16-2002, 05:00 PM
I just opened a bait store. So all my rapalas should be
(The Bad Ones)
I read your post here and it was the first ive heard about it.
So i took a new rapala and one out of my own tackle box that ive had for years, Did your little test........And they both ran the SAME!!!
So I either have a store full of old rapalas. Or the chinesse are pretty ##### good!
If I do have a store full of old plugs I CAN SEND THEM TO YOU !!! (LOL)!!!
rtsports@pressenter.com
Thanks Rivertown Sports
riverton........sorry to upset you but its true.in the past you couldn't buy a rapala for 1.99 let alone sell it for that.ask your supplier.
SLIPKNOT
04-16-2002, 08:09 PM
Well it really doesn't matter how they run in the pool does it? All that matters is how many fish the lure catches. Plus all rapalas lures (balsa) will run different becuase they aren't all from the same "mold", they have inconsintences.
Blinded
04-17-2002, 06:00 AM
What the ##### is this post even about????
Read a little
04-17-2002, 06:13 AM
Go to www.normark.com - read the investor relations. They are a Finnish company with production sites around the world, including China. Ahhh, but it's easier just to put out a false post without research.
keep reading
04-17-2002, 08:55 AM
Investor relations 6/29/01-Willtech was established for the purpose of this transaction.The busines operations of the Hong Kong companies Bay on the Sea Ltd, CmotionLtd,.National Wall Limited and Willtech Ltd.,registered in the British Virgin Islands,have been transferred to Willtech. Looks to me like this is where 1.99 kures come from. They just can't be the same at 1/3 the price. I think he's right.
GREEN HORNET @-.
04-17-2002, 07:11 PM
HAWG, NOT TO ARGUE BUT I THINK YOU GUYS ARE OFF BASE ON THIS ONE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE $1.99 LURE HOW MANY OF THEM ARE THE CURRENT COUNT DOWNS, FLOATERS, SHAD RAPS ECT? MOST OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN HAVE BEEN RISTO RAPS AND SOME GOOD LURES (NOT MANY)BUT DISCONTINUED COLORS. HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT THE NEWEST RAPALA LURES HAVE THE NEWER BETTER VMC HOOKS ON THEM? YOU MAY HAVE A POINT WITH THE MOLDED LURES, BUT,I HEARD ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE MOLDED WAS TO OFFER LURES WITH THE SOUND CHAMBERS AND A BETTER PRICE FOR US WHO LIKE TO FISH ROCKS AND DO NOT LIKE TO THROW TAILDANCERS IN THEM.WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE BOXES OF $1.99 LURES HAVE THE GOOD, CURRENT LURES THAT THEY HAVE HAD FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. I AM NOT SEEING TOO MANY SHAD RAPS ECT IN THEM.
Marty
04-18-2002, 02:02 PM
I think it's the reverse; Rapala bought a Hong Kong company. And like a previous poster said, all I've seen in the bargain bins for $1.99 are Risto Raps, which I think have been discontinued.
curt quesnell
04-18-2002, 02:46 PM
I have seen lots of Risto Raps but also the lipless Rattlin
Raps....None of the new or prime stuff gets in the bargain bin.
Check the price on the TailDancers or ThunderCranks..not cheap.
If you want to be impressed check the Jointed Shad Rap..also not
a bargain.
Curt Quesnell
Well, I don't know. I went to Yahoo Finance and looked up Normark (which, if I'm not mistaken is the company that owned Rapala). The company was started in Minneapolis by Ray Ostrom who used to have a boat dealership on East Lake Street if I'm not mistaken. In the 50s (?) he imported the first Rapala and, as chance would have it, Life magazine picked up on it and ran a story. The success from that point on was stupendous. But anyway, could find no such listing. So, either it was sold, or it was never publicly traded on the stock market or,,,,,,,,?
SDBear
04-18-2002, 10:25 PM
I do not think Rapala OWNS the product at the store in which you are shopping. I am sure that a 1.99 was not the wholesale cost either. I will venture to say that the store is moving old product that they cannot sell in order to get some liquidation value out of it...turn it and get some cash flow to use on other more profitable product that actually sells when placed on the peg or gondola. Now, if I am out pulling Shad Raps and the darn plug melts in the water, I could care less where they manufacture it. As long as the quality is there, that is all that matters. Cmon and get a better subject to talk about!
rapman
04-19-2002, 07:28 AM
i have been using rapalas for years. i figure i have some 150 plus. the biggest change that i have seen is when they moved some production to ireland. it seems that they used a softer plastic in the lip, hence, after bouncing them off gravel and rocks, the lips wore down faster and the action became slower. i use my raps for smallmouth, walleye, and panfish. i have caught muskie, cats, and a host of less desireable creatures on them and i really love them. chinese, finnish, or irish, i honestly do not think the quality is there as it was in the 70s. if anyone cares, on my originals, i paint them with clear finger-nail polish for using in low-light conditions. this trick was taught to me by russ williams from gateway bait in andover, ohio. noticed a big difference in my catch rate after doing this. hope rapala does not do to this line as they did to the storm line that they bought out last year.
Maybe I'm a little slow, but what does clear fingernail polish have to do with low light conditions?
Marty
04-19-2002, 05:08 PM
UFDA, below is a link to the Normark site. Click on "Press Releases", then scroll down to a story dated 5-16-2001.
http://normark.com/investor/index.html
rapman
04-19-2002, 09:21 PM
actually, we use them at sunset during the spawn. the fish in northeaster ohio peak around the new moon in april. it seems that even a little shine in the stained-water lakes that we fish seems to help the walleye see them that much better. i can best equate it to a car with a good wax job and another that is dirty or drab. the waxed car will shine in even the smallest amount of light. does this make any sense?