Rapala

Rapala ( RAP-ə-lah) is a fishing product manufacturing company based in Finland. It was founded in 1936 by Lauri Rapala, who is credited for creating the world's first floating minnow lure carved from cork with a shoemaker's knife, covered with chocolate candy bar wrappers and melted photography film negatives, for a protective outer coating. His first fishing lure was created and designed for the purpose of catching pike. The floating minnow lure later, once the Rapala company was created, went on to become the first Rapala lure. The company produces a similar lure today. The construction of the lure is similar to how they were originally built, with the exception that the core is made from balsa wood instead of cork, and the outer coating is now paint and lacquer. The original floating minnow, now called the No. 9 floater, is the company's most popular lure. Rapala's lures are considered some of the world's leading baits and sold in 140 countries with Field & Stream ranking Rapala's Original Floating Minnow the third of the "best topwater lures ever created" in 2019. Rapala's American subsidiary, Rapala USA, is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Design and development teams in the US and Finland work together to develop new lures or modify existing ones fishing tackle continues to evolve. The company still follows Lauri Rapala's practice of hand-testing each lure produced to make sure it performs as intended. Their products are sold direct-to-consumer via eCommerce as well as through retailers including Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's in the United States. Rapala owns 100% of 13 Fishing (a group of brands primarily focused on anglers and fishing), and has exclusive rights to the Okuma fishing brand in Europe and Russia. They also sponsor a number of professional fishermen. Rapala CEO and President Nicolas Cederström Warchalowski...