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Bassmaster Classic winners and weekend anglers alike rely on Rapala hard baits to get bit. And when shore lunch is on the menu, more anglers reach for Rapala knives to turn fish to fillets.
So confirms a recent scientific study conducted online by Southwick Associates at AnglerSurvey.com. For the eighth consecutive year, a majority of anglers named Rapala hard baits and knives as their favorites, over all other brands. The influential Southwick survey determines brands and products that anglers purchased most frequently in 2013.
The survey results confirmed what the biggest names in fishing have long demonstrated. From Al and James Lindner in Northern walleye waters, to Rick Murphy and George Poveromo in the salt surf of Florida, to Bassmaster Classic winners like Michael “Ike” Iaconelli and Davy Hite, America’s top anglers trust Rapala lures.
“They were a key part of how I got to where I am in fishing,” says Ike, a Rapala pro angler along with Hite, the 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion, Ott DeFoe, Bernie Schultz and Brandon Palaniuk, the 2013 Classic runner-up. “To be part of a team supporting something you really believe in, that’s the perfect complement,” Ike says.
But long before he won the 2003 Bassmaster Classic, Iaconelli caught fish with Rapala baits as kid on weekend family fishing trips. In fact, it was an aggressive bass he caught on an Original Floating Rapala when he was 11 or 12 that hooked him on the sport of fishing.
“I cast it out, let it hit the water, and started swimming it really slow,” Ike recalls, setting the scene. “And it was amazing. When I paused it and it floated back up and the ripples came off of it, a two- or three-pounder smashed it on top!”
Now a veteran bass pro with kids of his own, Ike is continuing a tradition shared by generations of fathers and children throughout the country – fishing with family and Rapalas. “I learned with these baits as a kid,” he says. “Now, as an old guy, I’m getting to teach kids with the same baits. That’s pretty cool.”
From classics like the Original Floating Rapala and the CountDown, to DT series cranks and Shad Raps, to the new evasive Scatter Raps, there’s a Rapala hard bait for every fishing scenario under the sun. Ike’s favorite hard bait is Rapala’s DT-6, a crankbait that runs six feet deep. The “DT” in the bait’s name stands for “dives to.”
“I fell in love with that bait when it first came out … and it’s still my favorite,” Ike says. “It’s the kind of bait you can throw all year round.”
No. 1 In Knives
Rapala fishing knives are almost as popular as its hard baits. Sale of them comprised a category-leading percentage of all knife purchases.
From Rapala’s iconic birch-handled knives to innovative new electric models, Rapala blades make short work of turning fish into fillets. No wonder they are used in more fish camps, on more charter boats and at more shore lunches than any other knife in the world.
With more than 50 million sold, Rapala’s birch-handled classic, the Fish 'n Fillet, is the knife that taught the world to fillet. “It’s the best fillet knife out there,” says Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame guide Tom Neustrom. “There’s none better.”
“I’ve used these for almost 40 years,” Neustrom says. “I’ve seen a lot of other knives in that time, but there’s not a knife available like the Rapala knife. It’s the guide’s choice.”
Rapala’s electric knives come with cords, traditional battery packs or new Lithium Ion battery packs. They’re designed better than other electric knives, Neustrom says.
“Other manufacturers have a blunt blade at the tip, where Rapala has a pointed blade, like a regular fillet knife,” he explains. “Rapala not only created a better cutting instrument, but it also makes more sense – its design complements its use. It also works better.”
Survey says…
Southwick’s data were compiled from 18,559 internet-based surveys completed by anglers who volunteered to be polled. The year-long research is scientifically designed and weighted to reflect all U.S. anglers.
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