Rapala's

[TNBronzeback]

Ive been hearing alot of chatter about the quality of some, if not all of the baits that Rapala is making. Reports from all over the US and Canada complaining about line eyes popping off/breaking off, the bills on crankbaits and body baits just pulling out of the lure.
Alot of people have brought this to Rapala's attention but i dont think Rapala is giving it too much thought. (the reports on the customer service is mainly hear-say)
I was just wondering if any of you guys have been experiencing this in the past year or so.
Im not a fan of Rapala (with the exception of thier ice line) so i have nothing at stake here, but im wondering if you guys have had this problem and what replacements you guys have went to.
Might be a good topic of discussion!

[Transplanted Sportsman]

sorry man but I have not heard anything, where did you read about this??, I'm a big Rapala fan and their quality has always been great IMHO, so if they are now skimping on quality I may as well go to a new brand

[TNBronzeback]

some friends of mine have been posting alot of information on facebook about it. (both thier friends/fisherman, as well as others in thier own fishing circle) quite a few guides in Canada have expressed thier dislike with the customer service and shared some instances on what has been happening. One guide in PA sent Rapala a box of broken baits with a letter explaining what was happening and rapala sent the same box of baits back, no letter or replaced baits or anything, not even an aknowledgement of the problem.
i dont know if its a demographic thing where some area's people use more rapala's due to forage or what, but i have seen quite a bit about it.
But like i said, i dont own them, i dont use them, but i was just curious if guys on here had any experience with Rapalas faultering at all.
Alot of speculation has said that since Walmart has been carrying them, the quality has dropped, i guess those people are figuring if walmart is buying them by the truckloads, they can skimp of quality....i really dont know.

[Reel Tune]

I've also heard about this, I have not experienced it first hand. A Facebook buddy of mine from Alabama had one separate horizontally recently. I have about 20 DT 4's, DT 6's, DT10's, DT 16's, and DT20's, and have not had any negative experiences, and also have Husky Jerks, Clackin' Raps, Rat L N Raps, Scatter Raps, Jointed Rapalas, a bunch of Shad Raps, a bunch of X-Raps. Wow I didn't realize how many Rapalas I have. I've not had an issue with the plastic of wood baits.

[Fish Whisperer]

Does Rapala have a plant in China now?


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[Pookie]

Rapala is hands down my favorite crankbait, and the shad rap is hands down what I fish the most of. Years ago, I hit a rock with a SR5 and it broke just behind the lip, but never had any probs with them.

[bfish]

balsa baits break much easier than hard plastic or foam baits. IMO most of what you hear is not a Rapala issue but a balsa issue. That said, I don't think they are anchored as well as they were decades ago, but IMO they are anchored well enough.

[creekcrappie]

I haven't heard about this. I fish dt6s, dt10s, and shad rap 5s and I haven't had a problem with them yet.

[tacklemake]

I use shad rap a lot and the only thing that I have found and it was my fault. If you slam the lure in the water to nock off the grass after a while the bill will fall off because they are only glued in to wood, so now I don't do that anymore. I still use them and I catch fish every time I do....................woody

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by tacklemake

I use shad rap a lot and the only thing that I have found and it was my fault. If you slam the lure in the water to nock off the grass after a while the bill will fall off because they are only glued in to wood, so now I don't do that anymore. I still use them and I catch fish every time I do....................woody

i used to do that alot when i was a kid and had the exact same results, then dads big hand came around and tanned my rear everytime so that was a short lived habit for me! LOL

[JandSCattleCo]

One of my students bought two of the balsa rapalas. Both of them split down the middle on the first fish.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by JandSCattleCo

One of my students bought two of the balsa rapalas. Both of them split down the middle on the first fish.

Thats one of the complaints ive heard! plus the finish/paint totally chipping off the body. It sounds like Rapala has a Balsa issue like bfish mentioned earlier.
what a bummer, spend $6-$10 on a bait just to have that happen that soon. would anybody even honor a return policy on something like that i wonder?