Rapala Original Floating

[Mobasser]

When I first started bass fishing, one of the first baits I bought was a Rapala floating minnow, in silver color.                                                   I bought this bait from reading( before the internet) about it's effectiveness and fish catching ability.                                             Florida fisherman Doug Hannon ranked it as one of the very best baits, in the larger sizes for catching big bass in his state, and many outdoor writers of the time called it a " must have" in your box.                                                         For some reason, my catch rates on the original Rapala have been poor. I've caught many bass on Smithwick Rogues, Bomber Long A and similar long plastic minnow plugs over the years, but the floating Raplala hasn't worked well for me.                                                              I've always liked the looks of these baits, and the balsa construction. The new ones come with VMC hooks, which appear to be good. I have four of these baits. F9, two F11, and one  F13, in silver/black, gold, and blue colors.                                                  For users of this old classic,  how do you rig and fish them? Snap or split ring? What retrieve has worked best, and  under what conditions have you had the best results? I'm hoping I can put these to good use as I've had them so long.

[scaleface]

All the Rapalas I had were so light I could only cast them on spinning gear , so I never used them much . I dont use spinning equipment much . I know I'm missing out by not using it but I only carry a handful of rods . The Long A ,  I have used a lot and is one of my favorite baits .

[PourMyOwn]

I've used them for ages, in the 80s my father drilled holes in them and epoxied tiny split shot and bb's to make them suspend. They are great baits, especially as a backup when ypu are throwing topwater and they won't commit to an aggressive lure.

[TnRiver46]

It’s too long to type but I was taught by the master of fishing these things. Here’s the cliff notes version

 

 Throw it out and leave it for quite a white. Then barely twitch the rod up and leave it a while. Then do that again. Then twitch sideways a few times. If they don’t like that reel it in medium speed and try again . As I was trying this for the very first cast ever I got a 2 lb largemouth while standing on a dock and him coaching. It’s magic 

[Bubba 460]

 

They are great baits and belong in the "Lure Hall of Fame" (if there is one). The balsa models are tooooo light and hard to cast any distance, even on light spinning tackle. Cast out over a submerged grass bed or wood and jerked back in one to two foot spans then allowed to resurface for a couple of seconds, it is still one of the best baits out there for that presentation. Great in a shallow rivers for smallmouth too using the same retrieve. With that said, there are more modern choices that can do the same thing and cast much further. So in my thinking the Rapala floating minnow has had its 15 minutes of fame but its time has past. I still have several from 3" to 8" but seldom use them anymore.

[king fisher]

Twitch on the surface, reel and pause, straight retrieve, troll, Carolina rig, tie two together similar to a double fluke rig.  No wrong way to fish one.  Disadvantage is they are light, difficult to cast, and you need to use a loop knot for most methods.

[Smells like fish]

Balsa minnows 2.5” to 6”, I mainly used the 2.5” with Mitchell 308’s with 6 lb line… catches everything that swims. I always throw and let it sit for up to 15 seconds with the slightest subtle movements that might be thought of as an insect fell in the water, retrieve is nearly always constant jerks of the rod as I’m reeling it in. My best smallmouth came on a 4.5” balsa minnow. 

[Captain Phil]

The Rapala floating minnow is one of the greatest bass baits of all time.  There is literally no way to fish them wrong.  These baits need to be fished on light line.  Fishing them on anything heavier than 8-10 pound mono kills the action.  Tie the line directly to the lure using a loop knot.  Never use a snap, swivel or hardware of any kind.   They work best in calm water with no wind.   You don't need to change the hooks, just fish them as they come.  Both silver and gold minnows work well.  Some days the bass prefer one color over the other.  I use two sizes, 4" and 6".  Twitching the lure on top is the standard retrieve.  Snapping them under the water like a jerk bait can be deadly as well. If you can't catch bass with this lure, you might consider taking up golf.  ?

[scaleface]

49 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

If you can't catch bass with this lure, you might consider taking up golf.  ?

I cant hit a golf ball either .  

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, scaleface said:

I cant hit a golf ball either .

I've never been a golfer, and I don't plan on taking it up anytime soon. I'll give the Rapala a shot again, but I have caught many more fish on a Rogue or Bomber.

[desmobob]

25 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

The Rapala floating minnow is one of the greatest bass baits of all time.  There is literally no way to fish them wrong. 

 

For probably the first dozen years I fished them (starting as a young kid, when I had saved up enough to buy one... I seem to remember them being the most expensive lure in the store) I just casted them out and cranked them steadily back in.  

 

Any and all possible means were employed to recover a snagged Rapala!

 

A youngster could rarely afford the floating AND countdown versions, so I rigged the floaters with split shot about a foot up the line to get more depth when needed.  When I got older, I long-line trolled them behind a canoe after ice-out and caught lake trout and landlocked salmon.

 

They were always a favorite lure of mine and they still work well on a lot of freshwater fish. 

[Happybeerbuzz]

What exactly is everyone throwing them on?  I tried using an 6'6 ML spinning rod with a 2500 size reel and felt like I was only throwing F9 about 20' or so.  Is that all I should expect to cast it?  Because of cutability, I probably haven't tied one on since getting a boat. 

[desmobob]

I threw them on light and ultralight spinning gear in the old days.  Same today, plus BFS casting gear.

[T-Billy]

56 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

If you can't catch bass with this lure, you might consider taking up golf

Golf is a terrible waste of perfectly good fishing weather. Like everyone else, I twitch those Rapala's on the surface. Waking them has been effective some days too.

[GreenPig]

The original Rapala is primarily a sunny winter bank lure for me. I'll cast it parallel and pull it under and allow it to float back to the surface and repeat or just slow reel it. I fish it on light action spinning rods with 4 - 6lb mono. 

[roadwarrior]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

It’s magic 

An original "Magic Bait".

[Ratherbfishing]

I work part-time at a sporting goods store.  When someone who is new to the sport asks me to pick out some lures for him/her to get started, invariably one of the baits I suggest is a floating Rapala-usually in silver or gold.  It's about as close to a "no-brainer" bait as one can ask for.

 

I will allow that I haven't caught many really LARGE bass with this bait but the reason for this is generally because I usually pull out the Rapala when the fishing is tough and want to catch SOMETHING (anything).  Under such conditions, smaller bass are usually more cooperative. So, it really isn't the baits fault.

 

As some have already said, heavy line will kill the action and make it harder to get distant casts.  I generally use 6 lb line with a Rapala (loop) knot.

[Captain Phil]

As I remember, the Rapala came out in the sixties after a magazine article was written about them.  Everyone wanted one and they were in short supply.   Some stories about "renting out" Rapalas started circulating.  The best tackle to fish them on is a light spinning outfit.  Some of the modern casting reels should be OK for a skilled caster with light mono. The tiny 2" Rapala will catch fish when nothing will as long as you don't mind catching a lot of dinks. 

 

I caught a 6 pound bass on 6 pound mono on one of those once.   The Miami Herald newspaper used to hold an annual fishing contest.  They had a prize for the most bass caught.  The winner claimed to catch thousands of bass and some people protested him.  The fishing editor of the newspaper went out with him to verify his catch.  He was throwing a Rapala in the Everglades canals and used a hand counter to add up hundreds of bass an hour. They gave him the prize. 

[the reel ess]

I have a couple of these in gold/black as well as a silver/black small jointed Rapala. I've had some good days with them. But they float, so they must be worked pretty quickly or they're back on top. I have better luck with the X-Rap, even when it's warmer water. I think it just keeps the lure in their strike zone longer. The original Rapala minnow is also a quiet bait. Usually, ones that rattle are going to have an advantage, at least in my dark waters. A lot of alternatives have come along since the original Rapala.

5 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

As I remember, the Rapala came out in the sixties after a magazine article was written about them.  Everyone wanted one and they were in short supply.   Some stories about "renting out" Rapalas started circulating.  The best tackle to fish them on is a light spinning outfit.  Some of the modern casting reels should be OK for a skilled caster with light mono. The tiny 2" Rapala will catch fish when nothing will.   Talk about a Dink Whisperer...

 

I caught a 6 pound bass on 6 pound mono on one of those once.   The Miami Herald newspaper used to hold an annual fishing contest.  They had a prize for the most bass caught.  The winner claimed to catch thousands of bass and some people protested him.  The fishing editor of the newspaper went out with him to verify his catch.  He was throwing a Rapala in the Everglades canals and used a hand counter to add up hundreds of bass an hour. They gave him the prize. 

For me, that small, jointed Rapala is the real deal for creek bass and panfish.

[Captain Phil]

7 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

A lot of alternatives have come along since the original Rapala.

 

Definitely.  The most effective is the Bagley Bang-O-Lure.   It's a killer in Florida. I like the one with the tail spinner.  They all work.

 

 

[WRB]

Because the original Rapala Minnow looks like a rip or jerk bait today’s anglers over fish them.

Before they were called Rapala it was known as the ‘Finland” lure in the 50’s. The floating Rapala will catch any fish the eats minnows. Probably next to a live Canadian night crawler the best pond, river or lake lure ever made for novice anglers to catch a wide verity of fish.

The only way these lures will not catch fish is in your tackle box.

Tom

PS, don’t forget about the CD sinking Count Down original Rapala.

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Definitely.  The most effective is the Bagley Bang-O-Lure.   It's a killer in Florida. I like the one with the tail spinner.  They all work.

 

 

I bought one of those. Caught a bass on my very first cast with it.

[soflabasser]

Rapala makes some of the best lures in the world so I am not surprised many recommend these lures. Make sure to fish with light line if you are fishing with the lighter Rapalas.

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

The Miami Herald newspaper used to hold an annual fishing contest.  They had a prize for the most bass caught.  The winner claimed to catch thousands of bass and some people protested him.  The fishing editor of the newspaper went out with him to verify his catch.  He was throwing a Rapala in the Everglades canals and used a hand counter to add up hundreds of bass an hour. They gave him the prize. 

Sounds like a bunch of people where envious of his success and could not stand being beat by someone who was a better fisherman. Good thing he won the Miami Herald fishing contest since he earned it. Rapalas are still one of the best lures you can use in the Everglades to catch lots of fish if you know how to fish them well.

[Bankbeater]

I always have better luck with the smaller sizes of the floating minnow,  I cast it out and bring it back in slowly.