ICAST 2011 | Rapala New Products for 2012
Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Jul 13, 2011 @ 08:01 AM
One of our favorite places to go when ICAST opens is the Normark booth. Like Pure Fishing, Pradco and a few other large conglomerates, you can get lost in a sea of new products from several different brands. We'll start with Rapala in the Normark brands of fishing tackle. Largely because we know a lot of Wired2Fish anglers and readers are die-hard Rapala guys and gals and it always seems like a good jumping off point for us.
New from Rapala this year that really caught our eye were three baits in particular. Their new lipless rattle bait is called the Rapala Rippin' Rap. It will come in three sizes from 5/16, 1/2 and 7/8 ounce models. Even the 7/8 ounce model was very easy to fish and the profile isn't as large as a lot of 3/4 and 1 ounce lipless baits we've seen. The baits come in some beautiful finishes and the narrower width but taller height will make it another great addition to a lipless crankbait arsenal.
The next bait we already love is the Rapala X-Rap Pop. Jason has been testing this bait for about a week and has been so impressed with its fish attracting qualities. The finishes are those same great X-Rap finishes that have proven to be fish catchers. This new popper features a unique triangular mouth that forces water up and outward on hard pops.
We're convinced it mimics attack bass and this in turn draws the attention of nearby bass. It really makes bass become competitive. We've already had a double on this popper. Something we've never done on a topwater bait. This 3/8 ounce 2 3/4-inch bait really packs a punch. We're excited about getting a few more.
The other new topwater is the X-Rap Prop. This bait is a dual prop bait that makes a big commotion without moving the bait very far on the twitch. It's going to be a great bait to fish around isolated targets and also on bedding bass. The bait features an internal weight system that will make it very castable in all situations. It's 4 3/4 inch long bait and weighs 3/8 ounce even though it casts like a much heavier bait. The blades counter rotate which gives the bait added stability.
The Rippin' Rap will retail for $6.99. The X Rap Pop comes in at $11.49 and the X-Rap Prop comes in at $12.49. The latter two baits are a bit pricey but considering you only need one or two of these topwater baits, you won't break the bank to cover your bases.
Of their existing lines of baits, Rapala added several new sizes to lines like the Clackin' Crank now in a 55 size, the X-Rap Magnum in 05 size, and the Clackin Minnow in the 07 size. They also added a Jointed Deep Husky Jerk and a couple of new finesse baits in the Ultralight Minnow and the Ultralight Shad. These finesse baits weigh 1/8 ounce and are less than 2 inches in size. Their going to be pond, stream and small fishery killers for sure.
One final lure we really got drawn in by was a new deep diver Shad Rap. These shad raps are said to get down as deep as 11 feet. Which could open a new element to cold cranking. We're very excited to try these finesse crankers when the water cools off again.
As always the Rapala new product releases continue to impress. The fact that such an already successful product line continues to release new productive baits every year really says something about the company as a whole.
We'll try to get more details on availability this morning.
On to the next booth!