By Paul A. Cañada
Page 2

The American Dream

In August of 1959, Ron Weber, a fishing tackle representative from Minnesota, happened upon the new plug from Finland while walleye fishing in Ontario. High winds made the walleye fishing extremely tough for Weber and his partner, Al Wallin. A frustrated yet reluctant Wallin pulled out the priceless Rapala plug - a gift from his uncle who worked in the American Embassy in Helsinki - and proceeded to outfish his partner. Impressed with his partner's catch, Weber became a big fan of Lauri Rapala's special plug.

Skeeter pro angler Nobie Joe Lebert shows off the results of fishing with Rapala's new Risto Rap. This new series of crankbait was designed to get down deep for structure holding largemouth.

After the trip, Weber hurried to purchase a few of the lures from the Dove Clothing Store in Duluth, owned by Aleks Kyyhkynen, the Finnish counsel to northern Minnesota. Once home, Weber wrote a letter to the Rapala company placing an order for 500 lures. Surprised by the request, Lauri and his son Risto took the letter to the Foreign Trade Department in Helsinki where they were introduced to Harald Brunou. Acting on the Rapala family's behalf, Brounou arranged for the necessary papers and typed up the order.

Upon the shipment's arrival in 1960, Weber and his good friend Ray Ostrom formed the Rapala Co. - changed to Normark in 1965 - to market Lauri Rapala's magic lure. Recognizing the potential of the lure, Weber and Ostrom wrote to the Rapala family proposing an exclusive contract to distribute the lures in North America.

The Rapalas replied with a hardy yes!

A lure fish (and anglers) couldn't resist

Three major factors contributed to the Rapala explosion in the '60s. First, the continued growth and popularity of outdoor reporting helped carry the news of the lure. National outdoor magazines like Field & Stream and television shows like ABC's "The American Sportsman" fueled the growth of the fishing industry.

Recognizing the importance of coverage, Ron Weber worked hard to establish relationships with the outdoor press, providing them with helpful information and films featuring the company's lures.

Secondly, timely advancements in tackle and fishing line promised to work in the company's favor. The lightweight Rapala seemed a perfect match for the new monofilament fishing lines and lightweight spin outfits.

Still, compared to other popular lures of the time, the imported Rapala cost twice as much. Nevertheless, Weber and Ostrom were able to convince store owners and anglers of the Rapala's worth.

Ironically, a national tragedy helped solidify the Rapala's place in American angling history. Life magazine - having dispatched a photographer and writer to Finland - planned to run a story on Lauri

Rapala in the April, 1962 issue. However, the story was bumped by the story of Russia's Sputnik and rescheduled for the August issue.

As fate would have it, actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in August. Monroe's story was featured on the cover of the same mid-August issue that carried the Rapala story which was entitled "A Lure Fish Can't Resist." The Monroe issue was Life's best-selling all-time issue and the Rapala lure received unimaginable exposure.

Weber and Ostrom's company was sacked by phone calls and bags of mail each day. As expected, requests quickly outnumbered stock and the order backlog of lures numbered over 3 million. In order to meet the continued demand, Normark and the Rapala family built a manufacturing facility in Riihilahti, Finland - where the Rapala-Normark Group is headquartered today.

Risto's Rap

Lauri Rapala's spirit of innovation is reflected today in Normark's creation of the Risto Rap crankbait, named to honor Lauri Rapala's son, Risto. According to Craig Weber, Normark's vice president of product development, the Risto Rap was designed to meet the needs of Southern bass anglers. Unlike northern lakes, many southern fisheries are dominated by large, timber- and hydrilla-filled impoundments.

Typically, on large impoundments like Texas' Palestine, Richland-Chambers, Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend, bass anglers are forced to grapple with strong winds. "Being made of balsa wood, our lures are very light," explains Weber. "So, if you're using a baitcasting outfit on a windy day, you really can't throw them very far. We realized that we needed a crankbait that Southern bass anglers could throw in the wind."

Unlike Normark's other diving crankbaits, the Risto Rap is larger and heavier, yet more buoyant. "We wanted a bait that would deflect off of and rise clear of obstacles," adds Weber. "Admittedly, our Deep Diving Fat Rap doesn't bounce off rocks and timber very well. It simply doesn't rise fast enough."

According to Weber, the more buoyant Risto Rap backs out and up, allowing the angler to bump, kill and then clear the cover. Additionally, the straight and rounded plastic lip aids in the bait's ability to deflect clear of cover and allows for maximum casting efficiency. The trade-off is the bait's shallow dive angle.

Like Lauri Rapala's original floating plug, the Risto Rap series is handcrafted and tank-tested in Finland. Whether Normark is designing lures for pike, trout or southern bass, the Rapala tradition of pride in craftsmanship and attention to accuracy is always maintained. The new Risto Rap is proof that - as the new millennium approaches - Normark continues Rappin' on!

(Author's Note: All of the history regarding Lauri Rapala and the Normark Corp. was provided by Normark and Carmichael Lynch Spong. Most of the information was gleaned from "Crafting of a Legend - The Normark Story" by Steven Dupont and published by Carmichael Lynch Spong.)