Rapala Goes High End...

[BigBassin144]

Or maybe just high priced, but who knows.

The brand new (but not out yet) Rapala Max Rap:


It is their soon to be here new jerkbait. The new bait with brand new VMC Spark Point trebles will retrail for 17.99-18.99!

That's a shocker, even considering rapala's slow climb up the price ladder in the last year or so.

They've also got a the new DT Thug comming out, but I won't being buying that one... I still don't know if I'll be buying this one! At that price, I think I'd rather try out an LC Pointer.

BB

[Bender]

Here it is on their website: http://www.rapala.com/products/lures...lt=Both&live=1
The shape looks like an IMA Flit to me:



Rapala

[cassidyta]

I am really trying to get my head wrapped around the return on investment when it comes to some of the lures out there.

For me, the ROI on a $20 lure is very low, but this is not because I haven't bought them. Heck I have a box dedicated to swimbaits and some of those are rather pricey.

I find that I am less likely to throw an expensive bait in a situation where losing it to a snag is a high probablility. I am sure that some of these baits will produce more fish than the one's that I throw, but the risk vs reward is not enough for me to throw them.

When I am tossing my swimbaits, I find that I am retying far more often than with other baits. While this is not an issue when fishing for fun, it does become one in tourney fishing. My math shows that I will lose about 5-10% of my casting time to retying the bait.

[islandbass]

I love Rapala and one of the things that I liked about their lures was that they are reasonably priced. They're getting more expensive but I realize that a company has to do what it has to survive.

Maybe it's a good thing I learned to make my own crankbaits. I do intend to delve into making the skinnier ones (like the floating minnows and x-raps) from scratch too.

[BigBassin144]

Bender, my first though was the Flit as well. And I believe they're around the same price point. I was just shocked because before this, Rapala was an averagely priced line of baits, and they didn't really ease into this.

Maybe a 13-15 dollar bait would have been a good before jumping right up to a price ov near $20. To me (not including swimbaits) is a premium price point, that I don't really know if I'd pay.

It just seems weird. You mention them same Lucky Craft, and an angler immediatly thinks high end, with a price point to match. With Rapala, I tend to think great lures (for the most part), great quality, and midrange price point.

BB

[Bender]

The only other thing to consider is the terrible exchange rate. I don't know if these are made in Finland or not, but the Euro is worth 1.50 US Dollars right now. This is possibly the reason X-Raps have gone up in price over the past few years since the rate hovered around 1.20 for a long time, and at one time was less than 0.90.