Original Floater

The Original Floater is a wobbler type of fishing lure, manufactured by Rapala. It is modeled after the first lure created by founder Lauri Rapala, in Finland in 1936. That prototype was made of cork wrapped in tinfoil and covered in melted film negatives as a cheap alternative to lacquer.

Today, the original floater is made in seven different sizes and fourteen different colors. It can be found in many anglers' tackle boxes, and is the best-selling lure Rapala makes, and possibly best-selling in the world.

The lure, when retrieved, swims with an action that mimics that of a wounded baitfish. It was designed this way by Lauri Rapala, because of his observations as a boy and young man of the behaviors of minnows and fish in lakes near his home in Finland, where he noticed that in a school of minnows, an injured minnow swimming with an odd wobble made it the target of a larger fish looking for a meal.

After seeing this, he crafted this lure, with the help of some of his friends, originally to help him catch more fish without having to constantly rebait the thousands of hooks he had used to catch pike and perch. But his lures, being quite good at catching fish compared to conventional methods of the time, made its way around the world, increasing in popularity, so that the whole Rapala family had to help with creating these lures. Lauri's sons learned to make the lures, and became so skilled that one of his sons, Ensio, won a national craftsmanship award for his lure. The same son also invented a machine to help mass production of this lure.

References

• Rapala Company History
• Rapala - Products - Original Floater

• v
• t
• e

Fishing equipment and methods

Fishing tackle

Fish hook Circle hook Gaff Hookset Sniggle Fishing line Braided Knots Monofilament Multifilament Power pro Swivel Fishing sinker Arlesey Bomb Bombarda Downrigger Sandsinker Fishing rod Bamboo fly rod Fishing reel Fishing rod tapers Fly rod building Fishing bait Bait fish Boilies Chum Clonk Groundbait Vermicompost Worm charming Plastic bait Deadsticking Plastic worm Fishing lures Artificial fly Heddon Little Cleo Mormyshka Original Floater Plug Sabiki Spinnerbait Spoon lure Spoonplug Surface lure Swimbait Topwater lure Zara Spook Bite indicators Fishing float Pellet waggler Shortfloating Quiver tip Fishing rig Carolina rig Chod rig Hair rig Texas rig Apparel Creel Diving mask Hip boot Personal flotation device Snorkel Waders Wetsuit Other Fish stringer Tackle box

Fishing techniques

Gathering Abalone Ama divers Clam digging Flounder tramping Gathering seafood by hand Noodling Pearl hunting Scallop aquaculture Trout binning Trout tickling Spears Bowfishing Gigging Harpoon Hawaiian sling Polespear Spearfishing Speargun Trident Fishing lines Angling Dropline Drum lines Handline fishing Jiggerpole Jigging Jug fishing Longline fishing Spin fishing Tip-up Trolling Trotline Fishing nets Cast net Cheena vala Drift net Ghost nets Gill net Glass floats Haaf net Hand net Ice jigger Lampara net Lampuki net Lave net Lift net Salambaw Seine net Surrounding net Tangle net Trawl net Turtle excluder device Fish traps Almadraba Barrier net Corf Crab trap Double-Heart of Stacked Stones Eel buck Fish corral Fish nest Fish wheel Fishing basket Fishing weir Lobster trap Putcher fishing Trabucco Other Basnig Blast fishing Cormorant fishing Cyanide fishing Dredging Electrofishing Electric pulse fishing Fish aggregating device Fish toxins Fishfinder Fishing light attractor Flossing Ice fishing Kite fishing Muro-ami Otter fishing Pa-aling Payaos Shrimp baiting Snagging

This fishing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e