Original Floater

Rapala Original Floater in Clown Pattern

The Original Floater is a wobbler type of fishing lure, manufactured by Rapala. It is the first lure created by founder Lauri Rapala, in Finland in 1936. It was made of cork, and wrapped in tinfoil from cheese and chocolate, 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

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 Dropline Drum lines Handline fishing Jiggerpole Jigging Jug fishing Longline fishing Spin fishing Trolling Trotline Fishing nets Cast net Chinese fishing net Drift net Ghost nets Gill net Glass floats Hand net Ice jigger Lampara net Lampuki net Lave net Seine net Surrounding net Tangle net Trawl net Turtle excluder device Fish traps Almadraba Corf Crab trap Double-Heart of Stacked Stones Eel buck 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 Muroami Otter fishing Payaos Shrimp baiting Snagging

Fisheries and fishing topic areas
Fisheries	Aquaculture Diversity of fish Fish diseases and parasites Fish farming Fisheries management Fisheries science Individual fishing quota Sustainable fishery Wild fisheries
Fishing	Artisanal fishing Fisherman Fishing vessel History of fishing
Industry	List of harvested aquatic animals by weight By country Commercial fishing Marketing Markets Processing Products Seafood
Recreation	Angling Big-game fishing Catch and release Fishing tournaments Fly fishing
Techniques	Fish trap Fishfinder Fishing net Gathering seafood by hand Handline fishing Spearfishing Trawling
Tackle	Artificial flies Bait Bite indicators Hook Line Lures Rod Sinker
Locations	Fish ponds Fishing banks Fishing villages Marine habitats
Glossary Index Outline Fishing portal Category