The inaugural Rapala VMC Asia Pacific seminar held at Cititel Hotel, Mid-Valley Kuala Lumpur over the weekend drew both avid anglers & retailers to a showcase of its tackle portfolio. Noticeably eye-catching was the new inclusion of Okuma into one of the power brands under its belt, which displayed 3 of its latest reels and range of jigging and casting rods.
The event also saw overseas speakers from Rapala (Aku Valta), Storm (Hiroshi Takashi), Sufix (Miriam Lee), John Bretza (Okuma) & VMC (represented by Mr Loke Swee Leong). Each of the speakers gave insightful information about their respective companies & the product offering/manufacturing processes & features, with the exception of Mr Hiroshi Takashi who elaborated more on the finer tips of lure fishing.
For those who do not know Hiroshi-san, he is a very accomplished lure angler & designer in Japan. Prior to joining Storm Lures, Hiroshi-san was working with a very-well known Japanese lure company as their lure designer. With him in the product development & design for Storm, asian anglers can be assured of more exciting & innovative lure offerings in the future.
10 lucky seminar participants also walked away with a giant Rapala lure replica each for their winning numbers from the lucky draw.
For those who missed the seminar, here's some snaps from the event:
The Rapala booth featuring the range of lures, apparel & the much awaited Rapalero rods
Storm Lures
Williamson metal jigs & skirts
New Okuma sticks - jigging & casting
Plano tackle
Portable tackle storage solutions
VMC booth
Fred & the Rapala VMC Asia Pacific boys (L to R) Chin, Wong & Tan
Latest Okuma reels to hit the market
Big game reels - Makaira
Single, high speed star & lever drag Cedros - sexy!
The Spin Machines - Cedros Spin (Jig) & cutting-edge Trio
These are rugged, strong jig reels
Rapalero rods
Hiroshi-san checking out the sticks - powerful
Seminar participants
Fred Goh opening the event
Hiroshi-san giving the finer points of lure-fishing
Ming J. Liu (Mingmon) was hailed as the winner of the Rapala lure design contest. The prize - a fishing trip to Australia! Well done Ming! Also, his designs have become reality as they will appear on X-Rap 8cm hitting the retail stores very soon. Check out his creations at his Facebook page.
One of the 10 lucky draw winner receiving his giant Rapala lure from Mr Loke Swee Leong - Managing Director of Rapala VMC Asia Pacific
Lucky Draw Winners from Session 1
Hiroshi-san giving a demo cum talk outside the foyer
Retailers checking out the reels
Retailers session on Sun
Tan S.G. who is no stranger to the Malaysian fishing fraternity, was also one of the lucky draw winners. Congrats!
Next posting:
Closeup of the Okuma reels & Rapalero rods
Thanks Rapala and everyone who attended it. Nice meeting with Daniel, Fred and the rest of the Rapalero. Fantastic seminar..keep it up..cheers
ReplyDeleteAnd well done Ming once again!! Congrats! Enjoy your Aussie trip! And do share with us your trip photos!
ReplyDeleteHi! Me and my buudies attended this and VERY interested in the Cedros CJ-80S. We've spoke with John Bretza personally and he said the stock will arrive in May or June. We've called Rapala VMC and siad there's no stock. Please advise if which tackle shop in KL?selangor have the reel.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Desmond Lam
Hello Desmond! I'm not too sure when the stock will arrive as well (I don't work for Rapala :) ) but I would think most reputable tackle shops would have it.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively you could check back with Rapala VMC again some time end of July to see if they have arrived?
Cheers!