The Return of Rapala Risto Rap 07

Risto Rap 08 & 09 too big you say? There's good news...

Rapala Southeast Asia will be bringing in another limited production run of Risto Rap 07 (7cm) which should arrive in shops around Aug'14. (Is it a sign of fishes in our local waters getting smaller?)

The Risto Rapala was first introduced in 1996 in honour of Lauri Rapala's eldest son, Risto Rapala. They were available then in 7cm and 9cm. Made of balsa wood and shad-shaped, the Risto Raps were well-known for being long-casting and easy cranking - two very important attributes of a great crankbait.

The Risto Rap 8cm was later introduced and quickly became must-haves for Malaysian and Thai Snakehead and big Jungle Perch anglers. Despite its popularity in South East Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, the production of the Risto Rap was later discontinued to allocate production resources for other lures that had much greater demand worldwide. 

Due to the popular demand and constant feedback from local anglers, Rapala VMC Malaysia and Thailand brought back the Risto Rap 8cm in '7 Wonders' colours in 2011 in a once-off, limited production run. Naturally, the lures didn't get to sit in shelves too long. Photos of huge Snakeheads began appearing in Facebook and blogs all over South East Asia. 

Riding on the wake of the Risto Rap 8cm's revival was the cute, little 5cm Risto Rap (RR05) in 2013 which saw not only freshwater applications for smaller snakeheads and Jungle Perch (Sebarau) but also saltwater species such as Groupers and Snappers too! 

The imminent arrival of Risto Rap 7cm is already creating some buzz in local fishing circles. Do place your orders in advance with your local Rapala dealer to avoid disappointment. It's a limited production run after all and we'll be unlikely to see another production run at least for another few years.