Designed in the 1930's by Lauri Saarinen from the village of Rapala in Finland these fishing lures continue to be one of the very best.  The wounded minnow action was developed from cork fish models covered with silver sweet paper wrappings and tested over the decade.   At the time they were revolutionary and so successful that they spread  to Norway,  Sweden and to the USA.  

The floating floating model was one of the very first. It to continues to be irresistible to gamefish on every continent around the world. 
From the original gold and silver versions many colour variations have been created. Discontinued lines, Specials and Limited Editions can be in great demand.  Whether you are fishing or collecting them you are touching a bit of angling history.

These lures can are very versatile and can be fished in a variety of ways::

• Trolled or twitched on the top as a surface bait.   
• Cast and retrieved as an ultralight shallow runner. 
• Combined with a torpedo bubble float for longer range with heavier lines.  
• Weighted with a split shot on the line to change the angle of attack for medium depths. 
• Walked off the bottom using a three-way swivel to a bouncing betty weight (on a rotten bottom) fished deep over rough ground like a floating Devon (careful.. it does tangle easily with all those hooks, but can be done).

When trolling I fished them on a white floating line with a short leader.  This kept them just a bit higher in the water and turns kept them in a nicer bend than mono.  Fish on 16ft fly rods to gain maximum spread. A relaxed clutch and a lead weight on the fly line improved hooking.