Rapala tell us they sell 200 million lures a year. They deserve to. Rapala lures are top class and the range excellent (though not all-embracing). But why sets of hooks in boxes? I'm not sure I understand this.
Why not just boxes full of hooks from which, in the tackle shop, you select the number and sizes you need? I'm not sure that I want six number 5s and six number 1s, which are the boxes I've been using, having been sent them.
They do fit some of my lures okay, and each treble is robust, has a small barb (but could be smaller still, and slightly nearer the hook point) and each hook has a split ring attached. Now that is a useful feature, because I can never find a split ring when I want one. And these split rings are appropriate to the hook size and hence lure size.
These hooks are non-corrosive steel, which means that they are fine for lure fishing, for which they were intended, but not for bait fishing where corrosive hooks are better.
Earlier Rapala produced a set for freshwater fishing. I tested the strength of the hook bends on the No. 5 size. These are round bend hooks and they really are not as strong in the bend as they look. A small Nile perch could easily straighten them out. The number 1s are proportionally tough and the bend is standard.
In all there are seven sets of saltwater hooks in this range, not covering all lures by the way, but there is a detailed chart telling you what hooks to use with which lure. It all seems a bit complicated to me, but I have no doubt it will work well for the fastidious breed of angler, to which I do not belong.
