Rapala quality or the lack thereof

[medal_chucker]

Has anyone else had problems with rapalas lately. Several times on the first use I have had the bills break off and or the paint come off. Seems to me they are cutting corners and there quality has gone to crap. Maybe it is worth paying 15 bucks for the [#0000bf]Japanese[/#0000bf] lures.
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[Big_Bad_Shad]

Yeah, in fact yesterday at Jordanelle, I had the bill break off a rapala DT 10. I had just bought it and maybe had twenty casts on it. I was just reeling it in and the bill just snapped off. I thought it was my bad luck. I was going to go get a replacement but maybe I will re think it.
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[MKP]

I've bought several in the past few months and haven't had problem, even bouncing them through rip-rap. Bad batch slip through quality control maybe? Sure hope its not a sign of the future. Every time one of my Lucky Craft lures hit slightest snag I have heart palpitations!
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[MADDOGG]

I've broke the bills off three DT's this year
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[fuzzyfisher]

ya-all know that rapapla's are made in china now? [crazy]..

that might be the problem?
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[jaybird77]

I've had a lot of DT's where the lip has separated from the body. I have never had any problems with other types of lures.
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[fsh4fun05]

I don't fish the deep diving rapalas, I go with a different brand. I've had great success with the X-Rap series. The only thing I change is the split ring circle to an oval shaped split ring.
I thought Raps were made in Sweden but now China? Ugh.
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[fishguru73]

It used to be that to break a bill off of a Rapala in a river I had to beat it against the rocks all afternoon with my usual twitching retrieve. I have noticed that they are coming apart much more easily but the one thing that really annoys me is how many I have recently noticed that are not balanced out of the box and can't be corrected. I love paying 6 bucks for a lure so I can watch it swirl in the current. It's too bad but I think that Rapala has turned over their production to low wage labor in a communist country and the results are obvious.
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[tomegun]

Yep, they are made in China now. With hard baits, its just the luck of the draw whether they break easily or not. I've been throwing Lucky's, Rapala's, Norman's, and various other models all year some are sturdy and some aren't.

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