I believe the original rapala minnow was on the scene first and is much more popular. Are there any areas or conditions where the original Rebel minnow will out produce the original Rapala minnow? Your thoughts.

When I was growing up I used both.  The Rapala minnows were expensive( Megabass changed my definition of expensive) so I didn't buy them as much as the Rebel.  Most of the time the Rebel worked as well as the Rapala.  Sometimes I still prefer the Rebel, like when I want to fish them on a baitcaster, or make longer casts with a spinning rod.  Both are lures I should use more now.

 

There are times when the bass will only hit the Original Rapala, and only the bass know why and they aren't talking.

I've not used a Rebel Minnow much. I have owned one, and I think I have one now. Best I recall, they rattle. So that would be the deciding factor for me as to which I threw.

If I remember correctly, the original Rebel minnow looked good...but they were covered with a cheap foil and the foil would tear off after a few fish. The Rapala minnows were more durable. Also,, the Rapala minnows were individually tank tested, so they always ran straight right out of the package. I often had to "tune" the Rebel minnows to get them to run straight. The Papala minnows also had better hooks then the Rebel lures. However, they both caught fish and were great baits for the stream fishing I did in my youth.  I am willing to bet that a number of pro bass fishermen still use them in certain applications. I know that walleye fishermen still use them regularly as a trolling lure, and trout fishermen use them for both casting and trolling for trout and salmon. 

My experience with Rebel minnow was they were difficult to tune and run straight, Rapala minnow always ran true.

Tom

You get either one of those to run across a bass he's gonna hit it.  That said I like the Rapala best for no reason than it was the first one I caught a bass on. 

I think it’s just hard to say no to Rapala lures. They have lots of competition nowadays, and they’ve messed around with some things, but I absolutely still like their baits.

 

One hard knock on them for me though, is discontinuing some older color schemes and also the blasphemy of putting “stripes” on firetiger instead of the original squiggles. They had the best firetiger of all time, but now they’re just another of the same 

OG Rapala is Balsa and the Rebel is plastic, right?  The Rebel with a rattle casts like an ICBM compared to a Rapala.  A Rebel doesn't hunt as well as a Rapala.  

Got to go with Rapala. They still catch em 

Started with Rapala and they worked well. Never really fished much with Rebel minnows. Smithwick Rogues are what I moved to when I needed a suspending bait.

 

Allen