REBEL Lures - Since 1962

Original F10
Rebel Minnow

Rebel Humpback

It is hard to believe that it was 50
years ago that Fort Smith,
Arkansas, resident George
Perrin saw the potential of
plastic fishing lures and
created the first Floating
Minnow.

Perrin had grown frustrated
with the wooden minnow
lures on the market. They
were inconsistent, dove to
different depths and ran to
the left or right, and with
use they took on water,
which killed the action. He
reasoned that he could
make a better one out of
plastic.

He was right; unlike the
wooden lures of the day,
every one of his Minnows ran
true right out the package,
dove to the right depth and was
tough enough to handle giant
fish.

Perrin established Rebel,
named after the mascot
of the high school his
daughter attended.

That original lure, the
Rebel F10 Minnow, is
still catching fish half a
century later.

Rebel wasn’t limited to
lure making, though.

In 1970, the company
entered the bass boat
market, and furnished
the boats for the very
first Bassmaster
Classic in 1971.

It wasn’t long before anglers everywhere
began asking for other sizes and
styles; models that would sink,
or run deep, topwater
poppers, and later, new
shapes and
crankbait
designs.

Rebel® Wee-R®
& Deep Wee-R

1970 Rebel Bass Boat

1971 Bassmaster Classic Take-Off

A host of
Rebel Lures have
become fishing legends;
lures like the Broken Back
(jointed) Minnow, the Pop-R,
Wee-R, the Critter Series and the Rebel Crawfish crankbaits.

Back in the early 1970s
most tackle boxes were
pretty utilitarian. Many
were still metal
(although plastic - or
‘space age polymer’
was growing in
popularity).

If you are a bass angler
from that era, you may
already know one of
the advantages of Rebel
boxes. You’ve seen
the melted impressions
of plastic worms left on
the plastic of inferior
boxes, and peeled the
mess apart. Put your
worms in a Rebel
tackle box, though, and
they were just fine.

Rebel 635 Tackle Box

Jointed
Minnow™

The Rebel Pop-R

P-60 is likely the most

storied lure in modern

history. It began with a quiet run

in 1976 in a line full of similar Rebel

‘Poppers’, and disappeared a few years later with only a

Of course, times
change and the
competition caught up
to Rebel and by the
late 1980s the

handful of anglers even taking notice. The Pop-R was

officially dropped from the Rebel product line in 1978.

Ray Scott presents Bobby Murray with the 1971 Bassmaster Classic Trophy.

company exited the

Joe Hughes is a longtime fishing industry insider who now
spends his time fishing Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita. As Rebel’s
Public Relations Manager from the early 1970s to early ‘90s,
he was in the meeting when the Pop-R was shown the door.

tackle box

market. But

Rebel Lures

had again

revolutionized

“By 1978 the company had just made the transition to computers,
which seems to reduce products to simple lines on a screen,” he said.
“(At the meeting) the Pop-R was on the hit list. I knew what was
happening with bait in Texas, on Lake Mead and elsewhere and I
couldn't believe it, and said, ”This is one of the best topwaters out

bass fishing.

there,” and walked out of the

meeting. “I knew it

would be

back.”

Pop-R

While

‘discontinued’,

an East Texas

tackle shop, Ann’s

Tackle, continued to

place special orders of

the Pop-R at the request of

several tournament anglers.

Customers included young men with

names like Rick Clunn, Zell Rowland, Bobby

Murray, his brother Billy, and Tommy Martin. These men

would learn when a new order was coming in and buy up every one of them.

1986 Rebel Blackstar™

While the first half of Rebel Lures’ 50 years included the
manufacture of bass boats, trolling motors and tackle
boxes, the second half has been dominated by the
company’s lures.

The Wee-R, Pop-R and
others may have garnered
most of the publicity, but
it’s the company’s Critter
baits that form the foundation of
many anglers’ tackle boxes.

“I wouldn‘t be caught on
the Buffalo River without
a couple Teeny Wee
Crawfish, a Crickhopper or
two and some of the other
Critter baits,” said Buffalo River rat,
guide and nature photographer Glenn Wheeler.

“I start with the Teeny Wee Craw, but if they’re hitting
the top I’ll throw the Crickhopper or maybe a Bumble Bug
and work it real slow. If the fish just aren’t biting at all, a Cat’r
Crawler worked in slow motion or a Wee Frog worked super-fast will catch them.”

Rebel® Crawfish™

& Deep Wee

Crawfish™

One thing that is certain is that

Rebel Lures has never been

afraid to be the innovator in

fishing tackle.

“It was nothing to make

10,000 lures a day,” said

Danny Stoner, a longtime

Rebel employee.

“We made enough Rebel

Crickhopper™

Lures in the 1980s to

outfit every man, woman

and child in the

United States.”

The Rebel Pop-R P-60 is

likely the most storied lure

in modern history.

When this overlooked lure

re-entered the lineup in

1987, the Pop-R became

one of the best selling lures

in company history and

spawned an entire niche of

copy cats.

“For a long time I used a

Pop-R in every tournament

I fished,” said Zell

Rowland, one of the pros

responsible for the

The REBEL Pop-R®
returned to the scene in
1987 after a nine year hiatus.

rebirth of the lure.

“I knew it couldn’t be kept

a secret forever.”

Rebel’s line of critter baits continued

to grow into the 90s with the

introduction of new lures including

the Bumble Bug and Tadfry.

Existing critters were also

updated with striking new

color patterns like ‘Nest

Bumble Bug®

Capitalizing
on Rebel’s
growing niche
of lifelike
Critter Baits,
the company
started the
Rebel Critter
Club, which
encouraged
youngsters to
fish and be good
stewards of the
environment.

The club’s mascot, Clem
Crickhopper, attended fishing
festivals and promotions around the
country, providing young anglers with tips
for fishing these ultralight lures.

Robber’, which debuted

in the Rebel Crawfish

line and became one

of the most popular

crawfish patterns

ever created.

Nest Robber
colored Rebel Crawfish™

The
‘90s also
saw the
introduction of
one of Rebel’s most
popular trout offerings,
the Tracdown® Minnow.

Providing unparalleled wiggling action, the Rebel
Tracdown® sinking minnow sinks at a rate of one foot
per second. This allows the angler to count their lure down
and retrieve it at the exact depth of located suspended fish.

Trout, smallies and other gamefish are all likely to
put the smack down on the Tracdown!

Tracdown™
Minnow

7-year-old Hunter Taylor with his first brown trout, caught
on the White River fishing a Rebel Tracdown Minnow

Rebel Critter Club’s
Clem Crickhopper

Rebel continues in the tradition of innovation
even today with the new Frog-R, Rebel
Raider and Crappie Crank-R
trolling crankbaits.

With constant input from
professional anglers and a
dedication to providing
high-quality fishing lures
at a reasonable cost,
Rebel Lures continues to
earn the reputation as
America’s Favorite Fishing
Lures.

The Rebel Frog-R presents a
bullfrog shape that easily
walks back-and-forth on
the surface like a Spook.

Four detailed paint schemes
and durable construction make
the Frog-R an instant Classic for Rebel!

Frog-R™

The Rebel Raider is a subsurface walking lure that sashays back-and-forth and catches all species of gamefish, including bass, panfish and others.

The diminutive Raider’s baitfish shape, four color patterns and easy walking action makes it extremely effective in any type of water.

Rebel Raider™

How do you catch the biggest slab
out of every school of fish?

Troll a Rebel Crank-R!

With an amazing baitfish
shape and action, color
patterns specifically
designed for crappie,
and running depth of
around 10 feet, the
Crank-R is the
perfect crankbait
for pulling up
big slabs.

Crappie
Crank-R™

Rebel’s Teeny Wake-R

is the ultralight you’ve

been searching for.

It wakes the water with a

bulge and subtle crankbait

action and is fantastic in

ponds, creeks, rivers and

other waters where the fish

are feeding on small bait.

Teeny Wake-R

Rebel Lures made indelible marks on
the fishing industry during its first 50 years.

From providing Rebel Bass Boats for the very first
Bassmaster Classic to the first worm-proof tackle boxes,
to the production of lures in a more consistent and durable
material, the company helped usher in the modern era of fishing.

1970 Rebel Bass Boat

Rebel Worm Proof Tackle Box

Rebel Lures continues to manufacture
innovative, effective and inexpensive
hard-baits for anglers of all skill
levels. The Rebel Teeny Wee
Craw, Crickhopper, Wee
Frog and other “critters”
are ultralight creek
and stream lures that
never will be topped
for smallmouth
or trout.

Fifty years later, the classic
Rebel Minnow – the one
that started the whole
company – is still a
go-to lure for a variety
of species.

The famous Pop-R
spawned a thousand
copy cats.

Original Rebel Minnow

Early Deep Teeny-R

And Rebel isn’t resting on legends. The new
Frog-R takes its “future-classic” rating as an
innovative, inexpensive, topwater, and the
value-series crankbaits bring quality,
effective crankbaits to the masses.

Rebel Value Series Minnows

After 50 years, Rebel Lures
continues to earn the reputation of
America’s Favorite Fishing Lures.

New Rebel Frog-R™