Custom Painting - How important?

[bassattackerdad]

Now why would anyone go out and spend $15.00 on a crankbait and send it out for a $20.00 paintjob? Is it going to make that much of a difference in catching ability or is it just catching the fisherman or perhaps the fisherman's confidence?

[Grey Wolf]

Because they can.

[Hot Rod]

Seems like just another trick from the Bait Monkey IMHO

I suppose if you were fishing at the pro level it might be justified but personnally I can't justify $35/lure with my budget.  Not with the way I go thru baits ;D

If I wanted a custom paint job on my baits I'd get an airbrush kit and learn to do it myself (some pros even take airbrush/paint on tour so they can "match-the-hatch" while pre-fishing).  I'd save money in the long run and have a hobby when the lakes are hard (like now).

[Raul]

You mean something like this ?

Why would anybody would go out, purchase a 15 dollars bait, send it to have it painted for another 20, add the shipping back and forth and all that ? well for the same reason why somebody would purchase a 2000 Honda Civic and dump thousands of dollars in engine tunning, wheels, tires, paint job and sound system worth several times over what the car is worth.

[The Rooster]

Why would anybody would go out, purchase a 15 dollars bait, send it to have it painted for another 20, add the shipping back and forth and all that ? well for the same reason why somebody would purchase a 2000 Honda Civic and dump thousands of dollars in engine tunning, wheels, tires, paint job and sound system worth several times over what the car is worth.

I didn't know custom painted fishing lures were just for impressing 16 year old girls. :-?

;D

[Munkin]

Confidence in some colors that are not available in stock colors. Take the RC 1.5 for example, they have like 3 good colors (my opinion) thats it. Man do I wish they would make that bait in Ghost Sunfish, Baitfish Silver and Fall Craw! Now I only go with simple paint jobs most of the time unless it is a sunfish color.

Allen

[The Rooster]

I guess for me it would be about matching the forage as closely as possible. I saw a lure on ebay painted up, being sold for about the price mentioned above, $35 I think, and it looked exactly like a live bluegill in every detail. I would feel more confident in a bait that matched exactly than I would one that matched only closely.

And then as I kind of mentioned above in my joke about the cars and young girls, there's the WOW factor also in showing it to your buddies while out on the boat.

Well, and then on top of all this, you got people who are just collectors and would want something like that for their collection, not to fish with at all but just for display.

[Team9nine]

I guess for me it would be about matching the forage as closely as possible. I saw a lure on ebay painted up, being sold for about the price mentioned above, $35 I think, and it looked exactly like a live bluegill in every detail. I would feel more confident in a bait that matched exactly than I would one that matched only closely.

I've bought a few of those exact same baits, some for a little more than you state and some for a little less. My reason is purely curiosity based.

One of the regular bodies of water I fish is a heavily bluegill/sunfish forage base. I frequently talk to anglers fishing for gills that have had big bass either follow or try and eat the very bluegill they were trying to land. As such, I thought it would be rather interesting to see if any of these highly decorated paint jobs might fool some of these larger bass a little better than your normal stock colors. I've had pretty good luck with things like the Mattlures bluegill swimbaits, and thought the custom cranks would be another logical bait to try. I plan on giving them all a good workout beginning next spring.

-T9

[Raul]

I guess for me it would be about matching the forage as closely as possible.

Screw matching the forage, it 's all about the bait looking kool and catching you. ;D

About matching the forage, I don 't believe in the realism of the paint finish, the eyes of a bass do not provide them with the level of definition and detail we humans have, so an ultra realistic paint job ( I lived through the eras of the classic, foil finish, Photofinish and Guanim finish ) isn 't as important as a good lure action, a good presentation and in the right location, I have many baits from the different eras, the level of detail of the paint job is out of this world in the photo finish and guanim eras, they don 't catch more fish than other baits painted in the most classic colors ( silver/black, gold/black, blue/silver ).

Matching the bait to the forage is more in your head than it is in the lure, make the lure like if it is alive and an easy prey and the fish will hit it.

[Grey Wolf]

I guess for me it would be about matching the forage as closely as possible.

Screw matching the forage, it 's all about the bait looking kool and catching you. ;D

About matching the forage, I don 't believe in the realism of the paint finish, the eyes of a bass do not provide them with the level of definition and detail we humans have, so an ultra realistic paint job ( I lived through the eras of the classic, foil finish, Photofinish and Guanim finish ) isn 't as important as a good lure action, a good presentation and in the right location, I have many baits from the different eras, the level of detail of the paint job is out of this world in the photo finish and guanim eras, they don 't catch more fish than other baits painted in the most classic colors ( silver/black, gold/black, blue/silver ).

Matching the bait to the forage is more in your head than it is in the lure, make the lure like if it is alive and an easy prey and the fish will hit it.

Very well put Raul.

[190sxchamp]

I guess for me it would be about matching the forage as closely as possible.

Screw matching the forage, it 's all about the bait looking kool and catching you. ;D

About matching the forage, I don 't believe in the realism of the paint finish, the eyes of a bass do not provide them with the level of definition and detail we humans have, so an ultra realistic paint job ( I lived through the eras of the classic, foil finish, Photofinish and Guanim finish ) isn 't as important as a good lure action, a good presentation and in the right location, I have many baits from the different eras, the level of detail of the paint job is out of this world in the photo finish and guanim eras, they don 't catch more fish than other baits painted in the most classic colors ( silver/black, gold/black, blue/silver ).

Matching the bait to the forage is more in your head than it is in the lure, make the lure like if it is alive and an easy prey and the fish will hit it.

In my experience, this post if right on the money. Even though those custom painted baits look really cool, I question if they will really help you catch more fish. In the spring time, I catch a lot of smallies on clown colored suspending jerkbaits. I've looked and I don't see any clown colored baitfish in the lakes I fish.

[Gone_Phishin]

Confidence in some colors that are not available in stock colors. Take the RC 1.5 for example, they have like 3 good colors (my opinion) thats it. Man do I wish they would make that bait in Ghost Sunfish, Baitfish Silver and Fall Craw! Now I only go with simple paint jobs most of the time unless it is a sunfish color.

Allen

I have to agree with you on the selection of colors on the RC's.  LC has a ton of awesome color selections, and I'd love to see some on the Clunn's.

The new tomato shad, perch, and craw patterns are a step in the right direction.

[angler1]

I think that custom paint jobs is pointless, but I also belive that color is not as important as action, but that's just me.

[bassman31783]

I can see it possibly making a difference in really clear lakes. However the lakes that I fish are not particularly clear, therefor the stock colors work just fine for me.

[bmadd]

I could justify the expensive, highly-detailed jobs if it were swimbaits and possibly in suspending jerkbaits but not any other bait. I don't think the fish have enough time to take in those details on any other bait. Now I could see getting some baits painted in color schemes that are productive for you and aren't available.

[Chris]

Most of the time it is a confidence thing. Other times depending on the water a lure might not come in a specific color that is working. Some guys like myself use a lot of older lures that they don't make anymore so they get repainted to bring new life to them. Other lures that fall into the "pet lure" category get repainted because they have a action that other lures don't. When they get beat on and banged up and in some cases almost broken if it is a key bait with a key action I get them redone. Average lures just get replaced.

[bmadd]

Most of the time it is a confidence thing. Other times depending on the water a lure might not come in a specific color that is working. Some guys like myself use a lot of older lures that they don't make anymore so they get repainted to bring new life to them. Other lures that fall into the "pet lure" category get repainted because they have a action that other lures don't. When they get beat on and banged up and in some cases almost broken if it is a key bait with a key action I get them redone. Average lures just get replaced.

What I meant to say haha