Buying Baits.

[Stouty]

Hey guys, I normally fish with my dad and use his baits but since Im getting older I've been buying my own. Since I dont have that much experience buying baits I need some help on good baits, baits that are okay and what to avoid. I have soft plastics that fish good here, little crank baits and a ton of strike king spinner baits. Also an old lunker buzzbait. I tend to worm fish more than I do these others in tournaments with my dad but id like to widen the horizon. I have just recently started throw a buzzbait and have caught two keepers one weighing under 4. I have watched many YouTube videos on what rigs to use a nd various plastics but I'm still stumped. Any ideas? Also I'm only 14 so many is somewhat hard to. Come by so I'd like to buy bulk of possible to say and get better deals. Thanks

[Captain Obvious]

Alright here is a list of what I found is good value.

Soft Plastics: Zoom baits they are affordable and are proven fish catchers.

Hard baits; Academy's H20 series are very affordable and again they catch fish.

Jigs: Booyah baits

You can't go wrong with any baits made by these companies and they are all affordable.

Good Luck

Capt.O

[A-Rob]

I agree with above....Berkley Havoc Line is also a good option for soft baits.

I like Zoom worms b/c you get a ton of them...same with NetBait (ie 20 in a pack of Trick worms or 15 thump worms or Mag II worms)

Good luck!

[deep]

Jigs: Booyah baits

Yep, love those Booyah jigs. I get them from walmart/ ebay. I see no need to spend $3-$4 on a jig when the $1.50 ones work so well for me.

I'm somewhat of a snob when buying plastics- I mostly use reaction innovations/ gary yamamotos/ rage tails. But I see so many reports of people doing well on Yum/ Zoom etc that maybe I oughta give them a try!

Buy some hardbaits. As long as you don't lose them, they'll probably keep catching fish forever.

[Dingah]

I am also 14, i buy baits whenever i have money. My favorite baits are zoom trickworms, kvd ochos, and spro frogs.

for palstics i use yum, zoom, strike king, i mostly T-rig these baits.

for hard baits i use all bomber baits.

i dont know if you fish topwater but i also fish the BPS kermy frog and the Spro frogs on top.

good luck with buyin baits!

-Dingah

[roadwarrior]

Topwater:

Pop-R, Spook, Sammy, Cavitron, Rage Shad, Toad, Menace & Shell Cracker.

Shallow:

Shadalicious, spinnerbait, Bandit 100, Norman Fat Boy (redeye shad color)

Mid-depth:

Red Eye Shad, LC Pointer & RC 3.5

Deep:

DD22, Swarming Hornet/ LFT Live Magic Shad, GMAN and NorthStar jigs

Soft Plastics:

Everything Rage Tail, GYCB Senko & Kut Tail, Gitzit, Mizmo Big Boy

[bassh8er]

Topwater:

Pop-R, Spook, Sammy, Cavitron, Rage Shad, Toad, Menace & Shell Cracker.

Shallow:

Shadalicious, spinnerbait, Bandit 100, Norman Fat Boy (redeye shad color)

Mid-depth:

Red Eye Shad, LC Pointer & RC 3.5

Deep:

DD22, Swarming Hornet/ LFT Live Magic Shad, GMAN and NorthStar jigs

Soft Plastics:

Everything Rage Tail, GYCB Senko & Kut Tail, Gitzit, Mizmo Big Boy

RW, have you got a chance to use the Shell Cracker yet? Do tell...

[Gangley]

Most all of the brands listed are great in my opinion and you wont go wrong chosing any one of them.

However, brands of lures vary greatly in quality and details depending on what type of fishing you are doing and what specific traits you are looking for in your lures.

For instance, a 7 inch ribbon tail worm is gonna basically be the same for a lot of manufacturers so pick your brand preference for a generic ribbon tail worm based on whatever whimsicle detail you want. However, if your wanting something specific in a 7 inch worm, thats when you need to be specific about brand. As an example, Rage's new 7 inch worm will put out more thump than most ribbon tails and that can really bring the fish in sometimes while the ZOOM, Berkely, Gambler, etc. will all have milder actions that produce equally as well when less thump is needed. Again, brand preference is mostly important once you know what you are specifically wanting from a lure, but if you are looking for generic items, any brand listed will meet your needs.

As an addition to the question you asked, quality is something that a lot of beginning tackle buyers seem to over look. Make sure that your terminal tackle is quality so that you arent spending loads of money and time re-tying and replacing. Good hooks, good line, good swivles, good weights, good etc. will save you more money and catch you more fish in the long run. Good lures dont catch anything if they break off or if the hooks get dull quickly. Again, spend the extra 2 or 3 dollars and get the higher quality terminal tackle when available so that the money you spend on plastics isnt thrown away.

[roadwarrior]

RW, have you got a chance to use the Shell Cracker yet? Do tell...

No. When I fish it I will post a report. However, I have fished the Menace...KILLER!

[bassh8er]

RW, have you got a chance to use the Shell Cracker yet? Do tell...

No. When I fish it I will post a report. However, I have fished the Menace...KILLER!

I was just wondering if they were available to the public yet or how you could recommend a bait that you've never fished before.

To the OP, I'd say to keep it simple, and don't go broke buying baits; you've got plenty of time to amass a small fortune in tackle. I'll list my top 5 must have baits, but as your interest in fishing grows, so will the compulsive need to buy more tackle; good luck.

1. Zoom Trick Worm

2. KVD 1.5 square bill

3. Berkeley 7" Power Worm

4. Zara Spook

5. Spro Frog ( lots of options here, but this is the bait I've had success with personally)

[RyneB]

rage craws

Zoom trick worms (if i had one cast to catch a fish, i would have a black zoom trick worm rigged up)

a couple spinnerbaits (i started out using 99 cent ones from wal mart and they caught fish as good as my strike kings or war eagles)

rebel Pop R

hollow body frog

Rage toads

a few jigs (you can use the rage craws as trailers)

These are all good starting points.

[roadwarrior]

I was just wondering if they were available to the public yet or how you could recommend a bait that you've never fished before.

I think the Shell Cracker and Menace are now available to the public. I received some samples while they were being

developed. The Shell Cracker has action similar to the Rage Shad with a different profile. I think it will be KILLER, too!

[clayton86]

Most all of the brands listed are great in my opinion and you wont go wrong chosing any one of them.

However, brands of lures vary greatly in quality and details depending on what type of fishing you are doing and what specific traits you are looking for in your lures.

For instance, a 7 inch ribbon tail worm is gonna basically be the same for a lot of manufacturers so pick your brand preference for a generic ribbon tail worm based on whatever whimsicle detail you want. However, if your wanting something specific in a 7 inch worm, thats when you need to be specific about brand. As an example, Rage's new 7 inch worm will put out more thump than most ribbon tails and that can really bring the fish in sometimes while the ZOOM, Berkely, Gambler, etc. will all have milder actions that produce equally as well when less thump is needed. Again, brand preference is mostly important once you know what you are specifically wanting from a lure, but if you are looking for generic items, any brand listed will meet your needs.

As an addition to the question you asked, quality is something that a lot of beginning tackle buyers seem to over look. Make sure that your terminal tackle is quality so that you arent spending loads of money and time re-tying and replacing. Good hooks, good line, good swivles, good weights, good etc. will save you more money and catch you more fish in the long run. Good lures dont catch anything if they break off or if the hooks get dull quickly. Again, spend the extra 2 or 3 dollars and get the higher quality terminal tackle when available so that the money you spend on plastics isnt thrown away.

This take the time and money and invest in good line first and foremost this is what I had the hardest time teaching my nephew he would buy what ever was cheapest at Walmart so he could buy an expensive rapala instead. He would spend more time fixing his line tangles or breaks loosing his fancy lures to fish because his line was the weak link. Same for hooks his hooks always got rolled or dull cuz he would buy the south bend stuff. I got him onto the better stuff still shopping at walmart and his catch rate quadrupled because he had gear that could hold up to fishing and in the long run he has been able to get more baits instead of buying the same one every week because he kept breaking off.

[dale.m]

I'll go ahead and agree with everyone else in this thread by saying that you can't go wrong with zoom trick worms. They were my favorite bait when I first started bass fishing and building a tackle box and they are still a staple today. Me and my buddy caught 12 bass within 2 hours on them yesterday.

Also, the Booyah jigs are pretty good as well. They are cheap and I don't mind loosing them as much as I mind loosing more expensive jigs.