Cheap Effective Lures

[EvanT123]

What Avalinjohn44 said that's a great list.

[5fishlimit]

Oh, and for lipless cranks you can't beat the Cotton Cordell super spot. They're $1.99,and come in some great colors.

[IntroC]

Do you mean value based baits ? There's nothing cheap about the following products. They are priced so as to be an excellent value and very affordable.

Havoc

Zoom

Big Bite

Robo Worm

Rage

Luhr Jensen

Normans

Strike King

Bandit

Rebel

North Star

Seiberts

War Eagle

Peppers

and the list goes on and on.

 

I agree. This is a good list but I'm suprised no one has mentioned Netbait. Netbait has some awsome plastics that are every bit as good as more spendy brands.

 

 No reason to spend $15(Lucky Craft) on a crank when you can spend $6(Strike King) and get the same results. KVD has outfished many a competitor using LC's and Spro.

 

Also get a lure retriever. 

[ww2farmer]

Also, we all don't want to spend as much as our mortgage on our recreation, don't get me wrong I love fishing as much as the next guy on here but I have other passions that cost money and a wife and three little girls that enjoy their yoga, dance class and their other interests that cost money.  It blows my mind the amount of money some of you guys spend, for me and my budget it would be far to selfish to spend that kind of money all on myself.

Welcome to the world of the wannabe bass pros LOL. Where it's perfectly acceptable for guys to spend $50k on fancy boats so they can pretend to be KVD for a weekend while there kids go to school in thrift store clothes. People are just following the lead  our wonderfull people in power have set, spend till your broke, then spend some more.............But hey you can't be the coolest dude on the lake if you catch your fish with anything less than a $600 rod/reel combo and $30 lures,  worry about paying the electric bill later when all the cash and accolades start to roll in from your internet expertise on all things bass fishing.

[Sundance]

I normally just wait till the spring sale at bass pro and stock up on everything for the year you can get some good stuff if you'r willing to wait.

[*Hootie]

What a bunch of great posts. I obviously am not alone in believing you don't have to go broke to enjoy fishing. Granted, I can, and do on ocassion go a litlle crazy on my puchases now. I am retired and comfortable. But when I was younger, and the kids were at home, fishing tackle was at the bottom of the list. And as far as a lure lasting a lifetime, well, I hope I live longer than that. And YES, if you are afraid to cast a bait into where the fish are, what good is it....hmmm.... Second thought, maybe that lure will last a lifetime...lol

Hootie

[jhoffman]

Actually you must be reading my mind. The past few days I've been telling myself, you've got to get a lure retriever

before fishing season starts. Even at $2.00 a lure, it adds up.

For the record, I do have and fish a lot of high end expensive baits. I was just having a little fun with jhoffman.

Hope I didn't make him mad.....

 

Hootie

 

Hootie, my internet skin is like kevlar

[jhoffman]

Its time now to hit your local walmart for clearances and sales.

 

I found a clown rapala jerk the other day in there for $2

[jhoffman]

Someone mentioned not going broke to fish. While some people spend $150 a month for every channel on availble on tv, I have a cable internet connection, two roku boxes, an svideo link to my laptop and spend $49.99 for high speed cable internet. We watch all the same shows, commercial free that you guys are paying $150 for. Thats all extra money to go to other things.

 

My boat, I paid for in cash

 

My only other debt is a $10k vehicle loan(which if not for the old lady I wouldnt have either but my 94 blazer wasnt "safe enough")

and

$20K in college loans

 

Its all about the decisions you make, I dont feel bad when I buy something I want because my family doesnt suffer to do so.

[*Hootie]

Hootie, my internet skin is like kevlar

My wife tells me I just like to argue, or start arguments. I'm just a grumpy old man, (hey, that would be a great title for a movie).

But, understand, I never mean to offend anyone.

If I do, yell at me, LIKE THIS!!!!!!........lol

Hootie

[jhoffman]

I wasnt offended in the least. The conversations here are mild compared to the conversations I have with others in PA about whitetail mismangement.

[Ratherbfishing]

Instead of "cheap", the proper word should, IMO, be "affordable." Several people have espoused to spending high dollars on high end baits.  I respectfully disagree.  Those baits may "last a lifetime" but if you fish them often enough, the lions share of that "lifetime" is going to eventually be in the crotch of some submerged tree or wedged between rocks 15 feet down.  Many of those baits are in the category of "If you have to ask about the price, you can't afford them."   And you can scarcely afford to fish them.  There are plenty of quality mid-ranged baits that serve equally well (or nearly so) and won't break the bank.  May favorite quality crankbait which generally isn't too expensive is Rapala.  You can often find them on sale if you are patient.

 

If you want a really inexpensive bait that will almost always catch bass, I'd go with plastic worms or craws.  Just be prepared to replace them when they get torn up.

[Deleted account]

Fish don't know how much you paid for a lure, as far as hardbaits go, if you are fishing even a few times a week, you will loose or break it in a matter of a season or two. Here's a few of the "cheap" lures that work for me.

 

Bandit 100 and 200 (and the footloose, but shhhhh....)

Fat free shads (not the shallow one)

KVD 1.0 and 1.5

Red Eye Shad

CC Super spot

Pop R (I take a file to it, and tie some feathers on it and tell it its a rico)

Zara spook

Shad Rap

Husky jerk

Long A

Redfin

Trak down minnow

H2Os (except the lipless, don't really like it)

The BPS silver buddy thing (I forget the name)

Lew's speed minnow ( I think they call it XTS or something like that now)

Dick's $2 Strike King buzzbait

Scum frog/Trophy frog

 

Spinnerbaits: get some 3/8 and 1/2 doesn't matter which, change the blades to Gold 4 1/2 willow/2 colorado, Skirt that makes you happy (fish don't care) and throw it until only 1/2 of it comes back, repeat.

[Gavin]

If you look at it in terms of cost per fish...Plastics become expensive.

[Basslover730]

Thanks Keith71 , when i get money i spend it so carefully so i dont regret any of it! I havent regretted buying the cheap stuff, and a few expensive ones they all work similar, I usually use zoom plastics cause i havent found anything as durable and affordable, and i usually get rebels over rapala when they have the ones i want, and my walmart doesnt have much of a fishing section anymore, id rather have the cheap lures and still hopefully go pro one day!

[flipin4bass]

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Buy fewer, better quality lures.

Over time you will keep fishing quality equipment for years, maybe

decades.

 

Well said!

[*Hootie]

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Buy fewer, better quality lures.

Over time you will keep fishing quality equipment for years, maybe

decades.

I agree with this line of thinking when it comes to rods and reels, but not necessarily

lures. A treble hooked bait doesn't resist snagging just because you paid $15.00 or

$20.00 for it.

 

Hootie

[tholmes]

I'm also a fisherman on a (somewhat) limited budget. I've gotten some great deals on crankbaits by buying them used in the Flea Market forum.

 If I'm buying new, the best bang for your buck are Norman, Bomber and Strike King. Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps and Cordell Spots are affordable and effective lipless cranks. 

I buy most of my soft plastics from Barlow's Tackle. A bag of 100 7" ribbon-tail worms for under 15 bucks is hard to beat and they catch bass just as well as Culprit, PowerBait, etc.

 

Tom

[jhoffman]

Ive purchased two custom painted cranks shipped to my house in the last week for under $7 each

[kadas]

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Buy fewer, better quality lures.

Over time you will keep fishing quality equipment for years, maybe

decades.

SO very true RW

[whitwolf]

This has turned into a fine debate that's Interesting In that while It strayed somewhat from the original question It's still providing answers.

 

There will always be a debate about equipment whether it be baits, boats, clothing, etc., and the only surefire advice one can give Is what works for them. In the end you have to buy what best fits the criteria you have set for yourself. If that means you buy a Bomber crankbait as opposed to a Lucky Craft go out their with the confidence It will most certainly catch you a fish.

 

If you don't have confidence In a bait more times then not you and It will perform not up to standard. You simply have to have that confidence to fish effectively. I'm sure this has been mentioned In this thread but In reality your presentation and location of the bait Is far more Important than the price tag. That being said fish what you can afford, have the confidence to KNOW that bait will catch you fish, and as much as anything have fun!

[Avalonjohn44]

To add further emphasis to what I said in my earlier post about the Walmart bottom shelf lure selection...

I was in my local walmart today, found that the Yum Box and the Pradco Treasure Chest Box had been restocked to overflowing (I would guess most walmarts have done the same).

The Yum Box had Beaver Style baits, about 6 different colors, each bag $1.96 (as well as tons of soft jerkbaits, sluggo style baits, some ribbon tail worms and tubes). 

 

The Pradco CO Treasure Chest had tons of $2.96 baits, good ones too: Rebel Pop Rs, Bomber diving baits as well as square bills, some Cordell ShadRap-Type baits, Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers and best find all, Excalibur Chrome/Blue Rattle Traps and Excalibur Crawdad pattern Square Bills. 

For $25 I came out with five cranks and 5 bags of soft plastics - and best of all, Quality stuff.

[Bigbarge50]

Seeing the question was asked by a kid, (13, 14 or 15 right?) a good way to try things is befriend other fishermen.  Hanging out with older fishermen or making contacts on here you will literally encounter all sorts of great guys who would happily toss a plug or bag of plastics to a young fisherman who really appreciates it and is going to help keep the waters clean.  You try out some stuff and see what you like and no matter the brand or model, you can spend your $$ on stuff you have confidence in, which is half the battle.  Not wasting bucks to try out something.   

 

I know when I was a teenager staring at the BPS catalog deciding what on earth I would ask for Christmas and being faced with tough choices, I only wanted stuff I knew would work.  As I started mowing more lawns and such and had a few bucks, I found myself "trying" things..... and a lot of the crap from then I still have (BPS Caterpillar worms galore) haha.  That habit has not stopped at 33 (bait monkey).  

 

Another piece of advice for a teenager...... I got a spinner bait making kit one holiday..... great investment that was not an expensive gift but I could go in the basement and pump put all sorts of spinner baits and saved a ton of money.  It was a proud day my dad (who never threw a spinner bait) said let me try one of those and three casts later had a fish..... made a teenage kid feel pretty darn good.  The components to keep making them were pretty cheap (was not pouring my own heads) and tried to copy patterns I saw in stores and even go nuts with my own design.  If i had a smartphone back then I would have been snapping pictures galore and trying to make exactly what I had seen in the store.    

[Basslover730]

This thing turned out better than i thought! I got some good advice and some laughs! I befriend most older fishermen I meet out on the water, i actually just met two more guys today out ice fishing, i spent the whole day out there and got one small bass, lol my friend got a yellow perch bigger than my bass and a nice pickerel.  Hopefully this post keeps going, seems like quite a few people are learning some stuff