Super User Goose52 Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 Are your grubs and jigs older than me too? Last I looked grubs were about $4-5/pack and ballheads were maybe $3 for five. Lets say you make it through a day losing 2 ball heads, and burn through 1/2 a pack of grubs to catch 6 or seven fish. That's $4 for one day. That's what a fat free shad cost. I guess I'm missing the math point here? I detailed the math in Post #5 - here it is again: Gander Mountain 5" grub - got a bunch for $2.99 - a tough, durable grub (I prefer it over Zoom Fat Alberts). Here's the math: $2.99 + tax = $3.28 $3.28 / 15 baits = 21.9cents per bait Avg. 10 fish per bait = 2.2 cents per fish..... AND, I didn't factor in the price of the Gammy 2/0 EWG hook that is included in the bag! Maybe not the BEST value, but a pretty good value!! The grubs were on sale at Gander Mountain so I got a good price. However, as I mentioned earlier, I neglected to factor in the cost of hooks. I fish grubs weightless and weedless on 1/0 or 2/0 EWG. I don't use ball jigs...and I don't often get hung up. Since I'm frugal, I'll go as long as I can on a hook (and I'll sharpen the hook). I use either Gammy or Eagle Claw Laser Sharp hooks (I know, I know...but they work for me). So, my hook cost is low (and remember that your first hook comes in the bag). Continuing - my 2010 catch log shows that I caught 287 fish on Gander Mountain grubs - and I consumed 2 15ct bags of grubs of one color, plus just a few grubs of another color. Say 34 grubs. 287/34 = 8.4 fish per grub ... a bit below the 10 fish/bait number I used above (which I got as a top-of-my-head figure, not with a calculator). So, 21.9 cents per bait / 8.4 = 2.6 cents per fish. Add in cost of a hook once in a while and I'm still at about 3 cents per fish. Lastly, I know how to be frugal. I'll start to fish a GM grub on a 2/0 hook and when the nose gets torn up, I''ll cut off the nose to form a "popper" face and fish it on a 1/0 as a top-water. That's why I like these GM grubs, they're tough, go more fish than a Zoom, and come with a free hook... : Phew, is this enough math.... ;D Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 I bought some Gander plastics once. I gave them to a buddy to fish, and he threw them in the garbage - total waste of money. Couldn't get a fish to sniff them. Beavers, twin tails, and senkos. The Senkos didn't sink, and I actually think the beavers and twin tails have fish repellent in them. I'm not usually so down on things, but they were a 100% dud. I know, you can probably go through your note cards and give me stats.....but I don't need anything to remember a goose egg. God bless ya' if you can catch on Gander grubs. Too bad, too. I was really hoping their beaver knockoff would replace the RI's in my bag. They were about half the price. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 Here how I save some loot:Mizmo Big Boy 4inch tubes. 100 pack: $37.99 http://sfttackle.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=9&ParentCat=7 SFT Big hook tube jighead. 100 pack: $15.99 http://sfttackle.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=308&ParentCat=13 Buy in bulk. Less than 54 cents a jig. As long as you know its the right bait for you. SFT....good people there. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 Wow, lots more posts while I was typing my last post and using the calculator. I said in post #5 that my grubs may not be the best value, but are a pretty good value. I've also said that hardbaits are certainly a better value...if you catch enough fish on them and don't lose them. Another thing, my example was based on Gander Mountain grubs - very tough - not on GYCB or Zoom or other softer plastics. In my own particular case, I'm certain that, so far, I've never caught enough fish on a hardbait to get the cost down to near what the GM grub cost is. My loss rate (fishing from the bank) has heretofore prevented that. I keep very good fishing records, but I don't keep records of fish caught on a particular bait. My 70 fish on one lipless crank was based on the the beginning of 2010 when I fished a single Red Eye Shad until I lost it ... and I remember I was at about 70 fish on that bait at that time (easy to know based on my catch log) and I was crushed when I lost it. Anyway, in the future, I won't have a good way of knowing how many fish I catch on a specific hardbait (unless it is unique and I only have ONE of that type). Anyway - you catch enough fish, and the hardbait is the way to go for sure. 8-) Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 I bought some Gander plastics once. I gave them to a buddy to fish, and he threw them in the garbage - total waste of money. Couldn't get a fish to sniff them. Beavers, twin tails, and senkos. The Senkos didn't sink, and I actually think the beavers and twin tails have fish repellent in them. I'm not usually so down on things, but they were a 100% dud. I know, you can probably go through your note cards and give me stats.....but I don't need anything to remember a goose egg. God bless ya' if you can catch on Gander grubs. Too bad, too. I was really hoping their beaver knockoff would replace the RI's in my bag. They were about half the price. It's about the only GM product that I use - tough buggers! I still use Zoom grubs - better color choices, softer, probably better fish catchers. While I caught 287 fish in 2010 on GM grubs, I caught 485 fish on Zoom grubs (there were 20 fish I caught on grubs where I didn't record the brand - drats). However, the Zooms (off the top of my head, I ain't gonna get the calculator back out) probably only average 4-5 fish/grub .. ;D It's all good... Oh - and you're absolutely right about SOME plastics - I've only fished one bag of genuine GYCB Senkos and probably only average .5 to 1 fish/bait - expensive fish those were ;D ;D Quote
SuskyDude Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 As long as you know its the right bait for you.SFT....good people there. Absolutely. Buy in bulk, don't "try" in bulk. ;D SFT: excellent operation with terrific service Quote
IntroC Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 As long as you know its the right bait for you.SFT....good people there. Absolutely. Buy in bulk, don't "try" in bulk. ;D SFT: excellent operation with terrific service How are the hooks on those tube jigs? Thats an excellent deal. Quote
SuskyDude Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 As long as you know its the right bait for you.SFT....good people there. Absolutely. Buy in bulk, don't "try" in bulk. ;D SFT: excellent operation with terrific service How are the hooks on those tube jigs? Thats an excellent deal. They're not what many on this site would consider to be "premium quality," but they are great for the price. I've been using them for years and haven't had a problem with hookups or had a fish straighten one out. I've landed many a giant carp and a few muskies/pike with them no problem. Quote
Super User bilgerat Posted January 13, 2011 Super User Posted January 13, 2011 Where's that thread about the $1.00 Walmart spinnerbaits ? Let's throw a bottle of Mend-it into the plastics equation.... Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 14, 2011 Super User Posted January 14, 2011 Where's that thread about the $1.00 Walmart spinnerbaits ?Let's throw a bottle of Mend-it into the plastics equation.... ;D ;D ;D I started the thread on the WalMart spinnerbaits but for today's discussion I couldn't make the math work FOR ME since I hadn't caught at least 33 fish on A SINGLE Wally SB to beat the cost metric of my grubs... However, for high-risk water where probability of loss of the bait is high, the WalMart SB is not a bad deal. On the Mend-it, I don't use it...................but now that you mention it ..................! ;D Quote
Super User Gatorbassman Posted January 14, 2011 Super User Posted January 14, 2011 The ones you have the most confidence in. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted January 14, 2011 Super User Posted January 14, 2011 The ones you have the most confidence in. Dang - too bad you didn't post at the beginning of the thread...I would have agreed with you and saved myself a lot of time using the calculator today... ;D Quote
SeanW Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 Id have to say Zoom plastics and Strike King cranks. Zipper Worms and baits are also a great deal with a 30% off code. I have the code if anyone is interested PM me. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 14, 2011 Super User Posted January 14, 2011 I don't spend much money on freshwater baits, really don't see the need and I rarely lose something( I use a heavier leader for that purpose). Probably have caught 20 bass on a walmart $1.00 spinnerbait in the last couple of days. Been using the same 2 $3.00 blaze minnow jerkbaits for about 2 years, have a couple still unopened and have not seen the need to open them. I bought 3 generic bass topwater lures for about $6.00 off ebay, 2 are still unused, I use it for barracuda and bass on my way home in the canals when I want a larger bait. My spoons never wear out. Buy a bag of senkos and flukes every now and then, don't change my hooks very often and use cheap Eagle Claws. Fishing almost 350 days I'm sure the total number of fish is up there pretty good, that said I'm probably spending a minimal amount per fish, thats freshwater. When I moved to Florida I bought everything under the sun for saltwater inshore fishing only to discover that all is needed, spoon, jig, hard jerkbait, soft jerkbaits and a topwater. All in all I fish pretty economical. Rods and reels are a different story went needlessly overboard on that stuff. Quote
jdw174 Posted January 14, 2011 Posted January 14, 2011 BPS, Strike King, and Bomber cranks. Caught a lot of fish on those. You can get some really good prices at Lurenet's website on Bombers. None of those will break the bank. I have a topwater box, and perhaps the best producing lure in there is a BPS knockoff of a Sammy, gotten when BPS would offer their "5 lures for $5" at the beginning of the year. In soft plastics, the Zoom Trick Worms is hard to beat. They're not fancy, but they do the job. I carry several different plastics, but they're always there. I don't have any WalMart SB's, but I have a box of others, some more than a few years old..and they still produce. My favorite is the Mann's Hank Parker model with twin Indiana blades. Quote
Super User Grey Wolf Posted January 14, 2011 Super User Posted January 14, 2011 BPS, Strike King, and Bomber cranks. Caught a lot of fish on those. You can get some really good prices at Lurenet's website on Bombers. None of those will break the bank.I have a topwater box, and perhaps the best producing lure in there is a BPS knockoff of a Sammy, gotten when BPS would offer their "5 lures for $5" at the beginning of the year. In soft plastics, the Zoom Trick Worms is hard to beat. They're not fancy, but they do the job. I carry several different plastics, but they're always there. I don't have any WalMart SB's, but I have a box of others, some more than a few years old..and they still produce. My favorite is the Mann's Hank Parker model with twin Indiana blades. I've been thinking about getting some of Parkers SB's , now I'm getting a few based on what you have said. Quote
Senkoman12 Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 Initial cost doesn't infer "value". Fewer lures, betterlures is my advice. I would buy one Lucky Craft Pointer rather than three Rogues. The LC is the "Best Bang For The Buck". 8-) when you fish lakes like mine with pike and pickeral everywear its just stupid to LC priced lures. if a pike or pickeral bites off or chews up one of my rapalas im not gonna want to cry, with LC there is $20 gone right there vs $8 Quote
Thad Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 when you fish lakes like mine with pike and pickeral everywear its just stupid to LC priced lures. if a pike or pickeral bites off or chews up one of my rapalas im not gonna want to cry, with LC there is $20 gone right there vs $8 If you're a smart shopper you can get LCs for $8. Quote
bigredxlt Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 when you fish lakes like mine with pike and pickeral everywear its just stupid to LC priced lures. if a pike or pickeral bites off or chews up one of my rapalas im not gonna want to cry, with LC there is $20 gone right there vs $8 If you're a smart shopper you can get LCs for $8. Where?! Quote
BassThumb Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 when you fish lakes like mine with pike and pickeral everywear its just stupid to LC priced lures. if a pike or pickeral bites off or chews up one of my rapalas im not gonna want to cry, with LC there is $20 gone right there vs $8 If you're a smart shopper you can get LCs for $8. Where?! $8 is a bit of a stretch, but $10-11 isn't. There are various online flea markets with people selling new and gently used LCs for $10, usually in lots of 4-5 new baits for $40-50 shipped. The Bass Resource flea market even has em once in a while, but they go fast. You can find some great values in these flea markets or in your local retailer's bargain bins. Most people seem to pass them up though, thinking they're filled with junk. Quote
Thad Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 If you search eBay's completed auction listings you can see that Lucky Crafts go for less than $10. I was buying used ones off of a guy once for $7 a piece. I bought over 100 from him to paint and resale. Quote
BassThumb Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 That's a good deal. IIRC, you were selling them here, weren't you? Quote
Thad Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 I don't think I ever sold any of those here. I've sold some stuff but I don't know about those. Quote
Scorcher214 Posted January 17, 2011 Posted January 17, 2011 I would love to try a few LC pointers or Jackall squad minnows. But in my lake for every bass I catch, I get at least one pike. Just not worth the 15 bucks for one lure. To me that is. Quote
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