Cheapest Bps Walker Is Pretty Much An Exact Sammy Clone?

[Daniel Lin]

Has anyone noticed that the Bass Pro XTS Pencil Plug, their cheapest walker, is nearly identical in design to a Sammy? FWIW, Academy also stocks the same thing for about a dollar more under their own house brand. 

 

I was thinking about splurging on a Sammy to complement my Spooks (or more realistically, look pretty sitting on my desk because I'm the master of losing lures to improbable situations), but after some research and my last trip to BPS, I discovered that the designs are nearly identical. Indistinguishable length, weight, front scoop, hook placements, and even the tail-down sit at rest (which has garnered a whole slew of negative reviews on BPS's website haha). I bought two, a light colored one and a dark colored one, switched out the GARBAGE hooks for some decent ones, but haven't caught anything on them yet. I will say, the workmanship is pretty awful on them, but they run pretty well and for $3 I can't complain. Besides, there's that whole catching the fish/fisherman thing too.

 

Can anyone that has both the BPS and the Sammy comment on this striking similarity? As cool as it would be to have a Sammy, why get that when I could get five clones for the same price?

 

[aavery2]

Don't those garbage hooks LOOK exactly like the ones on the Sammy?  Why get rid of them, you can probably buy a whole box of them for the price of a couple of quality hooks.

[kikstand454]

I have a Sammy. I also have a handful of the acedemy h2o knockoffs. The Sammy is well built and beautiful. The knockoffs. ...eh. not bad.

That's where the difference stops.

If I didnt know which one was tied on, I doubt I could tell. They cast and walk the same. The fish seem to feel the same.

However IMO - the super cheap bps knockoff is NOT the same. I didn't like it at all. It sat funny. It walked odd. Its finish was questionable. I caught a fish on it and looked twice at the hooks because I just didn't trust them.

I gave it away.

I only buy/use the h2o's now. ...and have the Sammy in reserve for that super finicky, crystal clear water day when I can't get them to take the knockoff.

That day hasnt come yet.

[Daniel Lin]

Don't those garbage hooks LOOK exactly like the ones on the Sammy?  Why get rid of them, you can probably buy a whole box of them for the price of a couple of quality hooks.

I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Don't you love the internet?

 

If the action of the BPS lures is close enough to the Sammy's for a fifth of the price, I'd kinda rather take the extra versatility of buying five colors for the price of one.

 

Also, I'm pretty sure the Academy and BPS ones come from the same factory. I'll pick up a couple next time I'm at Academy and I'll examine them more closely in-detail.

[Daniel Lin]

I have a Sammy. I also have a handful of the acedemy h2o knockoffs. The Sammy is well built and beautiful. The knockoffs. ...eh. not bad.

That's where the difference stops.

If I didnt know which one was tied on, I doubt I could tell. They cast and walk the same. The fish seem to feel the same.

However IMO - the super cheap bps knockoff is NOT the same. I didn't like it at all. It sat funny. It walked odd. Its finish was questionable. I caught a fish on it and looked twice at the hooks because I just didn't trust them.

I gave it away.

I only buy/use the h2o's now. ...and have the Sammy in reserve for that super finicky, crystal clear water day when I can't get them to take the knockoff.

That day hasnt come yet.

Upon further inspection, I think you may be right. Some internet searching reveals that the BPS and Academy walkers aren't built EXACTLY identical. I guess all the more reason to pick up a few of those for further inspection. 

 

This whole foray into fishing definitely is tickling my love of beating Chinese manufacturing at its own game. I sometimes wonder to myself how much of this actually has to do with being Chinese myself haha.

[aavery2]

I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Don't you love the internet?

 

If the action of the BPS lures is close enough to the Sammy's for a fifth of the price, I'd kinda rather take the extra versatility of buying five colors for the price of one.

 

Also, I'm pretty sure the Academy and BPS ones come from the same factory. I'll pick up a couple next time I'm at Academy and I'll examine them more closely in-detail.

I was being sarcastic, but also making a point.    The fact that two baits look much alike means very little in how they will perform on the water.  I think all of us wish we could find LC quality in a 3 dollar bait, but the truth of the matter is that it just does not exist.  

[Bluebasser86]

The BPS bait does not walk well at all and the finish is terrible. Their baits are very hit and miss, some are good and some are horrible. If I'm looking for cheap hard baits I always go to the Academy H2O lineup. I have yet to find one of their baits that wasn't a successful bait, the finishes are good, hooks are decent, and they have good color selection. They put their baits on sale very often too, their squarebills are $3 apiece at both the Academy Sports by me right now. 

[kikstand454]

Agreed.

And I will say, the higher end xps stuff at bps is pretty good stuff. I've never had a problem with it. But it always seems to be a dollar more than the h2o stuff and I just stay with academy. I haven't had a single good hard bait from bps "value" line.

[smalljaw67]

This is the same thing with the Cabelas walking bait but that bait seems to work very well, the main difference is speed. I have a Sammy and I have a bunch of Cabelas walking baits that I switched the hooks out on, the Cabelas walking baits are fantastic but when you run a quick walk the dog they have a tendency to roll over. The Sammy has a better finish, better hooks, and is overall a quality bait and that is what you pay for but you won't find many Sammys that don't walk perfectly and they do so at any cadence. I'm happy with my cheaper knock-off too as they serve a purpose, when the fish are responding to a left - right - left - right cadence the knock offs do fine, but when the fish need the left-right-left-right fast paced movement then the Sammy is second to none!!! Remember, there is a reason why the clones are less expensive.

[K_Mac]

I have bought many low-end hardbaits over the years including the cheapest BPS baits. I would now rather have one or two quality baits than a box full of these baits(I have a couple). I still buy baits that are not at the high-end, but it takes trial and error to figure out which ones work. The variance in cheaper baits probably makes them a bad value most of the time IMO.

[TorqueConverter]

The walker is junk.  The BPS Slim Dog on the other hand...

[aavery2]

I think that the H2O baits may be the best value going, they have a great finish, good hooks, and run well.  I use their prop baits, sammy, and gunfish clones, and their crankbaits are nice also.    While I own many more expensive baits, I often find myself reaching for an H2O.

[roadwarrior]

As cool as it would be to have a Sammy, why get that when I could get five clones for the same price?

 

5 X 0 = 0

 

Get a Sammy, they are worth every penny.

 

 

[OntarioFishingGuy]

I dont think a sammy can be beat, even at 16 dollars.

[Raul]

5 X 0 = 0

 

Get a Sammy, they are worth every penny.

 

 

 

5 x $3 = $15 ( still have to add the S&H ) + 2 hooks.

 

1 Sammy = $16.

 

That´s a no brainer don´t you think ?

 

The BPS Slim Dog ( of course it costs more ) is a good bait, the XPS series ( previously BASSMASTERS series ) is really good bait.

 

So there´s a big difference and you pay for it in one form or another.

 

Nobody says you should purchase expensive baits, you should, however, purchase tried and true fish catching, good quality baits, there´s hundreds of those available.

[K_Mac]

Nobody says you should purchase expensive baits, you should, however, purchase tried and true fish catching, good quality baits, there´s hundreds of those available.

 

Raul that quote should be put on a banner at the top of this page! Many of us have wasted many dollars trying to prove otherwise. Fishing time is too valuable to waste messing about with lures, line, or equipment that does not work properly. You can take this from me...a guy who has been there and done that.