Which is Cheaper? making lures or buying them?

[bassmaster3000]

hey,

Which is cheaper? doeas making lures pay for itself after a while?  ;D

[fishingdanderson]

Depends on how many bass tournaments you win with them.lol

[cadman]

Depends on how many bass tournaments you win with them.lol

That's funny but true.

bassmaster3000. Depends on how you look at it. It is alway cheaper to buy. But if you want a custom color or a one of kind lure, and you would love to catch fish on your own creation, then definitely make it. You will get satisfaction beyond compare, when you catch a fish on a lure that you've made. However it is costly to start out

[LooksLikeSinbad]

Technically you could make baits for less then you'd buy them, but in reality you'll probably get addicted to the hobby/art of making lures like all of us and find yourself placing large $ orders for supplies, tools, parts, etc.  But it's worth it.  ;D

[IDbasser]

I totally agree with everyone else.  It is addictive, costs more money than an average fisherman would spend on their tackle, and like cadman said, it is costly to start up.  I enjoy doing it, and it gives me something to do in the winter when I can't get out fishing.

[Jig Man]

It depends on how involved you get, where you start, how many you make, and how long you stick to it.  Like stated the start up can be expensive.

I started with one mold, 2 colors of plastic dye and 1 qt of plastisol.  I had very little invested made some good baits and had a ball.

When I dedided to try jigs, I borrowed a mold and a burner to melt the lead, bought 100 hooks and some living rubber and made up a bunch.  When I dedided that was ok I bought my own stuff.

[Bass Dude]

The start up cost seems high, but if you break it down to a p/unit cost it is cheaper.  I may drop $50 at a time buying supplies, but I can make 50 jigs.  Plus, for me its about the fact that I have total control over the skirt, hook, blades, color etc.  There are very few lures companies that make a lure exactly like you want, if you make it yourself, you have that ability.

[ring fry]

What everyone els said.  I started pouring plastics this last fall and I think I have the price down to about $1.59 a piece.   ;D  Oh, wait, I've got another order to get in today.  Well at least I tell my wife I'm saving money!

[Matt 825]

LOL You'll save some money but it will cost you more money :-?

Let me explain..........

Lets talk Jigs: Say a premium jig costs $4. Now you buy 25 premium jigs and it costs you $100. So you have 25 great jigs to fish with.

Now to make 25 premium jigs your costs will be as followed

Mold $30-40 depending on what you want

Premium Hooks per 50 $10

Lead Pouring pot $60

Lead Free to a few $ per pound

Weed Guard $7 per 100

Skirts $3-5 per 10

Powder Paint $5 per color

Fluid bed for Powder paint $60

Heat Gun & Toaster Over $50

So you are looking at a few hundred dollars to make 25 jigs. That is why it will cost you more, but if you make a few hundred jigs then you will save some $. However you will and I repeat you will, start buying more molds, more colors of skirts and paint, different styles of hooks and in the end you will have spent a small fortune to "save some money on jigs" LOL

To sum it up your cost per jig will go way down eventually but your overall cost for your finished tackle will go way up. You will have some killer custom jigs that no one else has and only a few can replicate.

Is it worth all the effort and costs.............Absolutley :-X      8-)

[Siebert Outdoors]

depends really. Is it cheaper. Yes in the long run. Depends how many lures you use/lose. If you lose 10 jigs a year its not worth it to save money. But if you are like Jigman and lose 500 jigs a year it is alot cheaper.

I've been making jigs for about 10 years and I know I've payed off my couple molds and lee pot several times with the jigs I lose each year.

Also buying in bulk saves a ton of money but you also have to be able to use that bulk.  

[basspro96]

It is addictive..I am 13 and have already found myself begging Mom and Dad for loans to buy equipment:( Please this is a healthy addiciton.................Sometimes : :o

[Captain Obvious]

Do you know who the first cousin of the bait monkey is? The bait making monkey. Yes it gets addicting, but then again you can in the long run  save money.

[Mattlures]

It also depends alot on which baits you are going to make. There are guys who sell baits like *** who make money buy selling for little proffit but sell in large volumes so its worth it. You can buy big bags of senko knock offs and other popular stlyes from *** and it would not be worth your time to make them yourself. His prices are just to low to warent buying all the suplies just to save 2 cents a senko. One advantage is custom colors. I orginaly got started making baits because I was using saltwater swimbaits that cost about 50-75 cents each. I might go through 20-30 of them a day. I started making my own and instantly started saving money. But it is adictive, now look at me. I spend a lot more time making baits then I do fishing, or anything else for that mater.

[BIG M]

It's much cheaper to buy production cranks than build your own.   I just dumped approx 200.00 in weights, rings, hooks, and epoxy.   I still have to order another 100.00 worth of wood.   Tools, paint, and number of other things I can't think of off the top of my head all cost.

I bet my first quality crankbait cost me around 600.00.

I have not fished with a store bought crank in 6yrs, since I caught the first fish on one of mine.   It's an addiction that has no cure and if you ever catch a fish on a bait you've made then all hope is lost.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I have not fished with a store bought crank in 6yrs, since I caught the first fish on one of mine. It's an addiction that has no cure and if you ever catch a fish on a bait you've made then all hope is lost.

That is very true IMO.  Very few lures I fish anymore are store bought.  Plastics, jigs, cranks, s/b,s, b/b are all hand made by me or someone off forums.