Higher end plastics

[catch anything]

While they may not be to pricy or anything but what makes things like the rage series or biospawn worth the extra price over zoom or yum and the other lower priced plastics?

[nhpleasantlakebass]

7 minutes ago, catch anything said:

I think the biggest difference is action. I know the rage series of baits have the most action I have seen from a soft plastic there unbelievable. it does not mean that the cheaper baits wont work.  I actually love the big bite bait craws and I get those for $1 for a pack of 6. there's not as much action as the rage craw but sometimes that's exactly what the bass are looking for.  I don't have any experience with the biospawn but the rage products are deff worth the price.

[Bluebasser86]

They both just flat out catch fish. Nothing wrong with YUM or Zoom, but I've seen plenty of times the action of a Rage Craw or Menace or the Biospawn Vile Craw or Biostick just puts more and/or bigger fish in the boat. It's just like how a regular Senko will outfish a knockoff, sometimes. There's no way to say exactly why one works better when it does, but it certainly happens. If you're happy with the numbers and size of fish you're catching on cheaper brands, by all means stick with those. If you're like most of us that has to have the next shiny thing on the shelf in hopes of catching a couple extra fish, I'd certainly recommend giving those a try. 

[roadwarrior]

Rage Tail baits have a patented ridge on the appendages. NO OTHER BRAND has exactly the same action. Additionally, Big O is VERY strict when it comes to packaging which he designed himself. EVERY Rage Tail comes to you PERFECT, exactly as it was designed. Big O demands a level of quality control that is unequaled.

[Cgolf]

I haven't tried the two brands you mentioned, will be trying the Rage Menace this summer, I do fish the Anglers Choice Killshot at 8 baits for 5 bucks. Designed as a drop shot bait it has a ton of action on a jig head and my guess is it imitates a leech really well and does hold up to multiple fish. Pricey yes, but very effective tool so I will pay the bit extra to use them. 

The only thing I will say about the pricier plastics is that I do think a lot about the purchase before I buy them, unlike say the Havoc pit boss that I finally bought to try that was a thoughtless add on to my purchase at Wally World since they were under 3 bucks. 

[Munkin]

Some baits just work better for certain applications. The best example is the Yamamoto senko. Yes it costs more and you can buy similar baits but none work as well weightless. Now before someone says it no I haven't tried (Insert the name of the bait your 1st cousin or someone in your bass club makes using better ingredients like Papa Johns)  or every bait out there but in 3 years of trying never found one.

Allen

[the reel ess]

I can say without a doubt that Berkley Powerbait and Yamamoto Hula Grubs are WORTH IT! Some are not going to produce a whole lot more than others.

[Tucson]

Hula Grubs are pretty hard to beat.  Haven't tried any of the Rage baits yet but I'll check them out based on your recommendation.

[thirtysixit]

Rage Tail baits are worth it.  The Rage Craw and Menace are some of my favorite jig trailers.  I also fish a lot of Zoom products and love them too.  The Super Chunk and Fluke are amazing. 

[MIbassyaker]

Honestly, I think Zoom, Yum, Rage Tail, and Biospawn are all good value for the cost. WIth Zoom and Yum you get more bodies for a lower price, in proven designs and colors that reliably do the job most of the time. With companies like Rage and Biospawn, you are paying for very high quality control and unique designs or composition you can't get anywhere else. Nobody else makes anything quite like a Space Monkey or a Vile Craw or an Exo stick or a Cut-R Worm. Even something as simple as the Biospawn plasma tail (It's just a straight-tailed worm!), is a little different from other worms in its "class":

 

[Fishin Ethan]

its your choice with quailty and quainty. Zoom and Yum give you more for your buck, while Rage gives more action and higher quailty

[Sam]

The research, development, packaging, materials, formulas, number produced, overhead, sales volume, etc. all have an impact on the pricing of any product.

Same is true with our bass plastics.

Quantity = Zoom, YUM, Senkos

Quality = Rage Tail, Biospawn

It all depends on confidence. Do you have confidence that you can catch fish using the baits that are massed produced or the ones where the manufacturing process takes longer?

 

[catch anything]

So after all this I will be trying out the ragetail line, what colors would you guys recommend in the menace and craw for jig trailers?

[roadwarrior]

Matching or contrasting colors.Basics would include Black w/ Blue Flakes, Green Pumpkin, PBJ, White and Black w/ Red Flakes.

 

[primetime]

I buy most of my baits from the major brands and it usually comes down to a color I like....If Strike King is on sale, I grab a bunch of bags since I always do well with many of their baits...same with all brands...I think color and profile, weight, casting accuracy all matter more.

If I am on a boat and I am finding a pattern of fish holding on isolated clumps of weeds, I could pitch any bait from any brand imo....But generally all the baits you see on a Tackle Warehouse are all good, The difference is as stated above...If you have confidence in a certain style fluke, than fish that brand you will do better...I like the Caffiene shad flukes since they are very soft with lots of salt, so I start with them, but I also use Zoom since they have a ton of colors, and also Yum Houdini shads since they have a unique action...It is good to have 2-3 versions of a beaver etc...sometimes a small difference matters, the Rage baits are great, but at times they may want a more subtle action, the Flange on their baits makes a difference for sure....Sometimes however a simple bait in cold water may be a better choice, but who knows...That is what makes buying and trying new lures and baits so much fun...If you only fished Yum or Zoom out of confidence, you would be fine imo...I just like certain colors or shapes certain companies make...GYB baits are expensive but give me confidence when I am fishing a grub or senko, but the Ocho is a great stick bait if you want a different look, I would not consider an OCHO inferior to a Senko, just different.

[blckshirt98]

If paying a little extra gives you that confidence to be patient and fish the lure properly, by all means it's worth the extra money.  I've fished 10 cent bargain plastics and given up quickly thinking "cheap bait, won't catch anything", and have fished $1+ Japanese plastics and fished it longer and slower with much more confidence because I thought "imported and expensive, this has to work!".  Whether or not one is more effective than the other, some days fish will prefer one or the other, but having that extra confidence makes a big difference on the quality of your time on the water.

[Master Bait'r]

I hope you guys never learn how many hazedong magnums I have in my plastics tray  

What makes ANYTHING "worth it" though is whether or not you enjoy it.  If you do, it's worth it.  

[Outdoor Zack]

I always seem to land the nice stuff in a tree or lodged between rocks on the first cast. But the cheap lures must be bulletproof.... 

[bowhunter63]

I use Rage all the time,Well made high quality.I think the coffee scent makes a difference too.

[Catt]

I'm a plastics freak! I love em all!

For me it's about ROF (rate of fall) & believe me they all fall through the water column differently.

Some one mentioned Senkos; YUM Dingers, Tiki Stiks, Big Bite's Trick Sticks all fall un-weighted at different rates.

A 1/4 oz Texas Rigged Rage Lobster will fall at a different rate than a Paca Craw.

Un-weighted a Zoom Trick Worm falls faster than Bass Assassin's Tapout Worm; the Tapout is heavier so the cast farther.

[BaitMonkey1984]

Fish a GYCB senko and a no name knock off for a week each. I have no doubt that GYCB is going to do better on the law of averages. Better ingredient, better quality, more supple, more action etc should catch more fish the majority of the time. But sometimes, the fish want more action/less action. That is when you really need to get into the nitty gritty details of the baits. My rule of thumb, don't knock cheap baits that work but also don't be gun shy to try the more expensive lures. 

[JGillyFishing]

Rage Tail is my favorite line of baits. I'm not actually sure if they actually catch any more than zoom or yum but it's mostly a confidence thing for me. One of my good friends pulled a 13 pound largemouth out of a small local lake on a PB&J rage craw  and I bought a few packs to try them and after that I've been hooked. I would also recommend the DB structure bug. Like everyone else has said the action and quality control is unparalleled. As far as colors for the rage craw I would recommend PB&J, Bama Craw, Watermelon Red, and blue bug are my favorites. I still have room for zooms in my plastics box. You just can't beat a plum Apple Ol' Monster. I've tried the rage tail anaconda but I still prefer the zoom. 

[junyer357]

i do beleive there is a difference between the premium lures and the standard. The better baits do tend to have better actions normally, which cam make a big diffrence in presentation. At the same time i have caught tons of fish on the standard plastics, zoom, powerbait, and netbait being my favorites and confidence lures. 

To me wehter its worth it or not comes down to budget.  If you are grilling burgers for $8/hr it takes over 2 hours to buy 1 lucky craft lure or a couple packs of rage craws, so its a big deal to spend that much. At the same time the guy who owns that mcdonalds and a dozen more making $1mil/year wont really mind the cost so its no big deal to him if he wants them. 

To the average joe in the middle, like me, i think about it before they buy. I dont make enough to try everything, i wait and see what i like, what others reccomend, wait for sales, and be picky about what i slurge for and what i dont. Make sure its worth it for me on my budget. If im fishing in the boat and have a good shot at getting hung lures back, i use better ones. Bank fishing i stick more to cheaper options normally. 

What alot of tourney guys i know do is prefish and practice with the lower price items, yum dingers, zoom, and cheaper hooks. On tourney day when money is on line, its all senko, rage, trokar, etc... .

[CJ]

On 2/28/2016 at 11:27 AM, Sam said:

The research, development, packaging, materials, formulas, number produced, overhead, sales volume, etc. all have an impact on the pricing of any product.

Same is true with our bass plastics.

Quantity = Zoom, YUM, Senkos

Quality = Rage Tail, Biospawn

It all depends on confidence. Do you have confidence that you can catch fish using the baits that are massed produced or the ones where the manufacturing process takes longer?

 

I didn't read all replies but Sam hit on a big part of price difference. Look at Zoom. They pretty much throw their plastics in a basic labeled, zip lock. Rage Tail has clam shell packaging that keep all the lures in perfect form. Those clam shells aren't cheap. This is just a good example of the many expense's that are involved with getting the lures made to getting them to the shelves. Not saying that all Zoom are junk, there not. I do think Rage Tail is a fine line of baits!

[faygo1979]

I think people over estimate the quality of one brand vs another.  The larger brands put out a quality product but you see them everywhere.  Boutique bait companies are popular but they have to different themselves from the big guys with different packaging,  marketing or even more extreme styles   Now I don’t know if their baits are better or if they are just seen less than the big brands so they may get a better reaction sometimes.