Livetarget Yearling Baits

[ghost]

I like the concept of the Livetarget lures. I am thinking of buying the yearling jerkbait and walking bait. 

You guys tried these baits, what are your thoughts? besides the looks of the lures, do they have good actions in the water?

 

[MBB Nate]

I have a small 1/4oz crankbait and I caught a lot of fish on it.  I also threw a kvd squarebill and caught a lot of fish in the same area so I can't really confirm anything.

[jr231]

Are they nice.  Yes. Live target makes fish catchers for sure.. are they worth what they are charging ? Not to me... not when I can get 2 cranks for that price that both produce. 

 

[Jar11591]

LiveTarget baits are quality for sure. Haven't used one that I didn't like. The baitball color scheme may be a little gimmicky, but the quality of the LiveTarget lures is certainly good, and worth the price tag IMO. I'm lucky enough that my local F&S always has LiveTargets on sale. 

[MIbassyaker]

I have a few baitballs (not sure of the yearling, specifically) and they work about as well as any other hardbaits of their kind. The look neat, but I haven't seen that the bait ball concept is more effective than anything else. Actually, I feel this way about every livetarget bait -- on sale they're worth it (i like their crappie crankbaits and hollow bodied frogs, especially), but at full retail I'm paying for design concepts and pretty finishes that don't quite add enough value in my opinion over less expensive options. YMMV.

[snake95]

23 hours ago, ghost said:

 

I like the concept of the Livetarget lures. I am thinking of buying the yearling jerkbait and walking bait. 

 

Smalljaw and others gave me some great input on the "frog" hard walking bait.  I assume the yearling walking bait shape is similar though not certain.  Check out the link to previous threads below.  I found the frog hard walker to feel unstable and hard to walk - but others have found them to be effective, just a tighter walker that a spook.

As for livetarget in general, yes I also feel they make quality lures that look cool.

I have a buddy that swears by them because of their realism.  I personally am cautious about putting too much value on their realistic appearance - if you could take off the hooks and add fins, to us humans - as an influence on how likely they are to be hit by bass.  But that's beside the point, the good looks can't hurt.

All through 2016 DSG would have periodic sales (once every 2 months or so) on Livetarget frogs and hardbaits - often less than 50% if you bought enough quantity.    You might want to hold out to see if they do more in January and February - though baitball lures seemed to either be excluded from the sales or on clearance.  No idea why.

Hope this helps.

 

[j bab]

I think your money would be better spent on proven baits

[jr231]

Every live target I've purchased has hooked fish... but quality baits at half the price are the route I choose to take !! Bomber and rapala ! 

Some want LC and SK . 

Ill take any of them before I buy another live target. not because live target is bad... but because others are just as good (and better) at a cheaper price. 

IMO 

[Raul]

5 hours ago, j bab said:

I think you're money would be better spent on proven baits

Like Rapala. 

[ohiobassfishing]

They are nice lures but a bit expensive. I've gotten a few at about 50% off and they were well worth it. I just can't justify spending full price on them.

[jsh32]

I have a LiveTarget crankbait, jerkbait, and walking style. Ive only ever used the crank but it worked well and I caught fish on it. However I was bouncing it off rocks in semi shallow water and a few cast latter I noticed it was running differently, and when I went to see if I needed to bend the line guide I noticed about half the bill was broken. After a few emails with LiveTarget I had a new one on the way.

So are they worth it? I don't know. Ive caught fish on them and they stand behind the products well. But like others have said, I could buy two other baits that Ive been successful with for the same money. They have a spot in my box but a very small spot because of the price point.

 

[soflabasser]

Good subject. I have caught lots of big bass on Live Target lures so they have me as a customer for a long time (as long as they continue making quality products ). It doesn't matter to me if I can get another lure for half the price, what matters to me is how effective the lure is and how durable it is.

[jr231]

Yea I don't own one live target that hasnt caught fish.. this includes the walking frog, 2 different lipless (caught a nice one on one of these) a flat sided crappie crank bait , and a blue back Herring 4.5 inch hard jointed swimbait. 

But there are just too many brands out there.. that are very durable.. and catch fish time after time. Bomber model A and the original shad rap are my favorites. 

Also bandit, Berkley , lucky craft, strike king, bill Lewis, Bagley,cotton Cordell, norman, rebel, storm, yo Zuri, Livingston, 6th sense, and luck-e-strike all offer cheaper cranks that catch fish just as well. And most of them better IMO

[Mark888]

i have used the yearling poppers, square bills and jerk baits, and yea they have caught me fish. Yes it is effective, but so are rapalas and ivd squarebills, which are also cheaper. it just depends if you want to spend the money on it, but they do have a place in my tackle box!

[Spankey]

I'd like to try a bait ball crank version and maybe the jerk version as well. It's not the price that will keep me from buying it. 

 

It looks sort of neat but I just don't feel it. At least not for now. I've not been that impressed with their crawfish crankbaits. They work but not all that and a bag of chips. 

 

I have Rapalas, Bandits and Bombers that don't look life like that produce well. 

 

Im a Rapala junkie. In all honesty their live look patterns are not that great. I got hung up buying them by being a junkie. In my opinion they are far less productive then Rapala original color patterns. To me a live look is not necessary to my fishing.

 

My birthday is in May. Maybe I'll ask for a couple bait ball patterns to try.