Cheap Lures

[basszilla]

Has anyone tried any of the ultra-cheap lures being sold on eBay? I'm talking about the ones selling at ridiculous prices like 30 lures for $14. Are the hooks made from paper clips? Are they painted with water color? Seriously, are they worth fishing with?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311447848638?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

 

[the reel ess]

I see nary a split ring on any of them. they all look like Chinese infringements of patents. I wouldn't pay $2 for the lot. If you buy them expect a good many of them not to swim or run true. Just MHO.

[Nor-Cal Basser]

I wouldn't chance it. When I hit the water, I'm there for one purpose: Catching fish. Cheap lures that don't run true, hooks that bend out/break, and flaky paint all keep me from doing that effectively. That's just my $0.02. 

[scaleface]

Like everyone else . I would be skeptical bu who knows , I have bought cheap stuff before that worked really well .

[roadwarrior]

I would not fish them for free.

 

[MassYak85]

46 minutes ago, basszilla said:

Seriously, are they worth fishing with?

If you're lost and dying of hunger and need to catch a fish I'd probably give them a go

[Mad Scientist]

For $14 I'd rather buy five or six Cabela's or Bass Pro lures that I know will be halfway decent than 30 that are probably garbage.

[MassYak85]

Part of what you pay for with higher end lures is the swim testing that goes into designing them. With super cheap ones like that they most likely made a master, decided it looked fine, made molds from it, and molded thousands with cheap materials and hardware, without testing a single one, and shipped them out. 

[flyingmonkie]

"What are you thinking about throwing out there today?"

"I'll probably start with Fishing Lure.  If that doesn't work, I might give Fishing Lure, or Fishing Lure a shot."

[mixel]

For those prices, for sure they are overseas knockoffs with zero R&D.

 

Only reason I see for those are maybe if you are taking some really young kids out fishing and they are dying to try all your expensive looking lures rather than cheaper plastics. Then maybe you tie on that cheaply made China crankbait so every time the kid gets hung up, you're out $1 and not $10. 

[wisconsin heat]

I have tried a few of the very small ones (for trout), exactly the same kind of lot you are looking at. They looked fine out of the package besides the hooks and split rings being awkward sizes, however every jerk/crankbait sank with the tail end down. So yeah, those sucked. 

 

I did however buy an ultra-cheap fleabay lot of In-line spinners (also for trout) last spring and nearly all of them worked well, the better ones on par with mainstream spinners. I think I paid ~$12 for 30 assorted spinners, and I think that went over as well as it could, there were a handful, maybe 6-9 spinners that worked but did not spin as freely.

 

Avoid the hardbaits.

Spinners worked for me, but you should still proceed with caution, or not at all haha.

[Kidflex]

I ordered some crankbaits years ago on eBay from China and a few of the lips pulled out of the body with very little effort. The hooks were brittle also. Never used them as they were trashed quickly. Wasn't going to chance losing a fish over crap lures.

[chattooga_ basser]

I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but generally you get what you pay for.

[tander]

43 minutes ago, chattooga_ basser said:

I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but generally you get what you pay for.

 

Exactly, don't waste your $14. With a little more $, you could buy 3 Bandits.

[roadwarrior]

29 minutes ago, tander said:

 

Exactly, don't waste your $14. With a little more $, you could buy 3 Bandits.

 

I have a friend who fishes NOTHING else!

 

[basszilla]

Thanks much, appreciate all the comments. I'll pass on these.