cheap vs expensive lures?

[Outdoor Zack]

55 minutes ago, wdp said:

One bait that's been working good for me is the Egg made by BPS.

 

Could you say a little more about this bait please.  I'm interested in seeing how others like it.

[the reel ess]

About a year ago I couldn't cram any more tackle in my bag so I went thru it all and culled the baits I either never caught a fish on or thought I'd never use due to lack of confidence I took it all out and gave most of it to a local kid who I know is into fishing. Coincidentally, most of it was Wally World bargain bin knockoffs  that I bought because I was on a really strict budget 20 years ago that I'm not on now. Of course, I still have my pain threshold and I'll cut a corner if it works and/or has good reviews. But I'm prepared to pay some scratch to get results.

[Esoxfreak]

40 minutes ago, WRB said:

Brand names like Bomber, Bandit, Bill Lewis and Norman crank baits have good hooks, run good out of the box for decades, $5-$6 price range you can't go wrong.

Tom

I think you nailed a great point home, a bill Lewis rat-l-trap IS expensive compared to other baits in its class, I think r2f makes one you get for .97 cents at Walmart, but the real deal can range from 5-10 bucks higher! 5 times as much as the authentic version still made in the US by humans for the most part, and fused together with an ultrasound process, not glue, hence the high price. American labor isn't as cheap as Chinese labor either. 

[wdp]

11 hours ago, Outdoor Zack said:

 

Could you say a little more about this bait please.  I'm interested in seeing how others like it.

Not much to say. It's a shallow crank that runs about a ft deep. Seems to bounce off rocks & cover decently. Little cheaper than a Baby 1 minus. Decent color selection. 

[Spankey]

I'm Foremost a Rapala Fan. But will not leave home without Rat-L-Traps, Bombers and Bandits. 

 

I guess these are are not expensive baits these days. 

 

Stepping outside of my box over the last few years has been with some Live Target stuff. Not overly impressed yet. For my b-day I'll ask for a few bait ball patterns. I know they'll work. More of a couriosity thing. Have to build a bit more confidence also. 

 

Pretty much a creature of habbit. Hard to pull me away from something that works. I like trying different patterns of things that have worked for me. 

 

*Any Rapala I've used has caught fish. *Bomber are a no brainier, Can't go wrong. *Bandits are fantastic baits. I feel like I was their first customer years ago in the North East (know I wasn't). But I feel like they have taken a major nose dive. Don't know what is going on at that company. I own many of the good discontinued patterns the work. Consider myself lucky in that regard. * SK I'm on board with them, the KVD stuff I've been throwing has good results. Not sure how much KVD has to do with it. 

 

Even the high end stuff comes from China Mexico Guatemala .....

[SFL BassHunter]

I started buying the H2O Express stuff from academy. They are nice looking cranks, and they run true. The hooks are sticky out of the box and they have a HUGE selection.

 

I've got a few Livingston cranks with flashing lights, and sounds,  that were in the 15-17 dollar range and have yet to catch a fish on them. Not that they aren't good, but they just haven't produced for me.

[J Francho]

Do you mean cheaply made, or inexpensive vs. expensive?  To me it's expensive to have to buy several lures to get one that works right.  I also dislike replacing hooks on brand new lures.  Lastly, I'll get to finish.  I don't care if the finish wears off, but if it's gone on the first day, it leads me to suspect the rest of the bait is poorly made.

 

I've been using the same $25 Japanese popper for the past two seasons.  I bet over 80% of my fish have come on that bait.  It's holding up fine, though I did have to replace a treble.  Not because it wore out, but because it got caught ion my truck's seat upholstery.  To me, that is an inexpensive bait, if you look at the return on investment.  Though it was a hard pill to swallow at the checkout!

[WRB]

I remember my first highend Japanese popper, Michaels and it was $20 back in the early 90's. Amazing lure and caught a lot of big bass on that tiny popper and still use today.

As stated earlier I prefer using the $5-$6 price point deep divers that catch bass as good as anything else I use because I don't mind losing them or hitting rocks etc so they get cast into places my more pricey lure don't, especially at night! Cheaply made lures I don't use and there is a lot of them around.

Tom

 

[dday07]

I like to buy all kinds of diff. buzzbaits...Because each one creates it own sound..I have had just as much luck on my clanky Culpit in murky water i got for a dollar as i have with my Calvitrons or Strike Kings

[blckshirt98]

If you keep your eyes open you can usually find the expensive baits on sale/clearance at some point in the year, it's just a matter of letting the bait monkey talk you into buying it at the time as soon as you see it on sale even if it's not something you're planning on using right away.  I have very few baits that I paid full retail for, and the full retail was from usually supporting a local tackle shop.  Cabela's is good about clearing out items if you check often, local tackle shops usually have a clearance section (or, can sadly have a closing shop liquidation), other online stores clearing out baits like when Bass Tackle Depot shut down or TW's Christmas sale, you just kind of have to have one ear dialed into newsletters/forums/social media posts to find the deals and be one of the first to get dibs before it all gets sold.