Shane Y Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 Stopped by academy yesterday a saw a bunch of their lures. They looked pretty good. Anybody using them? How do you like them? Quote
PAbasser927 Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 Hardbaits are certainly not my specialty - but I picked up some H2O crankbaits, jerkbaits, lipless, and squarebills when they were running a hot deal for $2 each. They seem to run well even in comparison to my Rapalas - and they catch fish! Quote
volzfan59 Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 One of, if not the best "house brand" crankbaits made. I've been using them for years and like "PAbasser927" said, "they catch fish!". I've never had one that didn't run true right out of the box, quality hooks and oval split rings. Good deal at full price, great deal when on sale. When I was still at BPS, I used to recommend them to customers that balked at the price of Rapala, Lucky Craft, etc. Much better than the BPS branded cranks. 1 Quote
bagofdonuts Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 There's one stuck in the face of the fish on my avatar. Quote
Super User Mobasser Posted August 17, 2018 Super User Posted August 17, 2018 The only one I have is the popper. Very good bait for the money. Mustad hooks, and good finish. 1 Quote
AirborneNautilus Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 I have a few that I use regularly - jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and pistol minnows. The pistol minnow is nearly indistinguishable from my LC gunfish. Good quality baits at budget prices. The only one I've used and wasn't a fan of was the jointed sunfish. Sank like a rock and needed to be retrieved pretty fast. 1 Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted August 17, 2018 Super User Posted August 17, 2018 I don't like the jointed sunfish swimbait either for the same reason mentioned in the post above and, though it's 5/8 oz. it's hard to cast without helicoptering and getting the line in the hooks. I ended up using a spinnig rod to lob it, which is not optimal. Also, I really don't like the hollow body frog. The body is hard like the old SPRO's and it's difficult to walk because it's flat on the bottom, just like the old SPROs. I have a lipless crank that cleaned up on bass one day, but the next time out my buddy wore me out with a Super Spot so badly I switched over. The lipless I bought was in the gold pattern and the gold finish didn't hold up well. After two uses there are spots where it flaked off, exposing what looks like a silver finish beneath. I'm guessing they took some chrome ones and gave them another coat of gold that didn't adhere well. Either way, it kinda looks like a beat up gold shiner, which could be a plus, but doesn't speak well for the quality of the bait. I get the feeling there are several companies making these baits for them because the quality is all over the place with them. Even so, they're so cheap and I'd give others a try. The popper looks good for half the price of the Pop R. They ahve a couple baits that are knockoffs of Lucky Crafts that look great. 1 Quote
Shane Y Posted August 17, 2018 Author Posted August 17, 2018 Thank you fellas. The wife gave me the green light to stock up on some new lures next Friday. I'll pick "some" up ??? 1 Quote
Troy85 Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 I use H2O crankbaits quite often. I like them and have caught plenty of fish with them. The only crank bait I throw that isn't H2O is the KVD 1.5, but every other crankbait in my box is H2O Quote
Brett's_daddy Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 Best "House Brand" baits bar none!!! Quote
Big Rick Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 This is great info! I've been impressed with the finish and look but due to past experiences from the "other" house brands I was skeptical.... Guess where I'll be headed to shortly... Quote
Abby Posted August 17, 2018 Posted August 17, 2018 great price on their crankbaits when they are on sale. I have had real good luck this year with their baits... Quote
Super User Spankey Posted August 17, 2018 Super User Posted August 17, 2018 3 hours ago, Shane Y said: Thank you fellas. The wife gave me the green light to stock up on some new lures next Friday. I'll pick "some" up ??? You're a lucky guy. Make sure you hold on to your wife. Great she supports your activities. My wife a good gal also, I don't hear any flack about fishing. Quote
long island basser Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 Been using their wakebait in the bluegill pattern for a few years now. It has replaced the manns baby 1- minus. Quote
Falkus Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 I just recently bought several of their items for the first time after hearing about it on this forum. Honestly, I have been impressed with it. Quote
flatcreek Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 Buy a couple of the lipless cranks in Diamond Dust color. Quote
Shane Y Posted August 18, 2018 Author Posted August 18, 2018 13 hours ago, Spankey said: You're a lucky guy. Make sure you hold on to your wife. Great she supports your activities. My wife a good gal also, I don't hear any flack about fishing. She likes to fish to. When we first met she would go with me all the time but wasn't really in to it...... One day the fish were biting like crazy. I put a rod in her hand and it was on from there. Shes got a mean hook set to !!! 10 hours ago, flatcreek said: Buy a couple of the lipless cranks in Diamond Dust color. Will do. Quote
greentrout Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 Academy dominates our market...H20 hard bait & frog section always has more than a few out of stock tags...own several...they are OK...great value... Stores here stock Wahoo spinner baits for 1.99 & 2.99 that perform well... good fishing... Quote
Bassin' Brad Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? Quote
jwwoodjr Posted August 18, 2018 Posted August 18, 2018 4 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said: Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? I use their worm hooks. They’re not the best out there but for the price I don’t get upset when I need to replace one. 1 Quote
Super User Sam Posted August 18, 2018 Super User Posted August 18, 2018 The H2O frogs are excellent! Quote
Steve1357 Posted August 19, 2018 Posted August 19, 2018 8 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said: Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? I use the offset 5/0, not the widegaps. Never had a hawg straighten one out during the spawn; I've had other hooks straighten out. They're heavy enough too, I use them weightless. Wish they had 6/0-10/0 sizes. Try a pack, $1.29 for 5 before you get the 25 pack. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-round-bend-offset-single-worm-hooks-25-pack#repChildCatid=395353 1 Quote
AirborneNautilus Posted August 19, 2018 Posted August 19, 2018 3 hours ago, Steve1357 said: I use the offset 5/0, not the widegaps. Never had a hawg straighten one out during the spawn; I've had other hooks straighten out. They're heavy enough too, I use them weightless. Wish they had 6/0-10/0 sizes. Try a pack, $1.29 for 5 before you get the 25 pack. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-round-bend-offset-single-worm-hooks-25-pack#repChildCatid=395353 I use the widegaps. They're pretty heavy gauge wire and I haven't had one that's broken or straightened. I've only used gamakatsu and academy EWG hooks and I can't really tell the difference. They do what they need to do. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted August 19, 2018 Global Moderator Posted August 19, 2018 Their squarebills are great, I like their prop baits, traps are decent, popper and pistol minnow work well, the only ones I haven't really liked are the bigger 100 pointer type jerkbaits (both shallow and deeper running versions), and the swimbaits. The swimbaits work okay and I caught fish on them, but nothing special. I really like the jerk shad but neither of the stores by me carry them?? They probably got tired of stocking them from me buying them out all the time ? Quote
lunkerboss923 Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 Gotta get some! I don't like any of the blanks from the custom lure companies. These would be great painted in Megabass, Lucky Craft, Duo Realis colors. You can't find much of the good colors any way Quote
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