H2O Lures Discontinued...

[Hook2Jaw]

Went online to stock up on the H2O Xpress Squarebill and Ultimate Jerk Shad only to find they're no longer listed on the webpage.  I spent a lot of time researching these baits, looking at them, and finally bit the bullet and bought a double handful.  They were the first squarebill and jerkbait I've had any serious success with, and I had planned to buy their deeper jerkbait, medium depth cranks, and deep cranks as well hoping for more value priced producers.

 

They're all gone online.  I spoke with a chat representative and she informed me that they had been discontinued.

 

I guess once my spare kayak sells I'll be making the two hour drive to stock up.  This is a major kick to the gut for me.

 

Does anyone have any insider information?  Will they be replacing these baits with a new product?

[Troy85]

That's a bummer.  I use a lot of H2O express Squarebills.

[Hook2Jaw]

My name is Troy, too!  It seems people with great names save money and throw a pretty solid bait, @Troy1985s.

[Robin]

Hopefully this is just a matter of them cutting back on what they sell online. I was at my local Academy yesterday and they had a fairly good stock of H2O lures on the racks with no "clearance" signs evident. Having purchased lures online from Academy in the past, I am at a loss on how they ever make money on these sales. My last purchase consisted of

just enough H2O lures to get free shipping. I received six different FedEx packages over a one week period shipped from multiple Academy stores throughout the US.

[Troy85]

16 minutes ago, Hook2Jaw said:

My name is Troy, too!  It seems people with great names save money and throw a pretty solid bait, @Troy1985s.

LOL!  That is hilarious and so true.  Can you channel some of your inner Troy my way...so my PB can be between 10-11lbs as well?!?!?!?

[J.Vincent]

Did they discontinue the entire line of H20 lures ? Or is it possible they are discontinuing the color patterns and reintroducing new patterns in 2019 ?

[Hook2Jaw]

6 minutes ago, Troy1985s said:

LOL!  That is hilarious and so true.  Can you channel some of your inner Troy my way...so my PB can be between 10-11lbs as well?!?!?!?

She was a tough one, expect a 12+ to be posted up when the spawn comes.  Private pond.  Easy peasy stuff.

2 minutes ago, J.Vincent said:

Did they discontinue the entire line of H20 lures ? Or is it possible they are discontinuing the color patterns and reintroducing new patterns in 2019 ?

I was told online that the now unlisted lures are discontinued, but I will report back once Academy emails me more information.

 

I'm hoping they're just switching them up a bit or moving to a new factory rather than having to lose my favorite jerkbait and squarebill. 

[ChrisD46]

Just today I looked on their site for the Gunfish and Sammy looking topwater baits - gone ! 

[Hook2Jaw]

Yeah, I've been scouring the net trying to figure out replacements for all the H2O lures I use and planned to use and it just hurts.

[the reel ess]

If you look on their site, they have very few listed anymore and they're almost all on clearance. It looks to me like they'll be discontinued. Hopefully they have something sles in mind.

[Troy85]

I was trying to do a little reasarch and I found this. 

 

The H2O line of hardbaits that Academy carries is made by several different manufacturers.

Spro makes there rattletrap bait, as it is exactly the same mold as an Aruku Shad.

Bandit makes the small shallow and deep divers with the rounded lips.

Lucky Craft makes the CRM and CRS shallow divers with the square bills.

The jerkbaits and topwaters I am unsure.

I was told that a private company contracted by Academy buys the unpainted bodys from those manufacturers and finishes and hooks them out and packages them.

 

This info is from several years ago.  If they are being discontinued, my only guess was that the contract expired and they couldn't work out another deal.  I guess time will tell, I hope they aren't gone forever though. I've got nothing but good things to say about using H2O xpress square bills.

[Hook2Jaw]

I knew that Luckycraft made the CRS and M, but had no idea that Bandit and Spro did stuff for them as well.  Perhaps they'll iron out a new contract soon, I have heard good things about the Aruku and do believe Bandit makes a quality product.

 

Academy, don't let me down.  I refuse to use the turds BPS puts out, I'll spend 15 bucks a bait before that happens. 

[Deleted account]

Hey, all you guys that know, think or "researched" who made/makes H2O lures, I have two questions,

What shape is the Earth?

Wanna buy a bridge?...

 

Where do you guys get this?

[Munkin]

2 minutes ago, reason said:

 

 

Where do you guys get this?

 

It is on the internet so it must be true!

 

Bonjour

 

Allen

 

 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

I'm interested in the bridge, any pictures? 

Price?

[OCdockskipper]

I personally have been looking to buy some land in Florida, in a marshy area...

[Hook2Jaw]

2 hours ago, reason said:

Hey, all you guys that know, think or "researched" who made/makes H2O lures, I have two questions,

What shape is the Earth?

Wanna buy a bridge?...

 

Where do you guys get this?

The Earth is neither flat nor spherical, but obviously an oval.

 

I'll let you know once I get my river finished.

 

The only thing I have found pertaining to the production of the lures was on tackleunderground, unconfirmed sources.  Good call, I don't think anyone here knows for sure.

 

Thanks for adding a bit of comedic trolling to the thread, guys, I do a share of it myself.  I'm still heartbroken over the loss of my value bills and jerks.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Give it time, hopefully something will fill the void. Maybe invest a little higher quality baits for the time being. Don't snag any off and your gold! 

 

Strike king squarebills, and my personal favorite, smithwick rogues! 

[volzfan59]

Well heck, this news is not good! Next thing I'm going to hear is that Santa isn't real. Guess I'll be at Academy in the morning.

[Lefty2215]

Ok so I wasn’t just going crazy. I looked like 3 or 4 days ago I believe and everything was up. Few things on clearance but not much, only oddball colors for the most part. Then went to look yesterday and basically nothing. Tried chatting but it said they were experiencing a higher volume than normal. Wonder if everyone else was thinking the same thing as me lol

[Troy85]

15 hours ago, reason said:

Hey, all you guys that know, think or "researched" who made/makes H2O lures, I have two questions,

What shape is the Earth?

Wanna buy a bridge?...

 

Where do you guys get this?

I can't confirm 100% what I read, its just what I found doing some reading.  I meant to put that in my post above, but it looks like I left it out.

[Sam]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 8:39 AM, Hook2Jaw said:

Went online to stock up on the H2O Xpress Squarebill and Ultimate Jerk Shad only to find they're no longer listed on the webpage.  I spent a lot of time researching these baits, looking at them, and finally bit the bullet and bought a double handful.  They were the first squarebill and jerkbait I've had any serious success with, and I had planned to buy their deeper jerkbait, medium depth cranks, and deep cranks as well hoping for more value priced producers.

 

They're all gone online.  I spoke with a chat representative and she informed me that they had been discontinued.

 

I guess once my spare kayak sells I'll be making the two hour drive to stock up.  This is a major kick to the gut for me.

 

Does anyone have any insider information?  Will they be replacing these baits with a new product?

Thanks for the info. Had no idea the baits were discontinued.

 

Hope they keep the H20 frogs.

 

Best frogs in the marketplace.

[Deleted account]

30 minutes ago, Troy1985s said:

I can't confirm 100% what I read, its just what I found doing some reading.  I meant to put that in my post above, but it looks like I left it out.

Kate Upton leaves baseball husband and shacks up with The Reason, "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging for weeks....

 

There, it's true....  

[the reel ess]

On 11/1/2018 at 3:06 PM, Troy1985s said:

I was trying to do a little reasarch and I found this. 

 

The H2O line of hardbaits that Academy carries is made by several different manufacturers.

Spro makes there rattletrap bait, as it is exactly the same mold as an Aruku Shad.

Bandit makes the small shallow and deep divers with the rounded lips.

Lucky Craft makes the CRM and CRS shallow divers with the square bills.

The jerkbaits and topwaters I am unsure.

I was told that a private company contracted by Academy buys the unpainted bodys from those manufacturers and finishes and hooks them out and packages them.

 

This info is from several years ago.  If they are being discontinued, my only guess was that the contract expired and they couldn't work out another deal.  I guess time will tell, I hope they aren't gone forever though. I've got nothing but good things to say about using H2O xpress square bills.

The SPRO lipless crank is very similar, but it's not exact. The gills look a little different and the rear hook is on the bottom, where the H2O rear hook is on the end. I guess it's still very possible that they're made by SPRO. Just not in the same mold. Maybe they're made in Spro's old or prototype mold.

[Hook2Jaw]

Regardless of who makes the baits, they catch fish.  I just out-produced my x-raps with my ultimate jerk shads today.  I'm not saying they're better by any means, but they catch freaking fish at the lowest of price points and other store brands do not compare.

 

If you're gone, H2O Xpress, I will mourn you.

 

Pay your respects, heathens.