Luck E Strike RC Jerkbait vs Megabass Vision 110

[JediAmoeba]

So I pulled out 4 of the Luck E Strike Rick Clunn jerkbaits.  One of them you will note is a smaller size - nothing indicates that on the front of the package but it is clearly in a smaller blister and has a designation that appears to be the same "RCSTX". In the ddescription it does have an RCSTX2, so that could be it but still curious.  

 

All 4 packages here are different.  2 have plastic blisters stapled to a cardboard backing, both made in China(one of these has a different address that is in Missouri).  2 have blisters glued right to the card, both made in the USA.

 

 

Lining the 3 larger RC STX jerkbaits with a vision 110 you can visually see a difference.  

 

 

So, the RC STX made in USA on the top in the picture below has the following specs - 

MAX Width behind Gills - .540 Inches

Width at gills - .566 inches

Length - 4.328 Inches

Lip width - .464 inches

Max Height - .707 inches

 

The next RC STX below, also made in the USA has the following specs -

MAX Width behind gills - .576 inches

Width at gills - .600 inches 

Length - 4.230 inches 

Lip Width -. 461 inches

Max Height - .730 Inches

 

The next RC STX below, made in China has the following specs -

MAX Width behind gills - .511 inches 

Width at gills - .525 inches 

Length - 4.304 inches

Lip Width - .454 inches

Max Height - .693 inches

 

The last RC STX below, made in China has the following specs (this is the one that is clearly smaller) - 

MAX Width behind gills - .468 inches

Width at gills - .505 inches

Length - 3.750

Lip Width - .418 inches.

Max height - .607 inches

 

Finally I measured 2 Vision 110 Jerkbaits and they had very similar specs at -

MAX Width behind gills - .504 and .508 inches

Width at gills - both at .520 inches

Length - 4.317 and 4.320 inches

Lip Width -  both at .460 inches

Max Height - .699 and .706 inches

 

 

The last thing I noticed and what I think is most curious is all the RC STX seem to have different weight systems.  In this picture you can see the difference between the ones made in USA.  The ones made China have less of a translucent color so they dont show up well.  But the gist of it is the following :

 

The one on the left has a ball bearing up front that is locked into position where as the vision 110's have a weight clearly made for the chamber up front, not just a bearing.  It then has two larger ball bearings about the same size as the vision 110 transfer bearings.  In the tail section it has 4 smaller bearings locked into position.

 

The one on the right has larger bearing up front locked into position where as the vision 110's clearly have a weight made for the chamber, not just a bearing.  Then it has two smaller bearings than the previous one or the vision 100's that are part of the weight transfer system.  But curiously it has a mid size bearing locked into place in the middle of the bait and directly behind that chamber is 3 bearings that create the rattle sound like a vision 110 although they are a hair bigger.  In the tail it has a mid size bearing semi locked into place.  

 

Visual difference of the two made in USA baits.

 

 

 

Clearly they have contracted these out for a set number of baits and never cared to check if they were the same.  So, you may have some good ones but if you want consistency, stay with Megabass.

 

[MIbassyaker]

Wow, incredible work...and timely given jerkbait season (for most of us) is underway, upon us, or nearly so.

 

I had never really heard much about the RCs, but TBH, I would not be surprised if you found similar variability in other brands of jerkbait on the, shall we say, more affordable side.

 

Let's say I buy three of the Luck E Strike RCs -- That's about the cost of a single Vision 110. What are the chances I get the right performance out of one of those three?  That's the question.

 

[JediAmoeba]

9 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

Let's say I buy three of the Luck E Strike RCs -- That's about the cost of a single Vision 110. What are the chances I get the right performance out of one of those three?  That's the question.

I probably wouldn't buy them online though.  I do want to get a few more of the smaller one to check out.

[JediAmoeba]

Update:  In my search I found these baits that come without hooks and hardware.  They look similar with some ok paint jobs compared to the Vision 110's and they cost...wait for it..... $3.15 per bait.  

 

I pulled them out and gave them the rundown:

 

Weight: 12 grams without hardware

Width at gills: .566 inches

Max Width behind gills: .548

Length: 4.326

Lip Width: .468

Max Height: .705

 

I don't know.how they fish but for you value hunters out there - this is a good option of jerkbait probably.  

 

Oh, and they also come in a smaller version...

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

Update:  In my search I found these baits that come without hooks and hardware.  They look similar with some ok paint jobs compared to the Vision 110's and they cost...wait for it..... $3.15 per bait.  

 

I pulled them out and gave them the rundown:

 

Weight: 12 grams without hardware

Width at gills: .566 inches

Max Width behind gills: .548

Length: 4.326

Lip Width: .468

Max Height: .705

 

I don't know.how they fish but for you value hunters out there - this is a good option of jerkbait probably.  

 

 

Oh, and they also come in a smaller version...

 

Where they at?

[Smells like fish]

That's those Wuhan Wonders or Corona 110's... They look good to me and can be trained to behave accordingly to suspend 

[JediAmoeba]

35 minutes ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

Where they at?

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crankbait-bodies/tmb-110-jerkbait-body.aspx

 

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crankbait-bodies/tmb-90-jerkbait-body.aspx

[Bluebasser86]

Tons and tons of those 110 KO's out there. A buddy of mine paints some that I've caught hundreds of fish off of. Mine have to mess with the balance to get them to suspend perfect, but for the price they're great, and they don't hurt so bad when you lose one.

[JediAmoeba]

@Hook2Jaw Grandmas couch color still available.

[JediAmoeba]

So I got a new scale that is accurate to the thousandth of an ounce along with some weights to calibrate it.  Thought I would play around weighing some baits and hooks.

 

All baits weighed with no hardware attached

2 Megabass Vision 110 Silent - Both weighed .430 oz.

2 Megabass Vision 110 FX Tour - .423 oz and .421 oz

Megabass Vision 110 - .440 oz and .423 oz

Cheap Knock-off - .450 oz

2 RC STX - .452 oz and .418 oz

 

3 sets of 3 Megabass katsuage hooks - all 3 weighed .038 oz

3 Sets of 3 Daiichi Deathtrap Trebles - all 3 weighed .038 oz 

3 sets of Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Red Trebles - 2 sets weighed .040 oz and 1 set weighed .039 oz

 

As you can see the Daiichi hooks are an easy swap for the katsuage hooks that will keep the bait acting as it normally does.  

[Kev-mo]

I was late to the RC STX party and picked some up when they were closing out the version with the yellow circle on the packaging. Those were the ones that performed the best for me in terms of catching fish and durability. They also had the more translucent paint jobs (closer to MB) and larger more one knocker like rattles.

 

The version after that had bill issues. I fish rivers so hitting bottom now and again... anybody have ideas on what to do with a bunch of baits with broken off bills besides the garbage??

[Black Hawk Basser]

1 hour ago, Kev-mo said:

I was late to the RC STX party and picked some up when they were closing out the version with the yellow circle on the packaging. Those were the ones that performed the best for me in terms of catching fish and durability. They also had the more translucent paint jobs (closer to MB) and larger more one knocker like rattles.

 

The version after that had bill issues. I fish rivers so hitting bottom now and again... anybody have ideas on what to do with a bunch of baits with broken off bills besides the garbage??

I haven't figured out anything except harvesting the hooks and split rings.

[Smells like fish]

Do you have updated thoughts on these @JediAmoeba ? I went in a shop yesterday that had maybe 15 of the USA made lures in 2 colors, they must have been hanging there for years and priced $7 or $8!!! So of course the lil monkey on my shoulder (voices in my head) has been whispering to me about them. How did the USA vs China models differ in suspending? Was the hardware much better on USA as I reported earlier in thread that hooks and rings are VMC vs China stuff?

[Smells like fish]

It turns out I had it wrong... These lures were originally made in China from 2011-2016. Then according to Luck E Strikes website they were brought to the USA and made in Greenwood, Arkansas. 

The USA models are translucent, I wonder if there is 2 types of plastic used on these China/USA and possibly different sound characteristics? 

[Smells like fish]

UPDATE: Here is my latest understanding of these jerkbaits. @Teal @BlakeMolone 

 

110mm model introduced 2011 (Rcstx1)

95mm model introduced 2012 (Rcstx2)

 

2011-2015 made in China

2016-present made in USA

 

The made in China cards include Geneva, Illinois- Greenwood, Arkansas and Cassville Missouri affiliations on the card. 
 

The USA made model has Greenwood, Arkansas on card. 
 

All of my Made in China lure packs have the wraparound plastic cover of package stapled onto card. 
 

My USA made package does NOT have wraparound plastic and is simply glued to the front of the card. 
 

As stated in an earlier post by @JediAmoeba the weight transfer system differs between countries of manufacture. In the picture below you can see the USA made model has 2 large moving weights whereas the China made model has multi smaller sized weights. 

 

The top three lures are Made in China models. The bottom lure is a USA model. 

[BlakeMolone]

14 minutes ago, Smells like fish said:

UPDATE: Here is my latest understanding of these jerkbaits. @Teal @BlakeMolone 

 

110mm model introduced 2011 (Rcstx1)

95mm model introduced 2012 (Rcstx2)

 

2011-2015 made in China

2016-present made in USA

 

The made in China cards include Geneva, Illinois- Greenwood, Arkansas and Cassville Missouri affiliations on the card. 
 

The USA made model has Greenwood, Arkansas on card. 
 

All of my Made in China lure packs have the wraparound plastic cover of package stapled onto card. 
 

My USA made package does NOT have wraparound plastic and is simply glued to the front of the card. 
 

As stated in an earlier post by @JediAmoeba the weight transfer system differs between countries of manufacture. In the picture below you can see the USA made model has 2 large moving weights whereas the China made model has multi smaller sized weights. 

 

The top three lures are Made in China models. The bottom lure is a USA model. 

I have no packaging unfortunately, is there a way to tell if the bait is a “good one” by just looking at it. Mine both have the eyes pointing downward and both have deep rattles but also maybe a few more tinny rattles as well? Either way I have them and I’ll try them out 

[Smells like fish]

I assume you will need to look at weight transfer system in my top pic. If it has the multi small weights then it is the older lure that I “think” most guys preferred. I opened a older China model today that said suspending on package and in my 50’s degree water it is a slow floater, so I’ll have to try in colder water or add lead tape.

If you’re seeing tiny rattles then I would call it the older and preferred version