Ozark Trails Lures

[Bazoo]

What's everyone's opinions on various Ozark Trails lures? I know that they probably aren't as good as most name brand lures, some probably out right suck, but I've tried a few that seem decent. I was reading through the found lures thread, and I seen some comments that were not positive of the OT branded lures, so figure I'd ask what everyone else thinks about them.

 

I've been using a couple of Ozark Trails hollow body popper frogs from Walmart this season. They do pretty good, and I've caught a few bass on each. I was unsure about it to start, but I watched a video on youtube by ndyakangler, where he used one, and started giving them a solid chance. They are only a touch over $2 and so far, I haven't any complaints. Does anyone else like and use them? How do they hold up over the long haul? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Frog-Popper-Lure-Frog/966594669?from=/search I want to pick up a couple of the non popping version if I get to the other area walmarts anytime soon, my local is picked clean. 

 

I've also tried one of the 1/3oz OT crankbaits a few times and caught 2 nice crappie. I haven't caught bass on one yet, but they seem decent to me, especially if you're in a place where you risk losing it. To be fair, no crankbait is likely to produce bass on the heavily pressured city lake I was fishing (freeman lake). https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-1-3-Ounce-Translucent-Crankbait-Fishing-Lure/523184773

 

And I've tried one of their 1/16oz Minnows, and caught a sunfish on that lake... but still, it seems decent and has a decent action when twitched. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-1-16-Ounce-Natural-Minnow-Fishing-Lure/325308970

 

I have one of their spinnerbaits too, and it seems decent after I tweaked the wire a bit. I've not caught anything on it on the same lake. I forget which weight and version it is.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that OT baits are a replacement for the better lures... but I think they may have a place in a person's arsenal.

 

I tried one of their Whopper Plopper copies, the 3.5 Prop Bait, and it sucks. The body spins some of the time. I didn't fish it more than 10 minutes so no chance of a fish there.

 

[GRiver]

I agree with you @Bazoo. I use Walmart’s brand spinner and buzz baits. Think I’ve got two or more of all their colors. Your right, I don’t mind losing one.

Just because they’re cheap, doesn’t mean they won’t work. 
   I haven’t seen the hollow bodied frogs, crank baits here, but I have seen the soft plastics senko style worms they sell. 
Your catching fish with the Ozark trail crank baits so they work. How the hold up in the long run…….just we’ll just have to wait and see.

[MediumMouthBass]

Im 100% for Walmart 2$ frogs, but the plopper they have is just alright. Not really a good or bad lure but for the price its great if you have pike or pickerel where you are fishing. I have heard good reveiws about their crankbaits and jerkbaits tho, but dont have any of them.

The Ozark trail trays are very affordable as well, but not really for taking out fishing. More for keeping stuff in them during the winter or for storage at home or in the garage.

That being said DSG has their frogs and spinnerbaits/buzzbaits on sale now and they are $2 as well.

They arent good or bad either but for $2 i picked up a few of each.

But they arent as good as the one from Walmart.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

I value my time on the water too much to waste time with inferior products.

I recommend fewer lures and better quality products. I rarely lose hard baits

and consider soft baits and terminal tackle expendable.

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

 

I value my time on the water too much to waste time with inferior products.

I recommend fewer lures and better quality products. I rarely lose hard baits

and consider soft baits and terminal tackle expendable.

I am guessing you will not care about this post, but for a lot of folks this gear gets them out fishing, because it is in their price range. They can’t afford superior gear like many on this board, but it gets a lot of folks started. 
 

That said I picked up an OT SB for under 4 on sale and the jerkbait was under 6. I tried both with stock hooks and the SB ran well, a bit shallow and caught and held fish. The jerkbait if memory serves was a slow floater and had nice action. I was gutted though when I lost it too a pike after like 10:casts. I had been boatside releasing them all week and the pike thrashed and I lost the pliers grip on the hook and he cut the line. I actually had high hopes for that lure. Will be picking up more of the jerkbaits for next year. 
 

Honestly I find a lot of the hooks just fine on cranks a lot of people change them out. I may lose a fish or two once in a great while, but since I am just fun fishing, it’s not a huge deal. I also find I lose fish on cranks that come with premium trebles too, I just see it as the downside to crank bait fishing. 

[Darth-Baiter]

I get it.  some youtuber took a box from Walmart and used it to get fish.  I assume they work.  heck I know they work.  

 

I will however, note that for every thread like this..there is an equal and opposite thread about the commitment to buy AMERICA .    I try, but I try harder not to buy some bait built off liberties to intellectual property.  I like OG baits.  

 

we all get to do ourselves...go for it.  enjoy.  

[fin]

I don’t remember if I ever posted this in the found lures thread, but I once found an OT tackle box full of OT lures. Now I can understand if someone can’t afford better stuff, or wants to try the cheaper stuff out, but spending a lot of money on that OT stuff is very unwise in my opinion.

 

Some people on this forum are set for life. Some people are struggling to get by and do what they have to do. The people that can afford it should support American workers and all the other good causes they can. If I had to choose between OT and not fishing at all, I’d choose OT too.

[Bazoo]

Interesting opinions here so far. I do use better quality stuff than the OT lures most of the time. Actually, I just now started trying the OT stuff, I've always used name brand lures like Rapala, Storm, Heddon, Arbogast, Terminator for spinnerbaits. 

 

So here is a question... What makes OT lures inferior to the name brands? Obviously, with the whopper plopper copy I tried, it's inferior.

 

But what makes the OT frog inferior to other brands? I've been using a Scum Frog, and some Lunkerhunt Pocket Frogs. Obviously the Pocket Frog is different, but the Scum Frog is very similar. I've not had any luck on the Scum Frog, but I've caught a mess of fish on the Pocket Frog.

 

 

What about the crankbaits? I saw in the found lures thread mention made of them as if they were just worthless, picked up only to clean up the shore/water. While I've not had a lot of success on the few I've tried, I don't see any reason they would not work just fine for bass (provided I could find waters that were not severely pressured to try them).

 

And don't get me wrong, I'm no advocating OT lures, I'm researching them.

[Bird]

I can't say anything negative about OT products.

The camping and backpacking gear is pretty sturdy for what you pay.

 

Recently went camping on a lake with a friend who had one of those SPEED tents, setups quickly and had a mattress with built in compressor, was impressed.

 

Oh, can't speak of their baits though, my cheap cranks have always been Bomber.

[Kirtley Howe]

I have tried a few of their lures. Like most other brands, some work well, some don't. The biggest problem I see is that the quality of the lures can be inconsistent. But that is true to some extent with just about any brand. As far as I know, Rapala is the only manufacturer that tank tests every lure to ensure consistency, and I am not sure they still do that. The nice things about the OT lures is if they don't work right, you can take them back to Walmart and either get a refund or exchange them, and if you snag up and lose them (which as a bank fisherman that river fishes most of the time, I do a LOT) you are not out much money. Just my observations and thoughts.

[Darth-Baiter]

To be fair, I have a $25 crankbait I can’t get a fish to bite. Ever. 

[fin]

5 hours ago, Bazoo said:

What about the crankbaits? I saw in the found lures thread mention made of them as if they were just worthless, picked up only to clean up the shore/water. While I've not had a lot of success on the few I've tried, I don't see any reason they would not work just fine for bass (provided I could find waters that were not severely pressured to try them).

 

Yeah, it's probably possible to catch fish on them, but that's true of a lot of things. Especially in unpressured waters, wherever that paradise is ? The crankbaits and the minnows I've tried didn't swim as well as other similar baits I have tried.The lipless works, but also doesn't swim as well most others and the color choices were very limited. I don't see the savings being worth that. I've never tried the popper frog. There's obviously nothing inherent in the brand name to make the lures not work, of course. If they work for you, enjoy. If you're sold on them, I don't think there's any more specific reason anyone can give to you to not buy them. Like @Darth-Baiter, I have plenty of nice lures that won't catch fish, so I'm not going to spend time or money on something like OT.

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the replies those are helpful answers.

 

I'll have to give the OT cranks a direct comparison to other brands. I've only observed it by itself, not side by side with another similar crank.

 

I'd be interested to know which of the expensive lures are flops. I will give $10-$12 for a lure, but... more than that and I start think I should invest in more of what I know works and I use.

[volzfan59]

As I always say, to each his own. I've never used Walmart hard baits, but I'm not against giving them a shot. I have used BPS "XTS" and Academy H2O hard baits. They're great. I would suggest that you watch your hooks. I don't know if the Ozark Trail hooks are any good or not, but that is a place that cheaper lure companies save money. When I was still with BPS, I learned that the BPS "XTS" line of hard baits had absolutely terrible hooks. I always told my customers to upgrade them. The "XPS" hooks were fine.

 

Years ago, back in the mid 80's, Walmart's house brand soft plastics were called "Renegade". I used them with great success. Their motor oil color was great.

[fin]

7 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I'd be interested to know which of the expensive lures are flops.

 

There are old threads here that discuss lures that have been unsuccessful for users, but rarely are they unanimous.  I think you may be looking for a simple answer to something that doesn’t have one single answer for everybody. It’s never as simple as this is ‘good’ and that is ‘bad’. That's why there are thousands of lures to choose from.

 

When I first got back into fishing, I started with the cheapest stuff I could find and I learned along the way why I needed to spend more for this or that. I had more time than money. If I had more money than time, I might have done the opposite - start with the best and skip the learning.

[VTFan]

I'm famous for digging through the bargain bins for cheap baits.  If something looks good and it's cheap I'll try it.  I'm not one to spend $20 on a bait when there is something that may look just a tad bit different but works the same and is cheaper.   Bottom line for me is, if it catches fish then I like it.

[osummerer23]

I get made fun of sometimes, but I throw a lot of them. And they do suck, same with 'jawbone' that dicks sells. But I only buy certain types. Those hollow body frogs are great, it's a frog, it floats (sometimes), bend out the hooks a tad for better hook up. When they start to sink or the skirt rips out, just throw it away. I also buy the jawbone red squarebills, I throw them deep into cover and dont care if I loose 5 in a day. 

 

There are plenty of lures that you can't skimp on, IMHO. Spooks either heddon or yo zuri. The kvd and bomber do not work right. Jerkbaits being another one. Some rat L traps dont run true. In line spinners that dont spin unless you reel very fast (usually the small 1/32 or 1/16 trout ones).

[Bazoo]

Those are useful comments, thanks all.

 

The packaging on the OT hard baits says Eagle Claw hooks and they are quite sharp.

 

For topwater lures, my go to is the Spit'n image. I don't currently have a bill dance signature in Tennessee shad, but it's my preferred color. I have one of the new purple back tn shad.

[Maggiesmaster]

OT curly tail worms last ten times as long as Zooms, and catch as many fish. Same goes for their creature baits. However, they’re so tough you need to place the hook point on the outside of the bait, inside just enough to make it weedless. Their crank baits have caught me many fish.  As Bill Dance once said: “bass aren’t bankers, they don’t care how much a bait costs.”

[FishTax]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:28 AM, volzfan59 said:

As I always say, to each his own. I've never used Walmart hard baits, but I'm not against giving them a shot. I have used BPS "XTS" and Academy H2O hard baits. They're great. I would suggest that you watch your hooks. I don't know if the Ozark Trail hooks are any good or not, but that is a place that cheaper lure companies save money. When I was still with BPS, I learned that the BPS "XTS" line of hard baits had absolutely terrible hooks. I always told my customers to upgrade them. The "XPS" hooks were fine.

 

Years ago, back in the mid 80's, Walmart's house brand soft plastics were called "Renegade". I used them with great success. Their motor oil color was great.

I've got some packs of renegade worms still. They've basically melted at this point, but I caught my largest bass ever on one Texas rigged in the early 2000s. 

[scaleface]

I never used the Ozark Trail lures. That lipless bait has tempted me. Its a good looking lure.

[fin]

2 hours ago, scaleface said:

That lipless bait has tempted me.

It's worth $2. Used to be able to get Academy lipless for like $2.50, which were way better than the OzT but they cost a little more now, I think.

[Eric 26]

Count me in on the like side. I first grabbed a pb&j colored spinner bait and if I’m able to throw a spinner bait that’s my first choice. I’ve had success on the crank baits as well and although I’m not catching big bass I find the hooks are more than capable of keeping what I do catch pinned perfectly fine. 

[Bazoo]

2 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

Count me in on the like side. I first grabbed a pb&j colored spinner bait and if I’m able to throw a spinner bait that’s my first choice. I’ve had success on the crank baits as well and although I’m not catching big bass I find the hooks are more than capable of keeping what I do catch pinned perfectly fine. 

Thanks for sharing. Definitely some bass worth hooking there!

[TheRodJerker]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:32 AM, Cgolf said:

I am guessing you will not care about this post, but for a lot of folks this gear gets them out fishing, because it is in their price range. They can’t afford superior gear like many on this board, but it gets a lot of folks started. 
 

That said I picked up an OT SB for under 4 on sale and the jerkbait was under 6. I tried both with stock hooks and the SB ran well, a bit shallow and caught and held fish. The jerkbait if memory serves was a slow floater and had nice action. I was gutted though when I lost it too a pike after like 10:casts. I had been boatside releasing them all week and the pike thrashed and I lost the pliers grip on the hook and he cut the line. I actually had high hopes for that lure. Will be picking up more of the jerkbaits for next year. 
 

Honestly I find a lot of the hooks just fine on cranks a lot of people change them out. I may lose a fish or two once in a great while, but since I am just fun fishing, it’s not a huge deal. I also find I lose fish on cranks that come with premium trebles too, I just see it as the downside to crank bait fishing. 

I have tons of Ozark Trail lures, the 3/8th oz bluegill rattling crankbait is my favorite, but their hollowbody frogs(black one is the best) are GREAT. The 1/4oz frog popper is pretty good also. I need to start taking pics with labels so I remember which lure is which, but I got a few from Ozark Trail that's pretty good. Some of them are just as good as higher priced ones. You'd be surprised how many are made exactly the same with the exact same materials as the "superior lures".


I'm an disabled veteran, don't have much money but I do got a nice pond and two lakes next to my property. I don't have a fish combo worth over $150, but I do have a few more expensive lures but they are just for collections and gifted to me. Like my antique fred arbogast lures from his basement lure making days and a few Heddons. I'm all about being on a budget, that applies to most of my hobbies(making music/beats, painting/drawing, restoring old stuff, etc).