Painful to lose Expensive Baits

[Redtail]

It's too bad there isn't some kind of split ring you could put on your expensive (or any bait) that when given enough pressure would come un done and give you back your $20 swim bait or $17 Lucky Craft to name a few.  I suppose to do this, you would also take a chance on losing fish as you put pressure on them as well.  Guess you can't have one without the other.

[Triton_Mike]

Redtail,  Theres a cure for ya.  USE GOOD line and good habits of retying and checking your line for nicks and fryas.  Also good fish fighting skills along with several lure retrievers will also help.  

Their are some titanium split rings called Ultimate Lure Savers that you can use.

http://www.ultimateluresaver.com/faqs.cfm

I personally don't use them and because I rarely if ever lose an expensive bait.  Just use some TLC when fishing  your expensive stuff.

T Mike

[Guest avid]

The boys over at tackle tour really believe in these splitrings, so I'm sure there is something to it.  It would be a shame to not fish high end baits.  I would give these a try.

[Cajun1977]

yes ultimate luresaver should work for you     or maybe buy some scuba gear   lol

[PBAngler]

I looked in to buying some custom baits from this dealer and some of them were over $90.  I asked him if scuba gear came with it.  Then I asked if i could set up some kind lease program.  Just had to give him sh#%.  Does  anyone believe that these high end custom baits are actually that much better than say a rapala to justify the cost?  :-?

[FutureClassicChamp]

the most heart breaking thing in the world is to have the line your line foul up on a homerun cast, snap,  and see your $60 bait sail off. i have nightmares about that.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Hey the best way not to loose expensive baits is not to use them I use a lot of different Rapala Bait some Bagleys and Platic worms and I catch fish Loose about 8 or 9 plugs a year and dont have to sweat it Mind you I fish for fun and there is no pressure on me to catch any fish but i havent been skunked in 3 years  I just bought a couple of Cabelas own walking baits and Ill see if I do good with those

[Ben]

I look at them the same as playing poker, if you can't afford to loose, you can't afford to play.  

Don't ge me wrong, not saying don't fish, I would be fishing if I had to use kite cord and safety pins but if you can't afford to loose a $20 bait, don't buy them.  They might give you those one of two extra bites a cheaper bait might not but if I've never had problems catching bass on a Norman DLN, that I buy for $3.00 and don't bother me a bit if I loose one (unless it was the last one I have that size and color and the fish were tearing it up), why would I want to buy a $15 Lucky Craft.  Is it just because it's more expensive lure and there for, it's gotta catch more fish.  There are a few of those high dollar baits I use because they seem to produce more bites than others but a the same time, I'm not gonna get stressed if I loose it.  

If your scared of loose a bait, you probably won't catch as many fish on it as a cheaper bait because you will be to scared to through it in those tight spots, up in the middle of tree tops etc where the bass is going to be holding.  Not too many bass gonna swin out of his limited strike zone to hit your high dollar bait just because it's pretty and you're too scared to put it in front of his mouth.

[Cajun1977]

I look at them the same as playing poker, if you can't afford to loose, you can't afford to play.

Don't ge me wrong, not saying don't fish, I would be fishing if I had to use kite cord and safety pins but if you can't afford to loose a $20 bait, don't buy them. They might give you those one of two extra bites a cheaper bait might not but if I've never had problems catching bass on a Norman DLN, that I buy for $3.00 and don't bother me a bit if I loose one (unless it was the last one I have that size and color and the fish were tearing it up), why would I want to buy a $15 Lucky Craft. Is it just because it's more expensive lure and there for, it's gotta catch more fish. There are a few of those high dollar baits I use because they seem to produce more bites than others but a the same time, I'm not gonna get stressed if I loose it.

If your scared of loose a bait, you probably won't catch as many fish on it as a cheaper bait because                     you will be to scared to through it in those tight spots, up in the middle of tree tops etc where the bass is going to be holding. Not too many bass gonna swin out of his limited strike zone to hit your high dollar bait just because it's pretty and you're too scared to put it in front of his mouth.

well said

[Rattlinrogue]

I looked in to buying some custom baits from this dealer and some of them were over $90. I asked him if scuba gear came with it. Then I asked if i could set up some kind lease program. Just had to give him sh#%. Does anyone believe that these high end custom baits are actually that much better than say a rapala to justify the cost? :-?

If a guy wants to spend $20 on a bait,more power to him.I own exactly one Lucky Craft Live pointer 80MR.I've caught hundreds and hundreds of bass on Rogues,Rapalas,and Rebels and that's good enough for me.I plan on giving the Live pointer a really legitimate look this spring and early Summer.I just haven't given it a chance.I'm quite sure it's a bass catcher if given a chance.I just haven't developed any confidence in it yet.If it's as good as advertised,I'll be buying many more.

[j-bass]

The best lures I've ever used cost less than four bucks.  And if you like keeping your lures, get a boat and take a small rake so you can get your lures out of the tree you accidentaly cast right into.

[bixbybasspro]

yes redtail, it does suck to lose expensive baits...

[Yankee_Bassman]

I bought a pair of Sammy's last Spring, figuring that at that price, they had to be outstanding....on the very first cast with one, I had a huge blow-up and hookset....then I saw a fat pickerel come half way out of the water, then I felt the line go slack.....no more Sammy.....I cruised for half an hour hoping it would float up....uh-uh....

I soon discovered after using the other one that I actually like the Zara Spook better....and it's a lot more affordable to lose......I've had no luck with my Live Pointer, but have caught them after switching from the Pointer to a suspending Rapala.....

sickest feeling, I think, is one of those break-offs that occurs on the cast, and the lure sails high into the woods along the shore....happens to me mostly with jigs, it seems, and always one that's been catching, and is the last I have of it's type.

[Landis76]

the most heart breaking thing in the world is to have the line your line foul up on a homerun cast, snap, and see your $60 bait sail off. i have nightmares about that.

What lure costs $60?????? Seriously...I want to know, so I can buy one.  

All kidding aside, I just don't see a need for those super detailed high end lures unless you are fishing gin clear water. Sure, I have a bunch. But I doubt anyone can convince me my Sammys can easily out perform my Spooks.

Let's face it guys....we are suckers.

[Captain Cali]

I hate it man!! It's like throwing my wallet into the lake.

The Ultimate Luresavers do work. Sometimes they work too well. I've had a 3 fish shake off the hook.

One shook off when the fish jumped and took the a treble. >

Another came off when I tried horsing the fish out of the water instead of lipping it out.  >

The other I had landed but one hook was released during the fight and in the upper lip of the fish.

Each time I was using the 10# U.Luresavers and each fish was 1-3 pounds. :-?

I have some 12# U.luresavers to try but I wont be using them on any lakes that are known for big fish.

[Captain Cali]

the most heart breaking thing in the world is to have the line your line foul up on a homerun cast, snap,  and see your $60 bait sail off. i have nightmares about that.

What lure costs $60?????? Seriously...I want to know, so I can buy one.  

;D Do you really want to know??

Just check out some of the swimbaits at TW.

[FutureClassicChamp]

oh, im not talkin about swimbaits.......musky lures, cheapest lure you can find that is any good is at least 14 bucks. average price of lures is about 30 bucks a pop.

[Guest avid]

some of the better known custom crankbait makers like carolina chip make expensive baits.  Do they work better? I don't know, but I would like to buy one of his someday and expect I will. http://carolinachip.com/

[Redtail]

Ben

You missed my point.  I didn't say I can't afford or I'm scared or I get stressed when I use an expensive lure.  All I said was that is painful to lose an expensive lure and it's too bad there wasn't a better type of split ring to accomplish that.

An expensive lure to some fisherman is a 3.00 Norman, it's all relative.  I'm pretty sure when you lose one of you're 3.00 lures you don't laugh about it.  And I'm also sure that the materials, hooks and engineering in a lucky craft lure are far superior than a 3.00 lure.  

I wanted to try acouple of Mattlures swim baits, but at $20 a pop, and it will be painful to lose one, but I'm still gonna try it.  

[Captain Cali]

I wanted to try acouple of Mattlures swim baits, but at $20 a pop, and it will be painful to lose one, but I'm still gonna try it.  

Don't use a treble hook if you're worried about losing one. You'll be missing short strikes but will help keep the bait out of snags. If the bass are striking hard on the bait you really don't need one. It just helps when the bass are nipping at the belly and turning to run with it.

From my experience so far the baby bass series don't need treble hooks as much as the bluegill series do.

[flechero]

Don't use a treble hook if you're worried about losing one. You'll be missing short strikes but will help keep the bait out of snags. If the bass are striking hard on the bait you really don't need one. It just helps when the bass are nipping at the belly and turning to run with it.

From my experience so far the baby bass series don't need treble hooks as much as the bluegill series do.

Roger, if that's true, wouldn't a heavier lure saver be better than no treble hook? I looked at them but figure on getting the 20lb ones... I'll lose drag long before they let go but I can still pull the hook off a snag if I have to.

[Captain Cali]

Don't use a treble hook if you're worried about losing one. You'll be missing short strikes but will help keep the bait out of snags. If the bass are striking hard on the bait you really don't need one. It just helps when the bass are nipping at the belly and turning to run with it.

From my experience so far the baby bass series don't need treble hooks as much as the bluegill series do.

Roger, if that's true, wouldn't a heavier lure saver be better than no treble hook?  I looked at them but figure on getting the 20lb ones...  I'll lose drag long before they let go but I can still pull the hook off a snag if I have to.  

It sure would work but I just don't trust them anymore, especially when fishing for big bass. 2-3 pound fish breaking of 10# luresavers? And the drag was not clamped down. What would a 10# fish do with 20# luresavers with the drag clamped? I'd risk losing a bait rather than losing a fish of a life time.  

[flechero]

I'd risk losing a bait rather than losing a fish of a life time.

Point well taken.

After your post about the trebles being the cause of most snags... that just seemed like the way to go.  I think the ad said they made a 25# or 30# lure saver, also.  

I'm just looking for the best odds of both landing big fish and saving $15 - $40 baits.  ...lol

[Upnorth]

99% of the time I can get my bait back if it is just hung up.  Its the @#$% pike and musky burn me.  On St.Clair, its not uncommon for the musky to take your bait and the smallmouth that was attached to it.

[AM]

it helps me to only fish crankbaits from a boat. it makes it a bit easier to get them off when they get hung up.