Observation about "saving money"

[bass wrangler569]

There are always threads popping up about whether lures in the $15-20 range are worth the money. Many people say yes, they are indeed worth the money, while others say that they save money by buying cheaper $4-5 lures.

Here's my observation:

I have about three dozen lucky crafts in a few productive colors. As far as most of my fishing goes, that's all I need. Most guys who fish lucky craft (or another high dollar company) that I've met are similar.They have a few dozen lures in good colors that they know produce. However, a lot of guys who tell me that they "save money" by buying $4-5 lures have box after box filled with cheap lures in every color under the sun. Because of this, I have begun to think that a lot of people who buy cheaper lures spend just as much as those who buy more expensive lures, and instead of buying a few quality lures, they buy a larger quantity of cheaper lures and they really aren't saving money at all. Obviously this is not the case for everyone. Some people who fish expensive lures have cases full, and some people who buy cheaper lures have a more modest collection, however, I think a lot of the time this holds quality vs. quantity theory holds true. What do you guys think?

[CRFisher]

somewhat true, as I have a bunch of cheap lures that I never throw filling up my tackle bag and a few key baits that I keep replacing.  

[Grey Wolf]

The smart people buy what works whether it cost 4.00 or 24.00.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

The smart people buy what works whether it cost 4.00 or 24.00.

YUP my $5 rapalas do all i need and if they aint doin it then my manns worms will .I will say this though RAGE TAILS are absolutely worth every penny

[CWB]

The smart people buy what works whether it cost 4.00 or 24.00.

YUP my $5 rapalas do all i need and if they aint doin it then my manns worms will .I will say this though RAGE TAILS are absolutely worth every penny

Well put both of you. X2 on the Rage Tails. Nearly double what some other plastics cost but worth it!

Forever in Big-O's debt.

(now that might be a shameless plug, Burley)

[Hammer 4]

I have 1 Spro swimbait, and 2 crank's..all the rest are spinner's and soft plastic's..go figure..LOL

[burleytog]

Quantity over quality, right?

Tackle box filler?   :

[roadwarrior]

For some guys, like me, the easiest way to save money would

be to fish all the brand new, five year old stuff we've collected.

I'd bet the identical lures I don't fish would work just as well as

those I do!

8-)

 

[CRFisher]

I have just decided to fish every lure in my tackle box over my next few outings.  Started this am with using a popper and a white buzzbait I've used maybe once since I got them.  Will move onto all of my jigs, minnows, spoons, etc.  Once I've fished everything I'm getting rid of half of them and going shopping.

[bigtimfish]

I use those "cheap" lures. and basically i use 4 colors. on a rogue i use Clown. on Xrap i use Hot Steel and Black/Gold and on thundersticks i use a regular ol shad pattern. And yes i do believe I "save money" by using those brands. IMHO a x rap will catch just as many as a LC. Because rogues dont cost $20 does that mean they are cheap junk? Because it was to my knowledge that they are PROVEN tourney winners. :-? I would be willing to bet if you put just as much time in on a rogue or x rap they would produce the same as your $15-$20 LC's.

[roadwarrior]

I have a fairly substantial collection of Rogues. Although I fished

them successfully for several years, I rarely (never) use them

anymore. There are several reasons why other jerkbaits are a

better investment.

First of all, Rogues are built poorly. I have spoken with a Smithwick

representative about this. Bottomline is, they're cheap to produce

and the company is always willing to exchange one for another. There

is no incentive to improve the lure. (However, for $2 more you can now

buy Rogues with Gamakatsu hooks).

Second, many of the lures are defective right out of the box and

some of the others "go bad" over time. The most common problem

is failure to suspend. Lots of guys use suspending dots to correct this

problem, but it's still an issue. Another common feature after awhile,

some of the lures lose buoyancy and sink.

Third, balance and weight are awful. This really comes into play if

you fish at night. We call it "foot in mouth", the correct term is foul

hooked. This is very common when casting a Rogue, but almost

unheard of casting a Lucky Craft or X-Rap.

Finally, when casting distance is important, Smithwick Rogues finish

dead solid last.

So, in my opinion, buying Rogues is not an option. Money "saved" is

just less money wasted.

[bigtimfish]

I have a fairly substantial collection of Rogues. Although I fished

them successfully for several years, I rarely (never) use them

anymore. There are several reasons why other jerkbaits are a

better investment.

First of all, Rogues are built poorly. I have spoken with a Smithwick

representative about this. Bottomline is, they're cheap to produce

and the company is always willing to exchange one for another. There

is no incentive to improve the lure. (However, for $2 more you can now

buy Rogues with Gamakatsu hooks).

Second, many of the lures are defective right out of the box and

some of the others "go bad" over time. The most common problem

is failure to suspend. Lots of guys use suspending dots to correct this

problem, but it's still an issue. Another common feature after awhile,

some of the lures lose buoyancy and sink.

Third, balance and weight are awful. This really comes into play if

you fish at night. We call it "foot in mouth", the correct term is foul

hooked. This is very common when casting a Rogue, but almost

unheard of casting a Lucky Craft or X-Rap.

Finally, when casting distance is important, Smithwick Rogues finish

dead solid last.

So, in my opinion, buying Rogues is not an option. Money "saved" is

just less money wasted.

Now RW im not trying to offend you but.

I must have picked the perfect ones EVERY time i have purchased a rogue. i have NEVER had one "go bad", had a problem with suspending or had one that was bad out of the box.  Casting distance can be taken care of with a small twist of a brake .I think smithwick is a good brand. i also fish the devils horse no problems with those either. of course there is no incentive to change the lure. THEY CATCH FISH. And they have been for years. why change what works. if you want to down talk a PROVEN fish catching bait so you can justify yourself for paying too much for a jerkbait thats your business. But im not buying it.

[dman]

There are always threads popping up about whether lures in the $15-20 range are worth the money. Many people say yes, they are indeed worth the money, while others say that they save money by buying cheaper $4-5 lures.

Here's my observation:

I have about three dozen lucky crafts in a few productive colors. As far as most of my fishing goes, that's all I need. Most guys who fish lucky craft (or another high dollar company) that I've met are similar.They have a few dozen lures in good colors that they know produce. However, a lot of guys who tell me that they "save money" by buying $4-5 lures have box after box filled with cheap lures in every color under the sun. Because of this, I have begun to think that a lot of people who buy cheaper lures spend just as much as those who buy more expensive lures, and instead of buying a few quality lures, they buy a larger quantity of cheaper lures and they really aren't saving money at all. Obviously this is not the case for everyone. Some people who fish expensive lures have cases full, and some people who buy cheaper lures have a more modest collection, however, I think a lot of the time this holds quality vs. quantity theory holds true. What do you guys think?

Lucky for me i cant catch Bass on cranks and don't buy neither....Lipless cranks work for me though and i stick to the $7 Xcaiburs

[bass wrangler569]

I use those "cheap" lures. and basically i use 4 colors. on a rogue i use Clown. on Xrap i use Hot Steel and Black/Gold and on thundersticks i use a regular ol shad pattern. And yes i do believe I "save money" by using those brands. IMHO a x rap will catch just as many as a LC. Because rogues dont cost $20 does that mean they are cheap junk? Because it was to my knowledge that they are PROVEN tourney winners. :-? I would be willing to bet if you put just as much time in on a rogue or x rap they would produce the same as your $15-$20 LC's.

First of all, I'm not trying to criticize anybody for how much money the spend on lures and I'm not criticizing people for buying "cheap" lures. All I'm saying is that many times it might be a better use of your money if you buy 2 $15 lures that are high quality instead of buying 6 $5 lures that aren't as high quality.

Secondly, I have put in a good bit of time fishing rogues before I started using LC and in my experience they do not produce as well as lucky crafts or x-raps. And if you haven't fished LC before how on earth would you possibly know that they don't produce any better than rogues?

[jasonl]

try out different colos in the cheap brans. then when u find the ones that work for u, buy the better brand.

[SirSnookalot]

I've been buying a lure for the past year called the blaze minnow for 2.99 and I catch as many fish on them as any other lure regardless of price. I also use saltwater plastics that seem to out perform zoom or bass assassins flukes.

I'm not saying that I out catch anyone but I have caught many hundreds of bass this year(quite a few over 5#)on them and I'm not even a bass fisherman, I'm looking for peacocks.

I have an unlimited budget

[Muddy]

....

[DINK WHISPERER]

The smart people buy what works whether it cost 4.00 or 24.00.

Truer words have never been spoken!!!!!!!

[Muddy]

What people do with their money is not my business. I am beyond a frugal fisherman I am cheap!!!!!! I catch some fish , I have a whole lotta fun and am blessed with many friends to share the water with. Bruce, the other half of 2 MOOKS IN A BOAT, is the best friend anyone could ask to fish with. Total Cost of this :::ZIPPO!!!!!!!!!!

[bass wrangler569]

Okay, I'm going to try to explain this again because it seems like some people don't understand my point. I am not saying that cheap baits don't catch fish, I am not even saying that cheap baits don't catch a lot of fish. I'm also not telling anybody to spend beyond their budget. I am simply making the observation that some people spend $100 dollars on 20 lures in a 20 different colors, 15 of which will probably never see the water and they think they are saving money by buying cheaper lures. I'm am saying that it might be wiser to spend $100 on 6 or 7 lures in productive colors that you know you will actually use. I'm not telling anybody how to spend their money because its not my place and frankly I could care less what people do with their money. I am simply making an observation based on my experience with the people that I have met and fished with. Take it or leave it. I'm not trying to step on anybodies toes. Bass-Brat summed it up best, buy what works.

[Chris]

Most people are more dazzled by the sparkle and shine then the meat and potatoes. The exception to this is when you have a lure that does something different then your run of the mill lures. RW also consider that water temp effects what weight a lure will suspend at. The denser the water (colder the water) the more weight is needed to make it suspend. Many lures are still using the old 70's style lure molds and weight systems that is why they tumble on a cast. Tail weighted lures and weight transfer lures solve that problem but many of the old tried and true lures are still using the old system because they fail to spend the money to fix the problem.

[Muddy]

Hey Chris: Even with a slight problem, why change something like the Original Floating Rapala or a Jitterbug, which has worked fine and sold one for years/ Why not have their offerings side by side with the new technology, and leave fisherman to make the choice? Which is why a lot of old, tried and true lures still produce and work.

[CODbasser]

I agree...buy what works...i have yet to find a jerkbait that will out fish a lucky craft..well worth the money...

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I agree...buy what works...i have yet to find a jerkbait that will out fish a lucky craft..well worth the money...

I have yet to find a jerk bait(x-rap) that needs to be replaced with a LC

[Chris]

If you want to pay high dollar for a brand name for the status symbol of I wanna be like them.. waste your money they are more than happy to make your wallet lighter. Your paying for a name and because it takes some skill to locate the china company you pay the price they ask. They pay about $0.70 to buy it and have it packaged with logo per lure (called OEM or private branding) you pay that high price $14. Most people just say look that chinese is copying lure company xyz which isn't the case xyz just put their name on that china company's lure. the funny part is people will buy the name brand over an unknown name even though it is the exact same lure made from the same company.  they will down grade the lower cost product and feel happy that they didn't waste money on the cheap imitation of the name brand they fell in love with. Janns netcraft has pointers cheap yet if you don't have lucky craft on the belly "it is just a crap copy" same lure same manufacture different private brand.  :