Best lures for the price!

[bigtimfish]

Best for price=Bandit,Rapala,Smithwick,Manns                        Overpriced=LuckyCraft,Megabass,IMA,Ricos                                      Catches fisherman not fish IMHO= Stanley ribbits

[bass wrangler569]

I have Rapalas that have been catching fish for 5 seasons, VMC hooks seem to be holding up, and except for a few Pickerel Teeth marks the paint is just fine. I am weaning the Manns baits out, as I have just come up with a few shallow running Bagleys ( 6 bucks a pop) that have no rattles in them, which I prefer. I know you have way more experience with reels, breaking them down as such, and i respect the fact that you prefer a different brand, I do not see the advantages of LC and Japanese Baits over the baits that I use, especially when the results ( fish in the boat) are equal

I will concede that in many situations the results between rapalas and LC may be the same, but have you ever fished for smallmouth in 47 degree gin-clear water? I promise you you will notice a difference then. I have had my arse handed to me on the river enough times by guys fishing pointers when I was fishing rogues or x-raps to realize that I needed to switch. X-raps do catch fish muddy, in fact, they catch fish very well, but trust me when I tell you that sometimes japanese baits will flat-out outperform other lures.

Oh, and Burley, X2 on the plug knocker, that thing has paid for itself many times over

[Muddy]

I have Rapalas that have been catching fish for 5 seasons, VMC hooks seem to be holding up, and except for a few Pickerel Teeth marks the paint is just fine. I am weaning the Manns baits out, as I have just come up with a few shallow running Bagleys ( 6 bucks a pop) that have no rattles in them, which I prefer. I know you have way more experience with reels, breaking them down as such, and i respect the fact that you prefer a different brand, I do not see the advantages of LC and Japanese Baits over the baits that I use, especially when the results ( fish in the boat) are equal

I will concede that in many situations the results between rapalas and LC may be the same, but have you ever fished for smallmouth in 47 degree gin-clear water? I promise you you will notice a difference then. I have had my arse handed to me on the river enough times by guys fishing pointers when I was fishing rogues or x-raps to realize that I needed to switch. X-raps do catch fish muddy, in fact, they catch fish very well, but trust me when I tell you that sometimes japanese baits will flat-out outperform other lures.

Oh, and Burley, X2 on the plug knocker, that thing has paid for itself many times over

Yes I fish in the same state you do I LIVE IN PA!!!!!!!!!, I love it when someone who is alive less time than I have been fishing, talks down to me, like I don't know what I am doing. Yes I fish the Lehigh River in PA, the St Regis River on the NY and Canadian border and I catch very nice smallies in such water with * ( ***'s Fat Ika knockoffs) and Rapala Lures. I don't trust you, more expensive LC's and Japaneese Lures do not catch more fish under these conditions. Explain how my Buddy Dan , owns river smallies using a 5 dollar Lhur Jensen Speed Traps then. Your equipment does not make you, your brain does. Unless you consider that squirt bass in your avatar and the short muskie you caught with your carrot stick make you a pro of some type.

[skno]

X raps have been a top performer for me. Especially early spring and late fall. I will have to try a pointer. At this point I can not imagine it being any better, after all I am working the bait. :-?

[Blue Streak]

It isn't just the tuning, it's the hooks and other hardware. It is the paint.

It is the quality.

And you do get what you pay for. You're going to spend the money one way or the other, so why not get it right the first time?

The hooks and paint on a $7 Rapala bait are every bit as good as any Lucky Craft and tuning is not usually a problem for me. I catch plenty of fish on Rapala baits.

[bass wrangler569]

I have Rapalas that have been catching fish for 5 seasons, VMC hooks seem to be holding up, and except for a few Pickerel Teeth marks the paint is just fine. I am weaning the Manns baits out, as I have just come up with a few shallow running Bagleys ( 6 bucks a pop) that have no rattles in them, which I prefer. I know you have way more experience with reels, breaking them down as such, and i respect the fact that you prefer a different brand, I do not see the advantages of LC and Japanese Baits over the baits that I use, especially when the results ( fish in the boat) are equal

I will concede that in many situations the results between rapalas and LC may be the same, but have you ever fished for smallmouth in 47 degree gin-clear water? I promise you you will notice a difference then. I have had my arse handed to me on the river enough times by guys fishing pointers when I was fishing rogues or x-raps to realize that I needed to switch. X-raps do catch fish muddy, in fact, they catch fish very well, but trust me when I tell you that sometimes japanese baits will flat-out outperform other lures.

Oh, and Burley, X2 on the plug knocker, that thing has paid for itself many times over

Yes I fish in the same state you do I LIVE IN PA!!!!!!!!!, I love it when someone who is alive less time than I have been fishing, talks down to me, like I don't know what I am doing. Yes I fish the Lehigh River in PA, the St Regis River on the NY and Canadian border and I catch very nice smallies in such water with * ( ***'s Fat Ika knockoffs) and Rapala Lures. I don't trust you, more expensive LC's and Japaneese Lures do not catch more fish under these conditions. Explain how my Buddy Dan , owns river smallies using a 5 dollar Lhur Jensen Speed Traps then. Your equipment does not make you, your brain does. Unless you consider that squirt bass in your avatar and the short muskie you caught with your carrot stick make you a pro of some type.

PM sent muddy, I figured I'd be mature enough not to call you out on the forum :)

Edit: oh, and muddy, I put the picture of the smallmouth back up for you, I rather liked the other picture but obviously your idea of an avatar is a pis$ing match  :

[bigtimfish]

I rather enjoy reading what Muddy writes when he gets fired up. Just like I really enjoy most of Car7t sarcastic points of view about things. When you guys argue over silly stuff it's great.

[J Francho]

Hmmmm.....it takes about three or four X-Raps to get one that runs like it should.  

I have over a dozen lips from DT06, their bodies are either floating somewhere, or stuck in a fish's face.  I refuse to use them now.  Replace the hooks on a Bomber, and you're in business.

DT10 and DT16s are slightly better, though one in five has a completely different rattle.  Don't splash your DT10s next to the boat to clean the weeds off.

Thing is, the d**n things catch.  I'm wondering about the scourge of lip pullouts though, and if that will rear its ugly head in the other sizes.  

New Rattlin' Rapala's sound nothing like the ones from 10 years ago.  Don't feel the same weight either.

The finish on Bill Lewis Rattle Trap, Spro Arukus and Jr's, Yo-Zuri Lipless, and Redeye Shad always wears completely off after about a dozen fish.  The Spro actually chips away in pieces.  That doesn't happen with LC LVR or Xcaliburs.

Rapalas, in particular, are not cheap.  In fact it feels like a complete ripoff to spend $7 or $8 bucks, knowing it may not work right out of the box.  $15 to $20 to replace a Lucky Craft that got eaten by a pike with a lure that is EXACTLY the same isn't so bad.

Does it all matter to the fish?  Probably not.  Does it matter to me?  Definitely.  And to ge sure, it isn't all about expensive lures.  I have had great experience with LJ Speedtraps, Bombers, Normans, Xcaliburs, etc.  Some of the other brands being touted as "reasonable" however consistently fall short.  

[Muddy]

Hmmmm.....it takes about three or four X-Raps to get one that runs like it should.

I have over a dozen lips from DT06, their bodies are either floating somewhere, or stuck in a fish's face. I refuse to use them now. Replace the hooks on a Bomber, and you're in business.

DT10 and DT16s are slightly better, though one in five has a completely different rattle. Don't splash your DT10s next to the boat to clean the weeds off.

Thing is, the d**n things catch. I'm wondering about the scourge of lip pullouts though, and if that will rear its ugly head in the other sizes.

New Rattlin' Rapala's sound nothing like the ones from 10 years ago. Don't feel the same weight either.

The finish on Bill Lewis Rattle Trap, Spro Arukus and Jr's, Yo-Zuri Lipless, and Redeye Shad always wears completely off after about a dozen fish. The Spro actually chips away in pieces. That doesn't happen with LC LVR or Xcaliburs.

Rapalas, in particular, are not cheap. In fact it feels like a complete ripoff to spend $7 or $8 bucks, knowing it may not work right out of the box. $15 to $20 to replace a Lucky Craft that got eaten by a pike with a lure that is EXACTLY the same isn't so bad.

Does it all matter to the fish? Probably not. Does it matter to me? Definitely. And to ge sure, it isn't all about expensive lures. I have had great experience with LJ Speedtraps, Bombers, Normans, Xcaliburs, etc. Some of the other brands being touted as "reasonable" however consistently fall short.

Hey John: If you were going with a Balsa Crank. without Rattles , under 10 bucks where would you go? BAGLEY"S?

[J Francho]

I have a pile of old Bagleys, as well as a pile of old Poe's Ceder. Truth be told, I don't fish them that much, and don't even generally carry them with me. I keep them for sentimental reasons, some were my grampa's. Same issue with that type of bait. If you have a "special" top producer, you'd be hard pressed to find a replacemtn. Therefore you don't throw it where you need to throw it.

I actually prefer the plastic bodied cranks, and slowly but surely have been replacing with them. So far Lucky Craft, Megabass, Deps, and Duo have the styles that work with my style of fishing. If I lose one (rare with a plug knocker), it can be replaced with an exact copy.

But to answer your question, I'd look for a sale on the Rick Clunn silent cranks from LC.  

[bigtimfish]

The only thing I really fish from Rapala are X raps and Husky jerks. I have yet to have to tune one. The same goes with rogues. Every single one I have ever bought swims true and suspends perfect. Although I must agree with the paint on the lipless cranks. I can not remember a Rat L Trap's paint lasting long at all after a few fish. My Xcalibur's on the other hand do not even have a chip. But even after all the paint falls off, I will still fish a (BL) Rat L Trap because I have caught more fish on them than i have on any other. That goes for Spro,Xcalibur( which i fish regularly)and Bagleys.Bandits are also "cheap" cranks I can not say 1 negative thing about them either.

[Blue Streak]

I have several Rapala DT 4, 6, 8, and 10 have used them a lot for a long time and have not had the problem with the lips breaking or coming out, or the lures running bad that some have had. Cabela's had them for about 6 bucks this spring. I wonder if that problem is from certain runs on those baits?

[Crestliner2008]

Best bang for your buck: Bill Norman crankbaits, especially the deep Little N. Have taken a lot of bass on these.

Have used X-Raps since they first came out and have never had a problem; either with the quality or the amount of fish taken. I love the action of the LC Pointers as well. Two uniquely different actions for fish in different moods. I purchase hard baits as tools for specific jobs, not looks or price.

[DRhodes]

Alot of votes for a Rapala, and I'mno different. I refuse to buy a Japanese lure. I have been highly successful with Rapala, and would reccomend them to anyone.

[uicdent11]

Soft Plastics: *** and Zoom (25% off sale at BPS helps)

Cranks: Bomber

Spinnerbaits/Buzzbaits: still looking

[Muddy]

Soft Plastics: *** and Zoom (25% off sale at BPS helps)

Cranks: Bomber

Spinnerbaits/Buzzbaits: still looking

Hey , a heads upWalmart has Zooms on sale by me, check the one by you.