Baconstrip

Yeah, its complete nonsense. I have caught fish on "cherry" colored zoom ribbontail worms. Theoretically, they should have been invisible to the fish.

What size and action rod are you using?

Thanks Raul. As long as those performance features do make a difference for somebody, I can understand the higher price point. I just wanted some feedback on whether anybody out there really has experienced that performance difference. I know guys who are into racing who will spend hundreds of dollars on an upgrade to a go-kart just to shave off two tenths of a second from a lap time. To them, the difference is worth every penny. Actually, if you are even thinking for a second that 15 dollars is too much money to spend on a bait, then don't buy it. Reason: if you do pony up the cash for it, you will never throw it in heavy cover where there is even the off-chance that you might not get it back. Storm's wiggle wart is like 3 bucks in most stores around where I live. I would fair to say you would have no problem tossing something like that on a dropoff covered with downed timber. If you are not willing to lose lures, then you will never be as good as fisherman as you could be, and I wouldn't blaim you one bit if you weren't willing when the lure costs you $15 dollars.

I have no idea what this means or why anyone would make such a blanket statement about large companies. Not all companies are the same. And customer service is a nonfactor with softbaits. If I get a hula stick torn up during a bass strike, can I call the customer service number and get a replacement sent to me free of charge? If not, then who cares. And it is not easier to come by. I cannot buy these baits at BPS, Dicks, Cabellas, etc... Sorry, if I'm coming across as a little confrontational, it just really bothers me when someone bashes large corporations, when obviously, to get as big as they are, they had to do something right. Besides, any time someone suggests an alternative to Senkos, Ikas, or any of GY's products, it always ends in dissappointment for me.

Their soft plastics are terrible, but their crankbaits are good. The 'wart' series is a great set of crankbaits, and unlike nearly every other lure company out there, they keep the same size from topwater all the way down to their deepest diver.

Their line is terrible and overpriced. Their lightning rod is decent, but for a little more money, you can get an entry level St. Croix. And their bait, from my experience, does not compared to Zoom, which is typically cheaper and catches more fish.

I got the chatterbait kit with the mini, original, frog, and pitching chatterbaits, and the frog was the one chatterbait that I have never caught a fish on. The pitching chatterbait with a paca craw trailer is unbelievable though.

Blue/Black fat ikas and a black spinnerbait. Oh yeah, and some bug spray.

I fish it the same as I do jigs. Since the vast, vast, vast majority of your hits will come on the fall, I cast it out, let it fall, let it sit for a few seconds, then burn it back in and cast it out again. I used to try to slow work them lifting and dropping, but I found my fish/hour went up considerably when I changed it up to a cast and burn fishing style. I actually switched to a 7:1 Revo just so when I burn it in, it takes less time.

Glock 30 in the front pocket of my tacklebag.

I think with bass fishing, as with most things, there are diminishing returns to the money you spend. A $70 dollar rod is probably 7X better than a $10 dollar rod, if not more when you consider the $10 dollar rod will last you only a few trips. But is a $300 dollar rod twice as good as a $150 dollar one? Maybe not. Will a $20 dollar Megabass spinnerbait catch 10X as much fish as a $2 dollar strike king spinnerbait in a given length of time....no. It's all diminishing returns. The key is to find the best value in the bunch. For me, the best value is around $150-200 for baitcast reels and rods. Revo STX or Curado Ds are extremely nice reels that will last you forever with proper care. Is a Diawa STeeZ worth 3 times that? I didn't think so, but hey...some people have money to burn.

I'll stick with my Spro frog for $6.50.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bass_Fishing_The_Basics_with_Chuck_Woolery/70015783?trkid=189530&strkid=1075331096_1_0 Unbelievable. I just put it in my que. I'll let you guys know if it was worth renting if only for the comedic value. Does anyone really fish in a button up shirt and khaki slacks? Chuck apparently does! ;D

http://oakley.com/pd/4673 I got these, but a friend of mine used an employee proform so I only ended up paying ~$100 dollars for them.

The Dancin Eel is a gimmick lure. Just more proof that Bill Dance has completely sold out and is now nothing more than a snakeoil salesman.

Keeping them in bags is a bunch of nonsense. That scent that is on them is not going to wear off so much so that the bass is not going to be able to smell it in the water, and even if it does, who cares? I fish with a guy who has a really old tacklebox with REALLY old tackle inside. It's a total mess inside, old powerworms and ribbontails strewn about, all of them outside the bag and mixing and tangled amongst each other. He has rusty hooks and old cheapo cranks he either found on the lakeside or stuff he got out of the bargain bin at Walmart 10 years ago. They guy NEVER has a problem catching fish. I'd say 98% of the sport is technique, and that last 2% is gear, maybe even less. In fact, I know another guy who has a handful of these red 5" worms that have been in his tackle box for over 15 years, just sitting amongst his terminal tackle at the bottom of his box. They smell like nothing, are hard as a rock, and he kills on them. Take it for what it's worth.

If I could take it all back, I probably would own my wastepack tacklebox and the 2 small trays that came with it. Inside, I would have probably around 40 booyah bed bug jigs ($2.29 each) and matching paca chunk trailers, and THAT IS IT. Everything else to date has been a total waste of money to me. Yes, I catch fish on spinners, yes I catch fish on cranks and worms, but I catch bigger ones on jigs, and for the life of me, I cannot remember the last time I was skunked on one of those jigs. As far as rod and reels, the best I can afford and have never regetted any of them. And for cranks, I get more luck with excaliber or storm hardbaits than I do with LC. I am too afraid to toss a $15 dollar crank into stumps or downed trees, whereas I have no problem risking a $2 dollar lure.

Whats a bottle of scent maybe 5-6 dollars? How you come to that conclusion absolutly boggles my mind. Yes it probably is more of a confidence thing if anyhting but its proven that bass will strike lure smore often than unscented lures. But than again of course, you wouldnt want to waste your money, save up, maybe you can buy some confidence. :) Just my thoughts -WM Spray on scents, from my experience, are a waste of money. Add to the fact that there are so many differing opinions on whether it works or not should make you suspicious. Nearly everyone on these boards will tell you senkos work, trick worms work, etc, so you can assume, they probably do. Spray on scents are not so universally accepted. Some people like them, some don't. See where I'm going with this? And it's a confidence thing only if you blindly believe that those spray ons actually work. If you think you are spraying your bait with something that isn't effective, then you gain nothing mentally from it.

Smokers are probably used to wasting money anyway... ;D

Looks like a creature bait to me.

No, but I saw them at BPS and they look sexy.

If you can feel the bottom and get a general sense on what it looks like with your bullethead weight, then who really cares about 'proper'. On the other hand, if you are using a 1/4 oz sinker or lighter, you are probably wasting your time with carolina and would be better off with something like a dropshot rig.

Looks more like some sort of contemporary art project than a lure. http://www.gamapro.com/images/80mmPoppers.jpg

What you do for recreation is what you should obsess about IMO.

OP is forum lingo for "original poster".