With the rough economy I thought I would start a thread about best value lures.  Any lure is fine. 

Poor Boys tubes 20 pack - $6.79

http://www.***.com/Poor_Boys_Tube_20pk/descpage-PRBOYTB.html

NetBait Super T-Mac 9" 14pk - $3.79

http://www.***.com/NetBait_Super_T-Mac_9_14pk/descpage-NBSTM.html

Zoom Salty Super Fluke 10 pack - $3.49

http://www.***.com/Zoom_Salty_Super_Fluke/descpage-ZSF.html

I do pretty well on the Luck-E strike jogger worms.Usually found in Walmart pretty cheap.Funny thing is my wife and kid picked them up for my birthday one year.Those things work...seeing how cheap they really are.

Gander Mountain 5" grub - got a bunch for $2.99 - a tough, durable grub (I prefer it over Zoom Fat Alberts). Here's the math:

$2.99 + tax = $3.28

$3.28 / 15 baits = 21.9cents per bait

Avg. 10 fish per bait = 2.2 cents per fish.....

AND, I didn't factor in the price of the Gammy 2/0 EWG hook that is included in the bag! ;D

Maybe not the BEST value, but a pretty good value!!

Bandit crankbaits

H20 Express crankbaits

Renegade worms (wal-mart store brand)

    -gk

Best bang for buck brands for me would be netbait and zoom with their 20 packs. I have never really bothered with the absolute bottom shelf brands i.e. generic walmart type stuff

oh and bandit crankbaits

Initial cost doesn't infer "value". Fewer lures, better

lures is my advice. I would buy one Lucky Craft

Pointer rather than three Rogues. The LC is the

"Best Bang For The Buck".

8-)

Initial cost doesn't infer "value". Fewer lures, better

lures is my advice. I would buy one Lucky Craft

Pointer rather than three Rogues. The LC is the

"Best Bang For The Buck".

8-)

im with rw. when the pointer bite is on, NO other bait catches more fish. 20 bucks goes a looooooong way with that bait.

Bang for the buck?  Not plastics.  Not jigs.  Any decent hardbait will do.  A Terminator spinnerbait would do you well too.

Yeah. I've got an old zara spook that i've had as long as I've been fishing. That thing has caught hundreds of bass and will likely catch a few hundred more. They've always been inexpensive and last a long time. In pure "bang for buck" value, the spook is pretty tough to beat.

Yeah. I've got an old zara spook that i've had as long as I've been fishing. That thing has caught hundreds of bass and will likely catch a few hundred more. They've always been inexpensive and last a long time. In pure "bang for buck" value, the spook is pretty tough to beat.

Gotta agree with that.  I've got a spook jr. that I've caught so many fish on.

Bang for the buck? Not plastics. Not jigs. Any decent hardbait will do. A Terminator spinnerbait would do you well too.

When I was crunching my numbers, I started with hard baits but couldn't make the math work for ME. It all depends on how many fish you think you can get out of a hardbait before you lose it or it becomes unserviceable vs. how many fish you think you can get out of a bag of plastics.

If you never lose a hardbait, and get more than a couple of hundred fish on it, then the math works out in favor of the hardbait. For me, I recall I had 1 lipless crank that I got about 70 fish on before I lost it - so - $6.00/70 = 8.6 cents per fish - still more expensive than my grubs.

Your spinnerbait example is good though - get one for $4.00 or less, if you never lose it you might catch many hundreds of fish (just keep sharpening the hook) BUT, don't forget to factor in the cost of the periodic skirt replacements...

So, when doing the math on hardbaits, give realistic consideration to how long you use a single bait before it is lost or "used up" and also factor in maintenance costs for the bait (hook replacements, new skirts, repainting/touch-up, etc.)

EDIT - after posting, I saw the top-water examples...that's true, you might fish one of those a long time without losing it and it might be the winner!  Also, my grub math is skewed as I didn't factor in the price of hooks used over and above the one included in the bag... :-?

I agree with the spook post(s). The one I have has caught many fish and was one of my first lures I purchased back when I started fishing. They are still pretty inexpensive and are proven fish catchers for decades.

Bang for the buck? Not plastics. Not jigs. Any decent hardbait will do. A Terminator spinnerbait would do you well too.

When I was crunching my numbers, I started with hard baits but couldn't make the math work for ME. It all depends on how many fish you think you can get out of a hardbait before you lose it or it becomes unserviceable vs. how many fish you think you can get out of a bag of plastics.

If you never lose a hardbait, and get more than a couple of hundred fish on it, then the math works out in favor of the hardbait. For me, I recall I had 1 lipless crank that I got about 70 fish on before I lost it - so - $6.00/70 = 8.6 cents per fish - still more expensive than my grubs.

Your spinnerbait example is good though - get one for $4.00 or less, if you never lose it you might catch many hundreds of fish (just keep sharpening the hook) BUT, don't forget to factor in the cost of the periodic skirt replacements...

So, when doing the math on hardbaits, give realistic consideration to how long you use a single bait before it is lost or "used up" and also factor in maintenance costs for the bait (hook replacements, new skirts, repainting/touch-up, etc.)

EDIT - after posting, I saw the top-water examples...that's true, you might fish one of those a long time without losing it and it might be the winner! Also, my grub math is skewed as I didn't factor in the price of hooks used over and above the one included in the bag... :-?

All of these numbers are confusing.  ;D

But really, Zoom products always produce and are a pretty decent value. The same with Academy's H2O hardbaits.

Bang for the buck? Not plastics. Not jigs. Any decent hardbait will do. A Terminator spinnerbait would do you well too.

When I was crunching my numbers, I started with hard baits but couldn't make the math work for ME. It all depends on how many fish you think you can get out of a hardbait before you lose it or it becomes unserviceable vs. how many fish you think you can get out of a bag of plastics.

If you never lose a hardbait, and get more than a couple of hundred fish on it, then the math works out in favor of the hardbait. For me, I recall I had 1 lipless crank that I got about 70 fish on before I lost it - so - $6.00/70 = 8.6 cents per fish - still more expensive than my grubs.

Your spinnerbait example is good though - get one for $4.00 or less, if you never lose it you might catch many hundreds of fish (just keep sharpening the hook) BUT, don't forget to factor in the cost of the periodic skirt replacements...

So, when doing the math on hardbaits, give realistic consideration to how long you use a single bait before it is lost or "used up" and also factor in maintenance costs for the bait (hook replacements, new skirts, repainting/touch-up, etc.)

EDIT - after posting, I saw the top-water examples...that's true, you might fish one of those a long time without losing it and it might be the winner! Also, my grub math is skewed as I didn't factor in the price of hooks used over and above the one included in the bag... :-?

Used up? I've got plugs that were my grandfathers. Some of my Rebels and Warts are from my teenage years Get a plug knocker to fetch hung baits. As far as pike go, in my experience, if you're catching pike, 80% of the time you're fishing in the wrong locations.

For at least ten years, I fished cranks almost exclusively. From when I was 15 to about 25. I buy a crank once, and I can catch tons of fish on it. Yes, I fished worms, but they were a luxury. Hooks, weights, and worms. On a bad day, it could cost you $3.99 for a bag of Culprits. on a good day, times four. That crankbait I bought for $6. Its there when I run out of worms.

Another vote for the Zoom products. 20 packs for around $3 cannot be beat, especially when it comes to the trick worm 

Used up? I've got plugs that were my grandfathers. Some of my Rebels and Warts are from my teenage years Get a plug knocker to fetch hung baits. As far as pike go, in my experience, if you're catching pike, 80% of the time you're fishing in the wrong locations.

For at least ten years, I fished cranks almost exclusively. From when I was 15 to about 25. I buy a crank once, and I can catch tons of fish on it. Yes, I fished worms, but they were a luxury. Hooks, weights, and worms. On a bad day, it could cost you $3.99 for a bag of Culprits. on a good day, times four. That crankbait I bought for $6. Its there when I run out of worms.

You're right. Like I said above, the math works if you catch more than a couple hundred fish on one hardbait.

I still have baits that I bought before you were born...but I haven't fished them continuously all this time so I haven't got the same return as you have on your hardbaits. My "high-time" hardbait of my modern-fishing era was that lipless crank that was up to 70 fish or so before it hung-up on the bottom (while fishing from the bank).

On the plug knockers, I have one in the boat, but I have a harder time getting them to work when fishing from the bank!

A couple hundred?  On one bait.  All it takes is half a dozen, and I've already beaten out more value than a bag of senkos.

Franco mentioned a lure knocker. I used to laugh when I'd see these on the shelf. Then I fished a lake(I was actually walleye fishing) where the fish were buried in submerged brush and where smashing crankbaits like crazy. I would lose 5 or 6 lures every time I fished this lake so I figured what can it hurt and bought one of those gimick looking things. That $5 dollar lure knocker has literally saved me hundreds of dollars and I beleive I catch more fish because of it since I no longer worry about loosing baits hence I throw right in the junk. I can count the number of lures on one hand that I haven't been able to retreive with a knocker. Every now and again people will pass by and see me using it and you can tell by the look on their faces their like " I can't believe this guy is using one of them." The joke is on them. They really work. I should probably finish this post by saying no I'm not a lure knocker manufacturer. ;D

A couple hundred? On one bait. All it takes is half a dozen, and I've already beaten out more value than a bag of senkos.

I guess it depends on how you establish that value - number of fish, weight of fish, enjoyment of the catch, challenge of the catch, etc.

Since the OP mentioned best bang for the buck, the metric I was using was cost per fish. My grubs were about 2 cents per fish then add another penny perhaps for level-loaded hook cost so about 3 cents per fish. For a comparable cost per fish, you'd need to catch 200 fish on a $6 hardbait. Once you get past 200 fish on that one hardbait, then you're in fat city and the cost keeps going down.

It's just math.... :

Are your grubs and jigs older than me too?  Last I looked grubs were about $4-5/pack and ballheads were maybe $3 for five.  Lets say you make it through a day losing 2 ball heads, and burn through 1/2 a pack of grubs to catch 6 or seven fish.  That's $4 for one day.  That's what a fat free shad cost.  I guess I'm missing the math point here?

I have to agree with Francho, best value are the low priced hard baits. I have fished with soft plastics for years and I am always replenishing my supply. On the other hand I still have crank baits that I used in the 60's and 70's that have caught a boat load of fish and are still producing. I probably paid less than 5 bucks for any of them and I am willing to bet that the cost for fish would be less than tenths of a cent. You can still do that with

Bandits

Norman

Strike King

H2O

Bomber

and a few others.

Even pricier baits...I have a one eyed Sammy 115 that has literally caught more than 100 fish.  Some pretty good ones, too.  IIRC, I paid $12 for it a few years ago.

Like many others, I have cranks and spinners that have been in use for more than 2 and a half decades, sure, there 's always the chance you might loose one, when I was shorebound I purchased and lost cranks at an alarming rate, some lasted 1 cast, if I were counting that way then cranks are pretty expensive, but it 's been years since I 've been shorebound ( now it 's only when I want ), also I 'm a lot more experienced in the use of cranks so, amazingly, I still fish the same places, same trees are there and I don 't loose my cranks, even being shorebound ( go figure ); still, like Francho and Streak opinate, hard baits are a better value than soft plastics like for a lot.

Value and cost are not the same thing.

Here how I save some loot:

Mizmo Big Boy 4inch tubes. 100 pack: $37.99

http://sfttackle.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=9&ParentCat=7

SFT Big hook tube jighead. 100 pack: $15.99

http://sfttackle.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=308&ParentCat=13

Buy in bulk. Less than 54 cents a jig.