Stopped by academy yesterday a saw a bunch of their lures. They looked pretty good.  Anybody using them? How do you like them? 

Hardbaits are certainly not my specialty - but I picked up some H2O crankbaits, jerkbaits, lipless, and squarebills when they were running a hot deal for $2 each. They seem to run well even in comparison to my Rapalas - and they catch fish!

One of, if not the best "house brand" crankbaits made. I've been using them for years and like "PAbasser927" said, "they catch fish!". I've never had one that didn't run true right out of the box, quality hooks and oval split rings. Good deal at full price, great deal when on sale. 

When I was still at BPS, I used to recommend them to customers that balked at the price of Rapala, Lucky Craft, etc. Much better than the BPS branded cranks.

There's one stuck in the face of the fish on my avatar.

The only one I have is the popper. Very good bait for the money. Mustad hooks, and good finish.

I have a few that I use regularly - jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and pistol minnows. The pistol minnow is nearly indistinguishable from my LC gunfish. 

Good quality baits at budget prices.

 

The only one I've used and wasn't a fan of was the jointed sunfish. Sank like a rock and needed to be retrieved pretty fast.

I don't like the jointed sunfish swimbait either for the same reason mentioned in the post above and, though it's 5/8 oz. it's hard to cast without helicoptering and getting the line in the hooks. I ended up using a spinnig rod to lob it, which is not optimal. Also, I really don't like the hollow body frog. The body is hard like the old SPRO's and it's difficult to walk because it's flat on the bottom, just like the old SPROs.

 

I have a lipless crank that cleaned up on bass one day, but the next time out my buddy wore me out with a Super Spot so badly I switched over. The lipless I bought was in the gold pattern and the gold finish didn't hold up well. After two uses there are spots where it flaked off, exposing what looks like a silver finish beneath. I'm guessing they took some chrome ones and gave them another coat of gold that didn't adhere well. Either way, it kinda looks like a beat up gold shiner, which could be a plus, but doesn't speak well for the quality of the bait. I get the feeling there are several companies making these baits for them because the quality is all over the place with them. Even so, they're so cheap and I'd give others a try. The popper looks good for half the price of the Pop R. They ahve a couple baits that are knockoffs of Lucky Crafts that look great. 

Thank you fellas. The wife gave me the green light to stock up on some new lures next Friday. I'll pick "some" up ???

I use H2O crankbaits quite often.  I like them and have caught plenty of fish with them.  The only crank bait I throw that isn't H2O is the KVD 1.5, but every other crankbait in my box is H2O

Best "House Brand" baits bar none!!!

This is great info!  I've been impressed with the finish and look but due to past experiences from the "other" house brands I was skeptical....  Guess where I'll be headed to shortly...

 

great price on their crankbaits when they are on sale. I have had real good luck this year with their baits...

3 hours ago, Shane Y said:

Thank you fellas. The wife gave me the green light to stock up on some new lures next Friday. I'll pick "some" up ???

You're a lucky guy.  Make sure you hold on to your wife. Great she supports your activities.

 

My wife a good gal also, I don't hear any flack about fishing.

 

 

Been using their wakebait in the bluegill pattern for a few years now.

It has replaced the manns baby 1- minus.

I just recently bought several of their items for the first time after hearing about it on this forum.

 

Honestly, I have been impressed with it. 

Buy a couple of the lipless cranks in Diamond Dust color.

13 hours ago, Spankey said:

You're a lucky guy.  Make sure you hold on to your wife. Great she supports your activities.

 

My wife a good gal also, I don't hear any flack about fishing.

 

 

She likes to fish to. When we first met she would go with me all the time but wasn't really in to it...... One day the fish were biting like crazy. I put a rod in her hand and it was on from there. Shes got a mean hook set to !!!

10 hours ago, flatcreek said:

Buy a couple of the lipless cranks in Diamond Dust color.

Will do. 

Academy dominates our market...H20 hard bait & frog section always has more than a few out of stock tags...own several...they are OK...great value...

 

Stores here stock Wahoo spinner baits for 1.99 & 2.99 that perform well...

 

good fishing...

Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? 

4 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said:

Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? 

I use their worm hooks.  They’re not the best out there but for the price I don’t get upset when I need to replace one. 

The H2O frogs are excellent!

8 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said:

Last time I was at academy I was looking at their worm hooks...which are stupid cheap compared to other brands. I didn't buy any because I was skeptical. I don't want them if they bend easy or dull quickly. Anyone have experience with their worm hooks? 

I use the offset 5/0, not the widegaps. Never had a hawg straighten one out during the spawn; I've had other hooks straighten out. They're heavy enough too, I use them weightless. Wish they had 6/0-10/0 sizes.

 

Try a pack, $1.29 for 5 before you get the 25 pack.

 

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-round-bend-offset-single-worm-hooks-25-pack#repChildCatid=395353

3 hours ago, Steve1357 said:

I use the offset 5/0, not the widegaps. Never had a hawg straighten one out during the spawn; I've had other hooks straighten out. They're heavy enough too, I use them weightless. Wish they had 6/0-10/0 sizes.

 

Try a pack, $1.29 for 5 before you get the 25 pack.

 

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-round-bend-offset-single-worm-hooks-25-pack#repChildCatid=395353

I use the widegaps. They're pretty heavy gauge wire and I haven't had one that's broken or straightened. I've only used gamakatsu and academy EWG hooks and I can't really tell the difference. They do what they need to do.

Their squarebills are great, I like their prop baits, traps are decent, popper and pistol minnow work well, the only ones I haven't really liked are the bigger 100 pointer type jerkbaits (both shallow and deeper running versions), and the swimbaits. The swimbaits work okay and I caught fish on them, but nothing special. I really like the jerk shad but neither of the stores by me carry them?? They probably got tired of stocking them from me buying them out all the time ?

Gotta get some! I don't like any of the blanks from the custom lure companies. These would be great painted in Megabass, Lucky Craft, Duo Realis colors. You can't find much of the good colors any way