A local bait and tackle shop has their Livetarget stuff on sale right now.  Thinking about picking up some of the baitball crankbaits.  Anyone had any experience with them, either way?  Part of me thinks the concept--a crankbait sized lure that imitates several shad--is a good idea.  Another part of me thinks that this is one of those "lures meant to attract the fisherman" rather than the fish.  Thoughts?

I have a really old LT shad lipless crank bait, caught a couple of smaller bass, and a 7 lb rainbow trout on it, and that was it..It sits in my tackle box now.

Both LiveTarget cranks that I tried leaked and eventually went bye-bye.

Those baits never appealed to me in a "I'm certain that crank will catch fish" kind of way.  However, I did think that they looked cool, and if they were cheap enough on sale, I would buy some just to add to my collection of "cranks that caught me but not fish."  My plan is one of these winters make some display boxes to hang some of these baits on the wall, probably not this winter. 

I'd probably go to that store and buy a dozen or so, you'll kick yourself if you don't.  Who knows, 30 years or so from now, what is going to be the hot "collectable" lure from the 2010 - 2020 era.

One of these was gifted to me, a small squarebill.  Although it's the perfect size for the river smallmouth in my area, I haven't used it much.  Mine ran crooked right out of the box.  One shouldn't have to alter a bait to work correctly right out of the package.

I bought one of the baitball jerkbaits when they first came out.  It was about the same size as a Baker jerkbait that I had done alright with.  For some reason, not too long after I started fishing it, it started standing up (tail down) instead of sitting level.  It didn't seem to be the rattling ball stuck toward the tail, but after talking to a couple of other guys, they had bills broken off or some other issues.  So it seemed like a good idea, and maybe they corrected the issues, or maybe there's a reason they're on sale.

I had one a few years ago.  I never caught anything on it, not one fish.  I ended up getting snag one day and donated it to Davy Jones Locker.   One of the only baits I thought would be a bass magnet and it ended up being a total dud.

Save.  Your.  Money 

Thanks everyone for the responses.  Sounds like the consensus is nearly unanimous.

Where is this local bait & tackle shop in St Louis?   I have a bud who makes regular trips to St.Louis, dealing with elderly parents.  How cheap is " on sale"?  I can see having my bud drop by the shop and get me half a dozen or so of the various baits, just to add to my collection.

While they MAY look like a small school of bait to a bass, I'll wager they SOUND and FEEL more like a crankbait than a small school of bait...

 

oe

I agree with all of the above.  However, I would absolutely check out the sale.  IMO, there are two huge exceptions to the Livetarget lineup:

Smelt jerkbait, and

Bluegill lipless crankbait.

 

Both are outstanding and I would grab a bunch of each if on deep discount.

On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 4:17 AM, Fishes in trees said:

Where is this local bait & tackle shop in St Louis?   I have a bud who makes regular trips to St.Louis, dealing with elderly parents.  How cheap is " on sale"?  I can see having my bud drop by the shop and get me half a dozen or so of the various baits, just to add to my collection.

Sorry for the slow response...Dunn's Sporting Goods in Pevely, MO.  The sale is actually online only (I went by there on Friday).  It looks like a lot of the sale items are 50% off normal retail or more.

Livetarget's lipless crank Is as good as any I have ever tried.

 

There's people on these boards who have had success with the baitball... I have never tried them though as my cranks are mostly made up of rapala , bomber, and some miscellaneous but those two brands pretty much get it done for me with crankbaits. 

 

The biggest part of catching fish is finding them. Don't concern yourself so much on looks but more on performance. Performance justifies value for me, not cost. 

 

 

Livetarget squarebill Baitball Series has been a huge hit for me for the past couple years.  It shines prespawn and late fall for my waters. 
 

 

My dad does well on one, I've ordered them when on sale before and like certain crankbaits of theirs. I broke one of the bills off fairly easily and they've had issues leaking. IMO they're overpried and the "baitball" part itself is a gimmick. If I see them heavily marked down I get some but they aren't great.