I put "worth" in quotes because it's relative to the individual.

 

But there are certain expensive baits that for the most part, people agree they are worth it.

 

Vision 110's and Jack Hammers come to my mind.

 

This question popped in my head the other day when I ran across the Megabass Knuckle. It's a squarebill that costs $20. I have several of the KVD's that only run $10 and I got to wondering if the extra money really made any difference.

 

What are some other expensive baits that you think are "worth" it?

 

Some JDM plastics are until they are replicated by a us firm.  Even then there's usually something special about the formulation that makes them better catchers.

 

 

If you are a tournament bass angler any lure that you believe gives you an edge is priceless.

Recreational angler just want to catch the 5 bass limit the cost is relative to your budget. Where I fish the FLMB bass are high pressures by good bass anglers, so price depends on if you can catch bass.

Tom

Something that I've come to believe over the years

is that 'the bait the bass will eat' is priceless.

Actual MSRP is meaningless when you can't get that deal anymore.

#ebay

A-Jay

 

 

Like everything else in life, trial and error and then like @A-Jay if you find the right one stick with it.

Original Storm Wiggle Warts and Mann's Baby 1- come to mind. 

OSP Blitz Max DR

OSP DoLive Beavers 

Megabass Vision 110 and 110jr

Megabass Super Z2

Bass Puzzle Grass Piece 

Citizen Micro - maybe 

Evergreen Piccolo PC-5 

Bassday Mononofu 50s 

 

 

 

 

A rigs

Deps sakamatta shads. 

I can remember when I couldn't afford to buy Rapala baits, and bought Rebel lures instead.  Once in awhile I would buy a Rapala, and it was definitely worth it, until I lost one, then I always wished I would have bought the Rebel which caught many bass for me.

 

Now I buy Rapala because they are less expensive than many other brands.  I'm sure Megabass can be worth it, but if I were to lose one, I would surely start singing the lyrics from an old song, "I won't get fooled again."

 

Back in the day I also didn't want to spend the money on Bagleys crankbaits, so I bought cheaper plastic baits.  I sure wish I would have paid the $4.50 for a few Bagely's baits instead of the $3.50 I paid for the cheaper brands st the time.  I can't say what I will pay for some models of older Bagley's, but I will say whatever the price is they are worth it. 

 

 

 

 

Spro KGB Chad Shads. Just ordered a couple more in custom colors.

To me there are two styles of baits that justify the cost. Suspending jerkbaits for cooler water are worth the price. Second is top waters; wooden poppers like the Splash it and Yellow Magic. Best walking baits are LC Gunfish and Sammy. Besides how many top waters do you actually lose? I have lost 5 in 30 years with 3 being stolen by muskies.

 

Allen 

 

2 hours ago, Munkin said:

Besides how many top waters do you actually lose? I have lost 5 in 30 years with 3 being stolen by muskies.

 

Allen 

 

You'd lose 'em all here to Pike, Bowfin or Gar unless you ran wire...

Megabass' Vision 110's are the most expensive lure I use successfully.  I still think they're 'worth it' even though I've added Rapala PXR Mavrik and Berkely Stunna jerkbaits to the rotation, which work well in my waters.

I've not had any success with $15+ lures so getting what I pay for or them being worth their price hasn't manifested 

 

Vision 110s for sure, I usually wait for jack hammers to go on sale and then stock up. 

 

I have a niche one though, Monka Crawler. A lot of the "production" crawlers you can get just don't compare. 

Caught fish on everything from something I found snagged in a tree to a 35$ bait I waited years for the right moment to throw and the good news is - the fish you catch is the same amount fun for both.

 

I think nice lures are worth the money because often times they’re more enjoyable to fish and get more bites even if they cost a bit more.  I also enjoy cheap lures because I can be reckless and do things to get bites I wouldn’t dare doing with my nicer stuff.

 

Like so many things in fishing - it’s all worth it in the right context!

 

Heck the Spro frogs I like throwing are getting close to 20$ a pop and I thankfully mostly paid 5-10$ a piece for the ones I own and I have a few I’ve caught a hundred fish and counting on - in this case - definitely worth the money to me.  I have Alabama rigs rusting at the bottom of lakes that snapped off on the third cast that I paid 50$ for - not worth it to me!  👍🙂

Evergreen shower blows. 110 obviously. DRT Tiny Klash. Chad Shad. Any of the good bladed jigs. Tons of JDM plastics. JDM spinnerbaits. 

 

Theres plenty of standard priced lures that work great, lots of premium stuff works exceptionally, and theres some cheapo stuff that works pretty good. I'll pay whatever the price for the stuff I know works, every time. Well designed, quality lures work because you can use them more effectively, efficiently and consistently for the given technique you are doing, that means they not only catch more fish this way, they're just more enjoyable to fish. There is nothing worse than fighting with a sub-par lure on the water especially when you know theres an equivalent that works much better.

 

I am not a rich man, but for the amount of time I'm on the water and the enjoyment I get out of pursuing large bass, its stupid to try and save what amounts to a few hundred bucks a year by putting effort into pinching pennies on cheap stuff that works anywhere from "pretty good" to "useless", when I know what works exceptionally well. 

 

 

Original Spit'n Image off ebay is worth it to me.

Berkley MaxScent series.  Vision 110s and JHs are expensive but durable; these soft baits are very effective yet very "fragile" against feisty smallies.   

I have a couple of Cordell baits in colors that are no longer in production.  I'm very careful about where I fish them.

huddleston swimbaits. they produce when other swimbaits don't.

On 10/29/2025 at 2:03 PM, FishTank said:

OSP Blitz Max DR

OSP DoLive Beavers 

Megabass Vision 110 and 110jr

Megabass Super Z2

Bass Puzzle Grass Piece 

Citizen Micro - maybe 

Evergreen Piccolo PC-5 

Bassday Mononofu 50s 

 

 

 

 

@FishTank - I agree (although I do not have the Bassday, might have to try it, and the 110 JR +1 has been more productive for me than the regular 110, MB Super Z3 has worked best for me) - and I would add the Megabass Griffon (in all it's forms - MR-X/SR-X/BFS/Baby/Zero/6cc), Megabass Cyclone, Imakatsu Geisha Shad and Imakatsu Wasp 55 - all four of those have been good for me/fish catchers (thus I deem them "worth" the expense)

28 minutes ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

@FishTank - I agree (although I do not have the Bassday, might have to try it, and the 110 JR +1 has been more productive for me than the regular 110, MB Super Z3 has worked best for me) - and I would add the Megabass Griffon (in all it's forms - MR-X/SR-X/BFS/Baby/Zero/6cc), Megabass Cyclone, Imakatsu Geisha Shad and Imakatsu Wasp 55 - all four of those have been good for me/fish catchers (thus I deem them "worth" the expense)

 

Forgot about the Imakatsu Geisha.  One the best shallow cranks out there. The finish on the one I have has held up to a lot of fish. It is one of the few that really looks like a bait fish. I wish I had bought more of them when I had the chance. The Wasp is another good one and so is the Griffon.  I have a couple Z3s but haven't caught but a few fish on them. I guess it depends on the depth I'm fishing. 

 

The Megabass Cyclone has been a bust for me. I still have a few in my tackle box but I haven't fished them in years. If you are interested in them, I would be willing to sell them. Just send me a message and I can see what I got, some may be new and unfished.

On 10/29/2025 at 3:03 PM, FishTank said:

OSP Blitz Max DR

OSP DoLive Beavers 

Megabass Vision 110 and 110jr

Megabass Super Z2

Bass Puzzle Grass Piece 

Citizen Micro - maybe 

Evergreen Piccolo PC-5 

Bassday Mononofu 50s 

 

 

 

 

Smallmouth like the citizen micro but the price and availability is meh