I have a simple question here, does the price make the difference in buying lures? Case in point, would you buy a bass pro shop lure, which is 5 dollars or the same lure made by strike king that is say 6 or 7 dollars ? Let’s use the example of crankbaits. Does it make that big of a difference, anyway that’s my question. Thanks for your ya’lls replies. Happy New Year’s. 

Do you mean is the extra $1-$2 make a difference?

 

If so, I guess it just depends on what you are comparing.

 

The shape and action might be similar, but the quality of hooks can be the difference between landing and not landing a fish.

i have caught fish on bps "s-wavers" and i have caught fish on the r2s version. I wind up spending about as much on the bps version as i do on the r2s version once you look at changing out the shoddy stock hooks and split rings, then 1 out of 3 bps baits needs to be weight adjusted to get the fall right and 1 out of 5 needs hinge work. The River 2 Sea version i change nothing, and fish them straight out of the package. Perhaps 1 out of 10 needs some adjusting, and usually that is a slightly warped tail. To me, knowing i can just open the pack and fish is worth the slightly higher cost. 

For me? Sometimes if absolutely can. I don’t buy much that isn’t on sale or a deal. If it’s comparable and a better bang for the buck I’ll try it. But I also like the buy once cry once approach. 
 

I try to buy smart with all my fishing gear. You don’t need to mimick the tackle shop walls in your garage or basement. 

I have a deal with the Bait Monkey.  If a lure cost less than $10 I will try almost anything, if is more than $10 he better find another couch to sleep on.    

No, especially in jerkbait. I have many more Megabass Vision 110s and Jrs and a couple Jackals and Lucky Craft Pointers than other brands.  I also fish spybaits with Duo Realis and Lucky Craft. Crankbaits are RockCrawlers and couple Duo Realis on the high end Rapala, Strike King, H2O on lower end.

I have some regular chatter baits, I will not pay $$$ for a high dollar bladed jig. Won’t pay top dollar for spinnerbaits. Moral of my story is: Yes for some techniques, no for others.

I guess it would depend on how the baits catch fish.  I'm going to buy the bait that I know works. 

 I can get the cheaper one snagged just as easy as the expensive one.

Components (hooks, split rings, blades, etc) and in some cases, paint job or color.

 

Megabass is widely known to have some extravagant paint jobs on their lures and they cost more than most other comparable brands.

 

Really the only way to determine the answer here is try them yourself.

 

I have this constant problem here called Northern Pike, so durability is a major selling point on my lures, especially moving ones.  A cheap spinnerbait is toast after one vicious strike.  I will pay more for the lifespan of a lure than save a few bucks.

I’m a shopper, a patient shopper.  For every BPS hard bait, I can find a name brand bait that requires no modification for the same or almost the same price.  After 40 plus years, I’ve found exclusive label baits just aren’t of the highest quality.  

“Lures are designed to catch fishermen, not fish.”

 

No single thing is disqualifying, but for me, price is a factor, along with where it was made, aesthetic appeal, etc.  It’s a bunch of factors combined with the right timing. I do not need more lures.  I can not fish all the ones I have, but if I come across something at the right moment, it’s going in my e-cart or coming with me to the register. That is basically how all my lures were acquired. With that said, I had lock jaw in 2025 and did not buy much.  I made a resolution to fish the new in package stuff I already had.  I think I am going to renew that resolution for another year.  

I have never paid more than ten dollars for a lure but thats about to change.Theres a crankbait that I want with the weight transfer system that I'm ready to pull the trigger on .  

I try to keep my lure purchases within the $10 range. But on occasion I may go above. The diference between the cheap lures and the more expensive lures in my opinion is the quality. But, the fish don't know if it is $10 or $20 lure. Bottom line it is whatever fits into your budget,