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Posts: 8
| I'm just starting to get into trolling. I'm curious if the high end(baker, hose, dk's, etc) are that much better then the readily available stuff like tuff shads, llungens, wileys, believers, etc? I get that they are better quality, last longer and have killer paint jobs but right now I'm just interested in catching fish. Most of my trolling will be on small to medium sized rivers. Thanks for any input.
Edited by theblur 5/13/2019 9:33 AM
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Posts: 303
| So far this year...i've spent equal times trolling two baits. A jointed storm flatstick for $12 and a hand crafted Chad Shad made of wood.
Wanna guess which one has produced 3 over 43" and which has not produced any thus far? The $12 flat stick. Don't get me wrong, The expensive stuff is very beautiful, and without a doubt works, but does it work better? I do not believe it does. And as far as durability, I can buy 4 or 5 flat sticks for the price of the expensive stuff. So does the durability really matter? |
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Posts: 88
Location: Des Plaines, IL | I generally agree that there might not be a huge production difference. It would be fascinating to run a controlled experiment on this, though.
When you buy a bait from a custom maker, you have to understand it's not just a fishing lure, it's also a piece of craftsmanship. If that's not something you want to pay for, there are plenty of options out there that cater towards needs/wants.
Personally, I trolled more for the first time last year and between things like Tuff Shads, Boss Shads, Custom X, Jakes, Grandmas, etc. I caught all my fish on the metal lipped .22 Longs by Llungen and DK baits.
I also enjoy supporting the smaller builder, so that factors into the equation for me. |
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | dbach17 - 5/13/2019 12:09 PM
I generally agree that there might not be a huge production difference. It would be fascinating to run a controlled experiment on this, though.
When you buy a bait from a custom maker, you have to understand it's not just a fishing lure, it's also a piece of craftsmanship. If that's not something you want to pay for, there are plenty of options out there that cater towards needs/wants.
Personally, I trolled more for the first time last year and between things like Tuff Shads, Boss Shads, Custom X, Jakes, Grandmas, etc. I caught all my fish on the metal lipped .22 Longs by Llungen and DK baits.
I also enjoy supporting the smaller builder, so that factors into the equation for me.
Pretty good summary of the situation. Can't always say customs out fish factory baits, but the variety, craftsmanship and "cool factor" keeps me buying and building custom lures.
Edited by tkuntz 5/13/2019 12:35 PM
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Posts: 152
| Some of those high priced baits are amazing looking. I dont think that helps catch more fish though. It Also seems that a lot of them never make it to the water. They get bought and sold so many times . |
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Posts: 1220
| They bite what they bite, and looking good to us is meaningless. That said, well made trusted baits like Triple D’s Etc. seem to last forever. If you’re getting hit on the cheaper Storm baits, use them for sure, just swap the hooks. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | If it moves it's food and a muskie doesen't inspect the scale pattern or the paint job. over the past 40 years I've caught many many fish on Jakes and Believers but now that i pretty much fish exclusively the St Lawrence I want a solid wired through lure in case THE Queen decides to visit my boat. |
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Posts: 611
Location: Michigan | They're not really 'better' than production line baits, they're just sought after more by fishermen. They come in limited supply which drives the demand and the prices up, but you definitely don't need them to catch fish while trolling. Believers have probably caught more truly big fish than any other bait and 10" Jakes seem to be a staple in any trollers arsenal. If you're just starting out, stick with the baits you mentioned and you'll do just fine. |
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Posts: 103
Location: ITALY | I love homemade lures although they often cost much more than those of production ... the satisfaction of taking a big fish with these has no comparison and they are often built better and tailored to our spots especially if designed by us...however, there are immortal lures like the jake that will always do damages.... my idea is that sometimes the homemade ones are successful for the novelty factor
Edited by Cicciospin 5/14/2019 5:44 AM
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Location: Athens, Ohio | The 'novelty factor' sometimes may be critical. On pressured waters, how many Jakes go whizzing by in a week? How many Tuff Shads? Then, they see something that has a slightly different build, wobble, look; and they hit that. I'm told muskies look for the outlier fish, the ones that appear slightly different, as part of that whole food chain thing. It could be the uniqueness of he high end bait that helps it to succeed.
I'm not sure how much the detail matters, though, at 3-4-5 mph. But the physical construction of the bait should be a top factor in choosing any bait. You sure don't want one coming apart halfway to the boat. m |
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Posts: 20212
Location: oswego, il | It depends on their action. If a bait is doing the right thing at the right time, it will catch fish. I like erratic baits when the water is warm. I have trolling baits that didn't cost me 10 bucks that accomplish that task extremely well. I have baits that cost way more that do the same thing. |
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Posts: 944
| Lots of reasonably priced quality trolling baits out there.
Tuff Shads, Believers, Wyss Baits, Big Games all the Muskie Train stuff is really good too caught most of my biggest fish trolling on them.
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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| not better than the wiley,dr and believer at all not even close. it is just good to make you think you got something more unique that the other usually don,t use.about the hose it is mainly used in gb so lots of noobs are impressed by the big fish caught on it,and they could think they will caught mnster everywhere with them. many other lures like cheap 10 inch jake and dr have caught a lot more giant than these. to be honest many lures you talk about are just op just by the simplicity of their shape and paint job. asking more than 100 buck for a flat routered lure that have been painted with a single stage ab is just absurd. doing such a shape take 5 lil min 10 if you are a noob. there is not a lot of true piece of art like the dk that really deserved lots of money .but dk are far to be magic ,they lost the battle lot of time vs believer installed at the other side of the boat during the same time so it was my pov. best of luck |
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Posts: 1529
| do the math. at 6ft per second at 4mph,the fish does not see what we love. that's why we don't build baits over 40 dollars for even big baits..dont get sucked into the big price range. its action,color and durability. |
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Trolling baits...high end versus regular baits