Hi everyone! Happy New Year!
So I was looking into crankbaits and came across some very inexpensive plastic lures on dhgate.com. My question is has anyone purchased crankbaits from there? They have several lures going for $1-2 dollars that look very nice. With these you have to buy at least 3 lures but even at a dollar each that's 3 bucks. I plan on buying a few but wanted to see what y'all thought about it as well.
They may look good but what catches fish is not how they look but how they move ( action ), at 1-2 dollars I don´t expect much quality and uniformity. at 1-2 dollars the first thing I expect to be poor quality are the hooks.
Most lures are made in china anyhow.
Raul that is a good point. The swim action is the most important piece there, at least the hooks can be changed if needed.
Maxximus, that was exactly what I was thinking, though of course I am sure the mainstream companies have standards to make sure their gear is top notch. I bought one of those Heddon Properler lures and the darn thing would hook itself to everything. Those hooks were no joke!
I went ahead with the purchase, heck if they stink I'll be down 7 bucks, not a big deal. If they are good though, I am going to buy a bunch more. They also sell blanks to make your own and paint them, that seems pretty cool!
I cannot comment on this particular lures, but I bought a couple of blade baits from Hong Kong. They looked very nice on the web, and they actually looked very nice when they came. However Raul is right on...
The hooks were too small for the lure and didn't look like it will work for the size of the lure. I have bunch of hooks I bought when local store had a clearance, so that was no problem. Then I went to the lake and used it. It doesn't vibrate easily and limit how I can fish. Basically it is a bad design. Good thing I only bought two.
If you want to try out, try out a couple first to see if they perform.
(Edit, you already bought them, hope they are any good.)
Just like all the cheap China threads go...
Post you findings after you use them, it'll be appreciated
Edited by tomustangI guess I'm the exception. I enjoy quantity of fish more then quality, so on occasion I'll go to certain lakes in my area that's packed full of small bass (up to 2 lbs) and fish all day catching around 100. In lakes like that I'll use cheap, off brand, foreign lures, etc. I've found some company's produce a very good lure for cheap, others sell garbage cheap. I'll try most companies that have lures that appeal to me. Again, some of the cheap websites might surprise you
On 1/2/2014 at 11:17 AM, Brayberry said:I guess I'm the exception. I enjoy quantity of fish more then quality, so on occasion I'll go to certain lakes in my area that's packed full of small bass (up to 2 lbs) and fish all day catching around 100. In lakes like that I'll use cheap, off brand, foreign lures, etc. I've found some company's produce a very good lure for cheap, others sell garbage cheap. I'll try most companies that have lures that appeal to me. Again, some of the cheap websites might surprise you
That's whole lot of fish! I've never had a 100 fish day.
I bought a few of those lures at a fishing show years ago, they had great colors, however, the action was ($#@&^^%$#) you get what you pay for. Give them a try, just don't send them to the "wounded warriors fishing program" when you discover how bad they are.LOL.
The Chinese cost the US billions of $$$,$$$,$$$,$$$.00 each year in counterfeit goods, at least you know the what the knock off lures are before you send them your money.
Wake up.
Tom
I don't use cranks but jerkbaits are very prominent in my arsenal. Fishing freshwater in Florida I prefer shallow runners and I use one that costs only $2.99. This lure has accounted for more bass and peacocks that any other jerkbait I can think of. The hooks are terrible, the first thing I do is replace them with a #6 3x treble. The lures always runs true, I bang them against docks and bridges all the time and the lips don't break like my xraps. No doubt in my mind they come from China, if I'm catching fish I don't care where the lures come from.
On 1/2/2014 at 7:10 AM, Maxximus Redneckus said:Most lures are made in china anyhow.
It´s not the same MADE IN CHINA by "X" well known company" than MADE IN CHINA by who the hell knows, I´ve said it many many times, Made In place whatever country you like in this space only means that, it´s not synonimous with poor quality, but the price says a lot, at 1-2 dollars I don´t expect much quality and uniformity.
Many years ago when I was starting my tackleholic carrer I fell for the allure of cheaper lures, there used to be a company in Mexico called Jaifer which imported and comercialized cheap Chinese made lures, some of the ones I can recall being knock offs of Bayou Boogies ( Pico Perch ), Big O´s , Cordell Spots, Heddon Sonics, Jitterbug, Zara Spooks and others, of course they cost 1/4 of the price original lures had, why pay more for the same thing ? that´s what I thought, well 1 out of 5 actually worked, so mathematically speaking you had to purchase 5 lures to get one that worked, so where was the saving ? and I say mathematically speaking purchase five to get one but in reality it doesn´t work that way.
Needless to say I learned the lesson and never again I look for that kind of offers. Beeter spend well the first time than spending may times foolishly.
Great advice guys! I appreciate the input!
So since I did buy them I will let you know how they work when I get them. Good thing is they ended up being the price of a regular priced lure at basspro so not much money down the drain if they stink.
Its not about the size and color, Its all about the wiggle. I think you will find that cheaper crankbaits shatter easily if they hit a rock on the cast, and you will spend 6 dollars replacing the hooks. There are some great baits that are inexpensive and decent quality Bomber, Bandit are the two most readily available, and some are actually made in America.
Ok so I got the first batch of 3 lures from wlure. They look pretty decent, the hooks also look ok. For a dollar I cant complain about the look of the lure.
I will give a real review once I try them out to see how the action is on them.
They are fairly see through, and I can see they have 4 rattles inside which is great cause they make a ton of noise.
They looks nice for $1
On 1/7/2014 at 9:42 AM, dickdelprado said:Ok so I got the first batch of 3 lures from wlure. They look pretty decent, the hooks also look ok. For a dollar I cant complain about the look of the lure.
I will give a real review once I try them out to see how the action is on them.
They are fairly see through, and I can see they have 4 rattles inside which is great cause they make a ton of noise.
The blade baits I bought are the first one on 'Blade Lure' section. They have whole bunch of designs and price varies widely there. Interesting. Their (not sure theirs) designs are unique. I wish my blade baits worked. I'm interested to hear your review.
Tack a whack at them and let us know what happens.
If you don't catch anything you can blame the baits!!!!
I was hoping to get out there today and give them a try but its been raining all day.
It may be a fox even though is says donkey.....
On 1/9/2014 at 7:47 AM, dickdelprado said:I was hoping to get out there today and give them a try but its been raining all day.
I did some canal fishing in the rain yesterday, one of the better bass days I've had. Other than having my sneakers soaked thru it wasn't bad. My feet are always wet even from the dew, slip on totes is a good option for me.
Alright so my review on them lures! Got out there today and gave em a try.
All 3 had great action. Slowly reeling in the lures moved very well. Cranking the lures was excellent as well. You could feel the vibration as the bait moved.
The treble hooks aren't great. I got hung up one of the three sides broke off.
I got 2 tugs on it, missed both fish, didn't set the hooks and the lures were spit out. The hooks are sharp so I have to blame that on me.
Overall If I have to buy some good Mustad hooks to replace them it is still well worth the investment. I think these lures are going to help me catch some fish pretty soon!
Thanks for the review. I might give them a try with some of their unique blade baits when I need to get some.
In some instances I think companies will initially price their products very cheaply in order to get their product out in the marketplace and establish a reputation for themselves. As to how often this occurs....
Generally speaking, however, beware of the cheap bait. I bought some lures from a Wally World bargain bin one time. They were pretty snazzy looking-nice finishes, good shapes. None of them were any good, though-they all had lousy actions.
On 1/7/2014 at 9:42 AM, dickdelprado said:Ok so I got the first batch of 3 lures from wlure. They look pretty decent, the hooks also look ok. For a dollar I cant complain about the look of the lure.
I will give a real review once I try them out to see how the action is on them.
They are fairly see through, and I can see they have 4 rattles inside which is great cause they make a ton of noise.
They certainly look a lot better than many lures I have from reputable companies.
I gave one of them to a buddy of mine who loves fishing and fishes lures even in saltwater. He tested it out today @ Lake Osborne with me and he said the action on it is great. So I feel more comfortable with my initial analysis. In fact he went and bought a bunch as soon as he got home lol.
On 1/10/2014 at 11:07 PM, Ratherbfishing said:In some instances I think companies will initially price their products very cheaply in order to get their product out in the marketplace and establish a reputation for themselves. As to how often this occurs....
Generally speaking, however, beware of the cheap bait. I bought some lures from a Wally World bargain bin one time. They were pretty snazzy looking-nice finishes, good shapes. None of them were any good, though-they all had lousy actions.
I had some trouble with the swimmers (bombers), but the top water plugs like the super spook jr. and the redfin (to a lesser extent) were great. The hooks are pretty good as well.
On 1/13/2014 at 4:08 PM, powerduster said:I had some trouble with the swimmers (bombers), but the top water plugs like the super spook jr. and the redfin (to a lesser extent) were great. The hooks are pretty good as well.
Oh, no. I didn't mean the brand name baits. By in large a bomber is a bomber is a bomber etc. I meant the "off-brand" baits that they occassionally pawn off on gullible consumers such as me.
On 1/13/2014 at 4:08 PM, powerduster said:I had some trouble with the swimmers (bombers), but the top water plugs like the super spook jr. and the redfin (to a lesser extent) were great. The hooks are pretty good as well.
That´s exactly what I meant, with Jaifer the same thing happened, it seems that the more complicated the action the lure has more and more those inexpensive lures begin to show their flaws in design. From that company the lipless cranks ( imitating Spots, Sonics and Bayou Boogies ), Spook like, Torpedo like where the more consistent and worked better, those imitating baits like Big-Os had a disspointing action.
On 1/13/2014 at 10:43 PM, Ratherbfishing said:Oh, no. I didn't mean the brand name baits. By in large a bomber is a bomber is a bomber etc. I meant the "off-brand" baits that they occassionally pawn off on gullible consumers such as me.
I thought you were referring to the cheap bait bonanza box, so nevermind. The bait bonanza box I was referring to is still a very good deal, especially on the towater plugs.
On 1/14/2014 at 1:13 AM, Raul said:That´s exactly what I meant, with Jaifer the same thing happened, it seems that the more complicated the action the lure has more and more those inexpensive lures begin to show their flaws in design. From that company the lipless cranks ( imitating Spots, Sonics and Bayou Boogies ), Spook like, Torpedo like where the more consistent and worked better, those imitating baits like Big-Os had a disspointing action.
Yea, someone told me the heddons in wallys bait box are placed there because of a slight manufacturing flaw. They don't lay right or something on the water, but they still swim the same. I can't remember what he meant though and couple of mine float normal to me as far as I know.
On 1/13/2014 at 10:43 PM, Ratherbfishing said:Oh, no. I didn't mean the brand name baits. By in large a bomber is a bomber is a bomber etc. I meant the "off-brand" baits that they occassionally pawn off on gullible consumers such as me.
Bomber makes inexpensive as well as quality built lures.. Walmart for example carries a Bomber for a few bucks in 2 sizes, have caught countless numbers of bass and snook on them, and they last pretty good except for the hooks. In no way are they the same as Bomber saltwater grade like windcheaters or a boink a donk, not that I think a windcheater outfishes the cheaper ones. One thing I do miss is Walmart's renegade, I really liked that lure.
Not to poke the bees nest, but Id rather buy chinese made by a chinese company, than a chinese made by a usa sell out company... if that makes any sense lol - If your gonna contribute to their economy do it right! lmao
On 1/2/2014 at 1:52 AM, dickdelprado said:Hi everyone! Happy New Year!
So I was looking into crankbaits and came across some very inexpensive plastic lures on dhgate.com. My question is has anyone purchased crankbaits from there? They have several lures going for $1-2 dollars that look very nice. With these you have to buy at least 3 lures but even at a dollar each that's 3 bucks. I plan on buying a few but wanted to see what y'all thought about it as well.
The website says 18-32 days for shipping did you pay extra to get them faster.
On 1/14/2014 at 10:19 PM, dam0007 said:The website says 18-32 days for shipping did you pay extra to get them faster.
I did not pay extra. I was actually surprised because I made an order 1 day and then another the next day. The first order came rather quickly within a 10 days. The second batch took longer and just arrived yesterday. I wasn't in a hurry so even at 30 days I rather pay 1 or 2 dollars for a lure that at some point I may lose than pay 5-10 on a lure. Kind of on a budget right now. Eventually when I can I'll go get me some brand named stuff just to have it. But for now these will do the job.