Tackle for Cheap 2024
Adleyfishes reply :
What brands do you guys buy from so you can get quality lures and baits for cheap?
Raul reply :
Define "cheap".
bigturtle reply :
I buy Gancraft 230s for $60, i think thats very cheap.
Yeajray231 reply :
I couldn't disagree more that you need "high-end " lures to be successful in bass fishing... How on Earth did our grandfathers catch bass before there was a 26 dollar jerkbait.
Stuff is ridiculous to say the least dude. The "middle of the road baits" are more than good enough.. more often than not it's the fisherman not the lure that leads to success . Also timing and location... Far outweigh lure selection...
So many hog bass are taken on so many different things... Worms, jigs, spinnerbaits , top waters, jerkbaits and everything in between....
The world is advanced beyond belief. And so is advertising. If I had a nickel for every sap that walks the earth I'd have a fancy boat of my own.
My PB ... Was taken on a topwater cheaper than 10 dollars. More like 6 bucks... So tell me why I need a megabass popmax when this particular popper has caught me four fish over 20".. doesn't sound that impressive really but if you consider the amount of time I get to fish , and the water I have access to... It's more than impressive if I do say so myself.
All this being said I don't recommend buying 1 dollar Chinese made crankbaits .. often won't run "true" and are not able to be tuned.. junk split rings and hooks don't do so well either.. however many companies offer nice lures for modest prices.
Check out bomber , bandit , and rapala for your hardbait needs
IndianaFinesse reply :
Zman, zoom, bandit, Bagley, yum, Berkley, some strike kings, etc. Only buying things on sale will allow you to buy higher end stuff for the same price as lower end models. You can find most stuff significantly discounted most of the time, if you are patient. Keep an eye on the latest sale thread for deals.
Spankey reply :
Could not agree more with the above^^^^^^^post more. Very well said yeajray231.
chadmack282 reply :
i have had more success with Norman & Strike King
cranks than my cranks that cost 2-3-4 times more.
MassYak85 reply :
Ill give Zoom a shout out as far as soft plastics go
Munkin reply :
Zoom and Havoc line of soft plastics are inexpensive and catch plenty of fish. Crankbaits I recommend Sk, Bandit, and Norman as they are great for the cost. Spinnerbaits I would try SK and Booyah as those 2 cover most situations.
Allen
Dorado reply :
Soft Plastics - Zoom and YUM
Hard Lures - Strike King and Bomber Lures come to mind.
Excellent value for the quality and these brands will catch you fish guaranteed.
Jar11591 reply :
Rapalas are a great value, and they are usually less than $10. The Skitter Walk, DTs, X-Raps and Rattling Raps are all great lures at or under $10. For soft plastics with value, I think Zoom is the way to go.
seyone reply :
I buy a lot of stuff from the famous auction site. You can find great deals if you look around. It is a pretty good way to fill in any missing pieces, or in my case, just buy more stuff that i don't need.
BassWhole! reply :
H2O hard baits are hard to beat for bang for the $.
Nscheele reply :
Rapala, strike king, yum, zoom, in no particular order. I love booyah spinnerbaits. The fishing industry isn't unlike any other, you get what you pay for. Spend a couple extra bucks up front and you will have a tackle collection that will last. If you buy the cheapest stuff you can find to save a buck then end up disappointed and frustrated, and replacing the stuff with higher grade equipment later you didn't save anything. My fishing time is my ultimate relaxation time and I don't want to spend it frustrated with junk hooks and spinnerbait skirts that fly off on the cast. The small extra amount up front is absolutely worth it to me.
Adleyfishes reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 6:23 AM, Raul said:Define "cheap".
5 dollars give or take a few bucks.
CTBassin860 reply :
Anything from Yum and Havoc are the best bang for your buck if you ask me. As for hard baits i catch so many on a 6$ SK 1.5 that I won't even consider a 20$ S-crank,it's unnecessary. Also my PB came on a 7$ Booyah Pad Crasher.
For the price of an S-crank i can buy the 1.5 ,2.5 and 3xd in bluegill
primetime reply :
I have not yet noticed any difference with soft baits of similar profile like say a GYB creature, Craw, or Worm compared to say a pack of BPS, Charlies, Havoc, Zoom, Yum etc. I think once you go past 1/2 ounce, the flipping/punching bait is essentially a hook holder to keep the hook weedless.
I catch just as many fish on my Rapala Minnows, Long A's, Rebel Pop'r, Super Spots, home made chatterbaits and cheap spinnerbaits, and for cranks I am good with almost any crankbait under $7 and most of my "go To" baits are a simple Red Eye shad, Torpedo, Spook etc.
I like buying tackle, I like nice stuff, I have purchased $15 Ima Lipless cranks on sale, $20 topwater lures, Glide baits, expensive plastics etc, and the only difference I notice is they look really nice out of the water with awesome paint that I doubt the fish are staring at.
If you love the Ima Skimmer, Try throwing a Rebel T-10 the next time you are on a walking lure bite. You will be surprised.
The most important thing is buying Quality Hooks, line and the right stuff, not the most expensive. I love to collect frogs and have some imported ones that fish awesome, but when I am only bringing a dozen frogs with me, I grab my Booyah, Live Target, Snag Proof, and Spro Frogs. I also will always grab the $2.99 scum frog Rat for skipping on spinning gear. I actually do better with scum frogs when it comes to hook up percentage, the new one's are pretty, but not a Scum Frog. If you want to make them heavier simply add some split shots, but over weeds, not sure the fish are aware what is moving, or what it costs.
I gave a young kid a bunch of bass tackle about a year ago, and he is in love with casting the Creme Midget crawler and reelling it in like a spy bait. some days He will outfish me when I am using a Swim senko etc. We all over think fishing and the companies do a great job of catching us, They get me all the time, buying lures is fun, but results are usually based on figuring out patterns and finding fish, the stuff that takes years to learn. Just my opinion.
Just stay away from matzuo hooks. Some days nothing will beat a Zoom Trick worm or a Centipede worm. Those 2 plastics can save days.
wdp reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 8:35 AM, reason said:H2O hard baits are hard to beat for bang for the $.
I couldn't agree more. I'm becoming a big fan of some of the Academy house brand hard baits. For $5 or less they are hard to beat & come with some decently sharp VMC hooks. Best part, I don't mind so much if I break off one of these cranks on a submerged log.
For soft plastics I'm all about Zoom. Good quality & value and they flat out catch fish.
Oklahoma Mike reply :
I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but I don't mind spending up a little for a better quality product. This does not necessarily mean that the higher priced product will catch more fish, but I'm usually paying for better hardware (like hooks and split rings) and a product that will be more durable (last longer).
To to me that is value. I'm spending more up front to spend less over the long term.
Now this is not to say that higher price always equals better quality/better value. Take Siebert jigs, for example. there are certainly higher priced jigs on the market, but I feel they have the best value as far as jigs go. Most treble hook lures, however, I will tend to buy the higher priced products. I'll spend more on a Cavitron buzzbait because I feel they run better than other brands. I'll generally spend up on plastics for performance reasons too, though there are certainly some value baits to be found there as well.
Dorado reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 9:18 AM, primetime said:I have not yet noticed any difference with soft baits of similar profile like say a GYB creature, Craw, or Worm compared to say a pack of BPS, Charlies, Havoc, Zoom, Yum etc. I think once you go past 1/2 ounce, the flipping/punching bait is essentially a hook holder to keep the hook weedless.
I catch just as many fish on my Rapala Minnows, Long A's, Rebel Pop'r, Super Spots, home made chatterbaits and cheap spinnerbaits, and for cranks I am good with almost any crankbait under $7 and most of my "go To" baits are a simple Red Eye shad, Torpedo, Spook etc.
I like buying tackle, I like nice stuff, I have purchased $15 Ima Lipless cranks on sale, $20 topwater lures, Glide baits, expensive plastics etc, and the only difference I notice is they look really nice out of the water with awesome paint that I doubt the fish are staring at.
If you love the Ima Skimmer, Try throwing a Rebel T-10 the next time you are on a walking lure bite. You will be surprised.
The most important thing is buying Quality Hooks, line and the right stuff, not the most expensive. I love to collect frogs and have some imported ones that fish awesome, but when I am only bringing a dozen frogs with me, I grab my Booyah, Live Target, Snag Proof, and Spro Frogs. I also will always grab the $2.99 scum frog Rat for skipping on spinning gear. I actually do better with scum frogs when it comes to hook up percentage, the new one's are pretty, but not a Scum Frog. If you want to make them heavier simply add some split shots, but over weeds, not sure the fish are aware what is moving, or what it costs.
I gave a young kid a bunch of bass tackle about a year ago, and he is in love with casting the Creme Midget crawler and reelling it in like a spy bait. some days He will outfish me when I am using a Swim senko etc. We all over think fishing and the companies do a great job of catching us, They get me all the time, buying lures is fun, but results are usually based on figuring out patterns and finding fish, the stuff that takes years to learn. Just my opinion.
Just stay away from matzuo hooks. Some days nothing will beat a Zoom Trick worm or a Centipede worm. Those 2 plastics can save days.
I really want to try out those centipede worms this winter. We get a ton of red annelids in our local ponds and I think a red centipede on a shroom Head or drop shot could go to work
snake95 reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 8:49 AM, Adleyfishes said:5 dollars give or take a few bucks.
Agree with @Yeajray231 100%. Just about any lure that comes standard between $4-10 each or per pack, from a major name brand will catch bass when presented the right way and in the right place.
Some more effective than others, depending on the situation and who is fishing them.
Yes, there is no free ride, and the bargain-basement knock offs are often junk.
The more expensive baits can be fun to collect and fish and can be very effective. But necessary? Rarely.
Want to get name-brand lures that retail in the $5-10 range for under $5/each? No problem, you just have to watch and be patient.
1) Check Amazon periodically - on the phone app is easiest for lures.
2) Track the latest sale/deal thread thanks to @IndianaFinesse aka the chief bait monkey 
3) Check the discount online sites periodically (names in (2)). Don't be afraid to pay $5 for shipping, when $8 lures are $2 each.
4) Stop in to Wally world and check clearance; want something on clearance still cheaper? ask a manager if they can reduce it, about 40% of the time they'll knock it down further; tell them you'll help them out by taking several lures if the price is low enough, and point it out when they've sat on the shelf for months.
5) Watch the fliers online from DSG etc. It makes for light reading. At Dick's, do the online review form to the get $10 off of $50, so when you get $50 of baits on sale, you get them for $40 instead.
6) Save up, shop clearance, typically in the fall (often in August believe it or not); and again just before or in the *** months after Christmas.
7) If you use the site, shop a sponsor or two, regardless of the price, most are excellent.
Good luck.
Adleyfishes reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 9:18 AM, primetime said:I have not yet noticed any difference with soft baits of similar profile like say a GYB creature, Craw, or Worm compared to say a pack of BPS, Charlies, Havoc, Zoom, Yum etc. I think once you go past 1/2 ounce, the flipping/punching bait is essentially a hook holder to keep the hook weedless.
I catch just as many fish on my Rapala Minnows, Long A's, Rebel Pop'r, Super Spots, home made chatterbaits and cheap spinnerbaits, and for cranks I am good with almost any crankbait under $7 and most of my "go To" baits are a simple Red Eye shad, Torpedo, Spook etc.
I like buying tackle, I like nice stuff, I have purchased $15 Ima Lipless cranks on sale, $20 topwater lures, Glide baits, expensive plastics etc, and the only difference I notice is they look really nice out of the water with awesome paint that I doubt the fish are staring at.
If you love the Ima Skimmer, Try throwing a Rebel T-10 the next time you are on a walking lure bite. You will be surprised.
The most important thing is buying Quality Hooks, line and the right stuff, not the most expensive. I love to collect frogs and have some imported ones that fish awesome, but when I am only bringing a dozen frogs with me, I grab my Booyah, Live Target, Snag Proof, and Spro Frogs. I also will always grab the $2.99 scum frog Rat for skipping on spinning gear. I actually do better with scum frogs when it comes to hook up percentage, the new one's are pretty, but not a Scum Frog. If you want to make them heavier simply add some split shots, but over weeds, not sure the fish are aware what is moving, or what it costs.
I gave a young kid a bunch of bass tackle about a year ago, and he is in love with casting the Creme Midget crawler and reelling it in like a spy bait. some days He will outfish me when I am using a Swim senko etc. We all over think fishing and the companies do a great job of catching us, They get me all the time, buying lures is fun, but results are usually based on figuring out patterns and finding fish, the stuff that takes years to learn. Just my opinion.
Just stay away from matzuo hooks. Some days nothing will beat a Zoom Trick worm or a Centipede worm. Those 2 plastics can save days.
Can't agree more with a lot of these statements
G-Prime reply :
Make a list and buy on sale, especially out of season. I loaded up on cordell big O's, super spots, and Bomber square A's a couple years ago at a walmart for less than two bucks each. Another thing I do is buy discounted gift cards online from cardcookie for places that are having sales, bass pro, cabelas cards usually save you around 15% on top of whatever you are buying. Keep an eye on the deals thread and garage sale thread here on BR, and you'll be drowning in tackle in no time.
snake95 reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 10:58 AM, G-Prime said:Another thing I do is buy discounted gift cards online from cardcookie for places that are having sales
Interesting idea.
d-camarena reply :
Zoom, yum and h20 xpress
jtharris3 reply :
My go to for soft plastics is Berkley (Power Worm and Chigger Craws mainly), Zoom, and Yum. I do still splurge and buy the Yamamoto Senkos still.
For hard baits, it's hard to beat Strike King and Rapala.
For frogs, which I use a lot, Booyah wins it by far for me.
Matrix329 reply :
My favorite soft baits are available at your local wally world. For 30yrs I've fished 'Culprit' worms, by far a great value. The colors are eye catching too. 'Yum' and 'Zoom' for critters, lizards, frogs, and creatures. As far as lures go, once again you can't beat the value of wally world. Rapala minnows and jointed are great.
roadwarrior reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 6:50 AM, Yeajray231 said:My PB ... Was taken on a topwater cheaper than 10 dollars. More like 6 bucks... So tell me why I need a megabass popmax when this particular popper has caught me four fish over 20"..
You don't "need" a PopMax, but they are perfect right out of the box. Perhaps more of a collector's
item for some, certainly a work of art.
Munkin reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 6:50 AM, Yeajray231 said:My PB ... Was taken on a topwater cheaper than 10 dollars. More like 6 bucks... So tell me why I need a megabass popmax when this particular popper has caught me four fish over 20".. doesn't sound that impressive really but if you consider the amount of time I get to fish , and the water I have access to...
We don't need 99% of what we have to catch bass, it is a hobby. My time on the water is limited so I would rather pay $15 for a topwater that works correctly than $1 for one I spend half the day tuning. The other question is how many topwaters does the average person lose? I figured it out and I have lost 5 since 1987 so the cost isn't that big of a factor.
Allen
ThePolkFolk reply :
Love me some Gambler soft plastics. Cheap and they work.
Since Roger turned me onto the Ace, I have been replacing all my GYBC senkos as they are used out.
LBASS01 reply :
YUM soft plastics are great and very reasonably priced. Lunkerhunt lures are also a very good budget product.
Yeajray231 reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 10:48 PM, Munkin said:
We don't need 99% of what we have to catch bass, it is a hobby. My time on the water is limited so I would rather pay $15 for a topwater that works correctly than $1 for one I spend half the day tuning. The other question is how many topwaters does the average person lose? I figured it out and I have lost 5 since 1987 so the cost isn't that big of a factor.
Allen
I said in my post I don't recommend buying the 1 dollar baits ! And that the "middle of the road" baits were the way to go...
That being said..If I was going to splurge on a lure (pay more than I should) it would be a topwater. Or swimbait. But I'm trying my hardest to stay out of that game.lol
Spankey reply :
I sense that a lot of you guys can buy some decent stuff on a local scale. In all honesty the Dick's and Wally Worlds in my area are not that great. Years ago I had some great local sources. Dicks seems to be handling a bunch of off the wall branded items. Wally, they had a bunch of clearence stuff at late winter which was great to some degree because I have two grandsons that I'm trying to make fishing a part of their life. I have a mom and pop that's a stones throw away but it just comes up short. It works out great for trout fishing and keeping the kids hooked up with the right stuff but that's about all. TW is my mail order place that has never let me down. And my road trips to Susquehanna Tackle have always been worth it. All in all I'm not hurting or wanting for anything.
crypt reply :
soft plastics-gambler-bitters-zoom. hard baits-bomber-rapala-strike king. also do have some custom made lures,but thay didn't brake the bank. they were well worth what I paid and more.
Bucky205 reply :
There are big differences in store pricing here as well, some stores are 10-15% less for the same baits. Then like mentioned above watch for specials.
primetime reply :
Buy lures YOU have confidence in, if you truly believe you have the right lure, color, size etc. You will catch fish. If buying a $20 Popper or walking lure gives you more confidence than throwing a Spook or Rebel Pop'r, then that is money well spent.
Value is different for everyone, and if you simply read a few threads on lures, you will see the same brands always coming up-Strike King, Rapala, Academy, Zoom, Yum, Berkley, gambler etc.
The most important money you spend is on Jigs with good hooks and the right type and weight, Right size hooks in baits, Sharp trebles, right line, Rod, reel for the application. You generally get what you pay for, and with so much competition in the fishing market, you can spend $50 at TW buying any brand you want, and have enough lures and baits to catch fish. TW doesn't carry any "Junk" like you see at certain places.
If you look back at Bass Tournament results in the 80's, the lures they used to win, you will realize that those same lures are still around, just in 300 colors and slight modifications.
Munkin reply :
For crankbaits anything more than 8 FOW SK outfishes everything I have including LC and Megabass. The best lipless baits in my box were bought for $0.99 out of the bargin bin.
Allen
Bluebasser86 reply :
YUM has become my go to soft bait company, not just for cheaper baits, but in general.
H2O for hard baits.
Booyah for spinnerbaits
Bucky205 reply :
On 5/24/2017 at 12:10 PM, d-camarena said:Zoom, yum and h20 xpress
only thing I spend much on is my spinnerbaits, and swim baits. I can't ever get the cheap spinnerbaits to run right.
GetBent reply :
Zoom and h20. I turned my nose up to h20 for a while. I bought some $3 4-6ft crankbaits because I was tired of losing $8 baits. Well I stocked up on those things. Great value for sure. Only problem I have had are the hooks (VMC) but my other expensive baits have had the same issue and these are small crankbaits with small hooks so I can overlook that (till I lose a biggin lol)
connorwallin reply :
Zoom, Yum and Havoc are often very good bang for your buck. Check around your sportsmen stores, I often find very good deals in store at Dicks Sporting Goods. Last weekend there was a deal on yum, havoc, and zoo, for 5 soft plastic for $10.
DubyaDee reply :
Confidence is cheap. I'd rather have 4 $25 megabass jerkbaits that I'm confident in than have $100 of dollars worth of cheap lures that I don't think will work.
Zoom is good quality and is usually on sale. A bottle of mend it may save a couple bucks in the long run. Dick's had a crazy good sale on Berkley power worms a month ago. Keep an eye out for those types of sales and stock up.
NYWayfarer reply :
Hands down for soft plastics Yum is the winner for cheap quality baits. Best of all they always seem to be on sale at DSG/Field and Stream for $2 a bag if you buy 5 or more.
$10 for 5 bags of Dingers is a hard deal to beat.
Yeajray231 reply :
On 5/30/2017 at 4:29 PM, GetBent said:Zoom and h20. I turned my nose up to h20 for a while. I bought some $3 4-6ft crankbaits because I was tired of losing $8 baits. Well I stocked up on those things. Great value for sure. Only problem I have had are the hooks (VMC) but my other expensive baits have had the same issue and these are small crankbaits with small hooks so I can overlook that (till I lose a biggin lol)
This is interesting.. this isn't the first complaint I've heard about VMC... I've never had an issue with any of their hooks.. from their spinshot to their "sureset" trebles I use for my topwater poppers... Many companies run these hooks.. rapala obviously.. and I've even seen some lucky craft with VMC hooks..
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