I realized after reading the post that i wrote before this one that it really wasnt what i was tryin to say... what i really want to know is some of the better lure companies and some of the bad ones???

The bait companies today are all good, I cant think of one that would rate as bad. Some anglers blame a bait for it's inability to catch fish mainly due to the companies marketing effort showing it to be a cant-miss.

Any bait will catch bass if presented properly, and used under ideal conditions. The fact is: many bass are opportunistic and many more will bite from reaction.

Take for example a soft plastic worm: You can buy most any color combination, size, diameter, and scent etc....
I would not even try to venture a guess as to how many companies produce them, consider the thousands of folks also hand-pouring and it would make your head spin. Any of the baits would catch bass so not one would be considered bad.

Often anglers are looking for the magic bait, and I cant assure you it does not exist now and never will. Are some baits more productive? You bet they are but that is an entirely different subject than bad bait companies.

What does separate the "best in class" is customer service, that's where you can see a difference.

Bassin Butch

Well siad, Butch, you're right on. There probably are some companies that are a little slow or misplace an order, but they usually correct the problem ASAP. Johnnie

Well I don't know about the bad ones but from my bass fishing experience at Castacic CA I would have to say that Yamamoto, Roboworm, and Zoom would be at the top of my list as far as plastics goes.

Good fishing to ya, later.......... geobass

Not to disagree with bassin butch so much as to point out a couple of things.

Soft plastics; Any of the name brands market a good bait, and any will catch fish under the right conditions. Add the hundreds of little guys who hand pour or have made by a custom moulder and you're pretty safe. I like Zoom, and A&M (local co.)

Hard baits; Again, a name brand is a fairly safe bet, and there are a number of smaller companies producing specialty high-end baits. ( I use an awful lot of Lil Bandit products. The 100 Series, in pearl-splatter black back, is a consistant producer. In fact, has won a number of tournements for me.)

One caveat to hard baits, those $1.99 baits in the big tub at the local discount store? A waste of money most of the time, poorly made with the cheapest hardware that can be found. Even more poorly tuned, and it's nearly impossible to tune them. Yeah they can catch fish, but they don't a lot of time.

Hooks, weights, line and so on. Buy the good stuff, when you break it down to price per unit. Isn't that much more expensive. In some cases it's good for the environment. Lead VS alloy F/I.

I use the best hooks I can find, (I like Owner, but that's me). Gamakatsu markets good hooks, so do any number of other well-known brands.


Is saving a buck worth a chance of loosing the biggest bass you've ever hooked?

Not to me.

Great stuff Butch and RNE! I cant even think of anything to add to that!