I'm curious what some of you guys out there think regarding plugs and pricing/quality....

If you had the choice of buying a plug, either online or in a store.....and one plug was say $15.00 and had a great finish on it with top quality hardware/hooks....and one was $12.00 and had a decent finish with cheaper hardware but decent hooks but not as good as the first one.....WHICH would you buy? Is quality more important to you or just a decent priced lure that will catch you some fish?

You honestly don't want to be making museam peices.... People feel bad losing those. :D

But then again you don't want your kids crayon job (but it might catch fish)

lol crayons that's a great idea :D

I ask this cuz we were having a discussion on this the other day. I'm really curious what people look for in a plug. This is based on the discussion we had and some of the stuff I've seen lately on several sites...

I'll go to wallmart and pick up a creek chub popper before i spend $20 on a wood popper at your local well marked up baitshop honestly...

Or I'll just turn em myself, but I don't have time for that. :D

Not that i have anything against our glorious baitshops like M&D's and the old man at Maco's who are very helpful and some great people. Or anything about your guys who make em (wish i had the cash to spend on some toona bombs)

But fishing is cost prohibitive sometimes. ;)

i dont care about finish, i like to see em get messed. gimme good harware and im happy. use cheapo stuff on plugs for blues.

sooner or later
a blue will have its way with your plug....

there needs to be a support group for this...
i've seen some great plugs getting their finish totally mangled

well I have very few plugs, atoms popper and a couple of others that I don't no names of?? They were given to me or found or what ever. But price is a big thing with me as I don't have tons of money to spend.
I bait fish were all I need is a hook swivle and a sinker, the more smiple it is the better, I think.
But I would like to start learning to shore fish, and it seems the way to get the fish is to use plugs! So I want to buy just what I need, and till I no what the heck I am doing, and what I need I will by as cheap as I can.
My 2 cents

To be frank, I can't afford to spend a 20 to 30 mackerels on a plug. I like the bait and tackle stores who sell qualtiy plugs and lures. But I am not a rich man. An expensive plug makes harder for me to acheive the goal I want to do. Like when a guy recommends me a plug that has been getting a bite on a general area for the month or the time of the day or night. And plus, my parents WILL bloody MURDER me for not managing my money.:(

I bought a few cheap-o wood plugs and figured theyd do just as well as the more expensive ones. BUT, after a few decent sized fish the split rings or hooks would fail on the cheap-o's.
Now I buy the good plugs and don't have to worry about them...

new hooks and split rings are super cheap though....

the smaller bombers with the crap hooks on em i always replace with quality hooks
and its maybe a dollar or two ontop of the cost of the bomber itself!

I'm about as poor as they come but I've got no problem paying a little extra for a better plug.

I hate how yozuris paint comes off after a week.

It would suck to lose a large to a snapped or straightened out el cheapo hook. I figure I'm going to try and stack the odds in my favor as much as possible. If I can rely on what I'm using 100%, then I just gotta worry 'bout the luck part.

luck>skill

I got a bag full of stuff that has yet to catch me any fish - however the latest wildeyes rattler has come closest. A few years back an ugly seabass of a fish followed a simple kastmasterwith white trailer.

Aside from those, I have done my best saltwater so far with a simple hook tied on and a chunk of mack or clam.

Fresh I caught my first smallmouth on a yozuri and my second on a royalcoachman fly.


As for plugs - I cant see spending more than 10 bucks unless someone can show me how to catch fish with it and that it works for me.

I would then maybe be willing to drop a couple bucks of BBQ or smoked striper off in repayment....

Yup, what TT said. I want the best hardware too. I make enough mistakes on my own, I don't want my plugs to make more for me :uhoh:

it's all in the action of the plug,,,not the paint job....hardware is the key, alot of beat up plugs catch fish,,,,, there were a few old timers here that made plugs an just painted then with what they had kicking around,,,no top coat,,,,,,, today's crowd want's purty plugs so they can show them off in their bag,, kinda like driven an suv. make a plug that works well an they'll buy it reguardless of the cost.......but what do I know, I fish jigs: an eels :smash:

Assuming all plugs have the same action , I wouild take the one with the best finish and hardware. First , I would hate to lose the fish of a lifetime because a cheap hook or swivel broke . Second , those epoxy finishs protect the integrity of the wood and keep it from absorbing water thereby changing the intended action. Spend the extra few bucks for quality.
Unless, your throwing them at bluefish.Then cheap out .
I got tired of tossing out a Gibbs plug after one or two nights of hard use.Their finish sucks and their hardware isn't much better.Now I either use Beachmaster, Habs or make my own . I would rather use Beachmaster than have to make my own though.

I just want to buy a lure that will catch me some fish.

It must be the new car syndrome, when I buy an expensive custom / handmade plug....... I will dent it...... or for the plug, I will loose it within 10 minutes. I got a couple of nice needles this year and while trying one out I broke the line casting the plug out.

With the cheapos's I have no problem... I don't loose any of those.:rolleyes:

Nils:cool:

I like a good quality plug with a durable finish. Bought a few #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& plugs and fish them often. They last. Why buy Wal Mart when you can help an independent guy out? You still pay in the long run....

capesams hit it on the head perfectly...

rustoleum works great on plugs yanno ;)

one of my favorite plugs was a pink and white broomstick popper that cost me 5 bux
ended up replacing the hooks on it...

i'd like to say one of the evil toothed ones stole it from me
but a cracked ceramic guide + braid did it in

action and presentation will get you much further than a perfect paintjob

Ya got it CS, pretty plugs catch fish--erman. Seen poppers made from cut off broom handles with a screw eye in the front, one in the back with a single hook, catch fish, paint... just what was left on from when it was a broom. I like the pretty ones, and buy 'em, like 'em even better if they catch fish.
Good quality hooks more important than high grade finish, IMHO

I guess some plugs catch more fishermen than they catch fish. :p

Interesting what the poll shows....people want a high grade plug that catches fish :)

Now I tell ya why I asked this and why I was curious...

I've been looking seriously at plugs and pricing, along with what goes into them for hardware, finish, time, etc.
I have a new finish that is pretty strong with one coat but SUPER strong with 2 but it's very expensive....so I was contemplating going down to one coat of finish and keeping the price the same....I am very resistant to raising prices if I can help it....
But the masses have spoken...or at least 14 of them anyways :D and the masses say they want a high quality plug that catches fish...so that's what it will be.

Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead :D

I really appreciate everyone's input on this too!
I'm bookmarking this thread and everyone who has responded up to this post will be handsomely rewarded :D

A new finish :confused: :D

Bernzy

Make more toona bombs

:D

Have you considered doing 2 qualities?
Or even unfinished stuff
Like wired but unpainted etc.

WooHoo
Ho Ho HO!

I want the best, reguardless (almost) of cost. I would be willing to spend $30+ for a top quality plug...maybe more. Its not just the finish either, it has got to swim right and cast sweet.

Good question……
In any market there are consumers that make their purchases based upon price alone. That is why Wal-Mart is so successful.
There are other consumers within that same market that make their purchases on branding alone. There has, and always will be, a demand for boutique products – but the introduction of these products into the (surfcasting) fishing market is a recent phenomenon.
Some people feel as though they are not worth it – that is fine. In a free market economy there is room for the man who is willing to work harder to turn out a higher quality/priced item, and we are free to choose whether or not we buy it.
But the majority of consumers look for a compromise between quality and price. This is why companies like Pradco (Bombers, Creek Chub, Rebel, etc) and ACME (Kastmasters) are so successful – they marry good quality and competitive price and appeal to the majority of the marketplace.
Fishing is a fairly cheap hobby and there are some real cheapos who are attracted to it. Some folks expect that once they have made their initial purchases they should be able to fish for little more than gas money. Usually, cheap anglers place little value on their time – which is really the most expensive commodity. But a good fisherman can incorporate high quality tackle with relatively little in the way of additional per-trip expenditures and greatly improve their overall experience by doing so.

Truth be told, you can spend thousands on rods, reels, line, plugs, hooks, waders, blah blah blah.

You ain't at the right spot at the right time.

You ain't catchin crap.

:D

Thousands is not a lot.
Most of the really fun stuff in the world costs tens of thousands - at least to do it frequently.
Surfcasting is still within the range of afforability for people who punch timecards. Not much is.
Just about every hobby short of reading, gardening, or watching sports on tv is more expensive than surfcasting....
Really...what can you do that is as engaging and rewarding as fishing for the same price...

Ain't that the truth :D

I proved it right a few days this year :D

Originally posted by likwid
Truth be told, you can spend thousands on rods, reels, line, plugs, hooks, waders, blah blah blah.

You ain't at the right spot at the right time.

You ain't catchin crap.

:D

i launched that slammer i got from you directly into a rock today at full speed, got backlash?, i was seriously suprized, not a scratch or a dent on the thing. wowza.

new finish :D

:happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

I buy the good stuff, you get what you pay for. I use wal-mart stuff (creek chub etc.) for rats and small schoolies.

what can you do that is as engaging and rewarding as fishing for the same price...

You can fish from a boat :D lolz just kidding guys

I'm a sucker for a good mackeral finish,especially if it looks like it might hold up for a while. I almost always go the extra .75 when I buy gibbs plugs if mackeral is available.

In my opinion the plug is only as good as the fisherman using it. If you do not present that lure to the fish right then you most likely will not catch fish on it no matter how pretty it is. I look for quality materials in a plug and a great action. But you got to be into fosh for it to produce. If the fish get finicky you better work the lure well or the rewards will not come. I would rather pay an extra $5-10 dollars for a plug if it will hold up better that a cheepo that only lasts a few times out and you have to use 2-3 of them to last as long as the more expensive one. Bluefish excluded of course. But when the blues are around I strip any lure down to single hooks and try to use plastic instead of wood as they will last longer.

Life is too short to fish with crappy equipment . . . :cool:

Originally posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
Interesting what the poll shows....people want a high grade plug that catches fish :)

Now I tell ya why I asked this and why I was curious...

I've been looking seriously at plugs and pricing, along with what goes into them for hardware, finish, time, etc.
I have a new finish that is pretty strong with one coat but SUPER strong with 2 but it's very expensive....so I was contemplating going down to one coat of finish and keeping the price the same....I am very resistant to raising prices if I can help it....
But the masses have spoken...or at least 14 of them anyways :D and the masses say they want a high quality plug that catches fish...so that's what it will be.

Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead :D

I really appreciate everyone's input on this too!
I'm bookmarking this thread and everyone who has responded up to this post will be handsomely rewarded :D

Where's my free plugs? I want a danny and one of those new needles :laughs: :

He he good one. :D :happy:

yeah where is my plug.
I think You should use good hardware on a plug.
2coats are better than one and work fast and keep the lure at a good price.
it takes time and You dont get $$$ from it.
that poll is actually a tuff call.

Where's my drillbit :p

Interesting what people think bout this stuff Dave, It's kinda what I thought from the beginning, make a good plug the best you possibly can and fergit bout the money aspect. When I look at the time that goes into making this stuff and how long it takes to sell it etc it doesn't always seem worthwhile. But when ya hear someone slayed a 25lber or whatever on one of ya woods THEN it makes me day :D

Speakin o which, I hearing RUMORS of a high 40's fish on one of my needles, and supposedly a pic, WHO???? send a PIC!

Likwid, Christian, macojoe, notaro, smitties, cal, throwingtimber, miket, capesams, stripermatic, krispy, nilsc, lennyr, karl f, weewee.....

Youze guys beat the buzzer, email me at:

stripedbass@#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&.com

All of you will get one of my new stubby needles when they are ready!

Wow that's alot of plugs :eek:

I'm done for this week :D

WooHoo!!!!! Plug On!!!

I have lures from two bucks to twenty. As long as they catch fish and you work the lure differant ways to see what works. If you have to change some hooks after a while on a cheap lure who cares. As long as it catchs fish. Fancy finish, to me it does not matter. Remember, " Put a string of pearls on a PIG, It's still a PIG.":tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm: :tm:

your drill bit is in my shop:smash:
its being held hostage send plugs

I'm gonna send you an email from my pager. It's an email box.

Thanks Salty! U da man! :cool:

Originally posted by likwid
I'll go to wallmart and pick up a creek chub popper before i spend $20 on a wood popper at your local well marked up baitshop honestly...

Or I'll just turn em myself, but I don't have time for that. :D

Not that i have anything against our glorious baitshops like M&D's and the old man at Maco's who are very helpful and some great people. Or anything about your guys who make em (wish i had the cash to spend on some toona bombs)

But fishing is cost prohibitive sometimes. ;)

I'll go to wal-nuts and get a Creek Chub KNUCKLEHEAD (I retired my Chub striper strike) or a Rapala Skitter Pop before I spend over 20 bux on somethin else.

The only lure I ever spent 20 dollars on is a Mann's Stretched Sea Snake in Pearl/Black. i just got it, and probably wont get to use it till next season, but its just about 20" long lol, and comes with 2 tales :) I bet this F'r will net some NICE results off the boat.

I think there may be a market for both versions the way I read it. Make some with one coat cheaper hardware and some with two and better. Maybe too much trouble but it's a thought.

One thing I will say I really really miss Brad's Hawg Hunters for the canal. Not the prettiest plugs as most will tell you but they worked and were priced right. Last batch I bought of canal special pencils were three for 25 bucks I believe and hooks were extra. They had good action, caught fish and if you had a backlash and lost one you weren't out 20 bucks.

Spent a few on some Habs and Tattoo efforts. Absolutely beautiful pieces. Through some luck (I live on a friggin' sandbar for god sakes! ) and decent knots I still have em' all.
They have been performing perfectly and lately a certain needlefish has been doing A LOT of work. Holding up like a champ.

I think it is the size, weight and most importantly the hardware that I look for in a lure. Tough, no compromise hardware. I want the strongest and sharpess. A lure I can change hooks on, touch up paint when it gets a little worn.

These are all good things.

It helps that some local builders give a sh$%t even more than I. For the money it is excellent value.

Thanks all you artists :)

Beach, define LOTS :D

That needlefish has been swimming "Lots" in dangerous waters....:D

Salty, I most certainly will take a look ay what your are producing and give some a try. I am checking out your website over a cup of Joe right now.

:)

I thought you were talkin bout one of mine, I sent some over to Nantucket a few weeks ago that's all.