New Gibbs lures

[capesams]

Originally Posted by JHABS

capesams, If you are going to Plug Night will bring the plastic you were looking for before...................

I won't be,,but Mac will pick-up the items for me.....txs

[Joe]

Habs has a following so big that he can't keep up. He'll never be able to keep up given the size of the operation. There is a lot of money left on the table from vendors who can't get Habs, or not enough Habs.

So somebody was bound to try and capture that overflow of demand - any vacum in the marketplace gets filled eventually. But you can't just style the body a little diiferently and put on VMC's and say it's as good as Habs.

As so many people here have said - the new Gibbs owners did not need the money. They bought the company so it would not go under. It's a noble gesture, but tackle shops and fishing companies run by dilettantes who don't need the money are usually substandard enterprises. Sooner or later the luster of continuing a legacy will wear off and they'll go back the golf course. Personally, I'd rather the company was run by people who needed the money.

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by Joe

Why can't Habs just put himself on the duplicator and make some more of himself?

I'll call up the Goverments secret cloning lab and get the ball rolling
A new genetically superior Habs , able to spin out needle fish by the thousands! MUAHAHAHAAHAAAA!

[Flaptail]

John this is stupid, all of it. I know you know where I am coming from in my defense of Gibbs. No Joe, the Gibbs Hab's-a-Like needles aren't as good they don't fish like a Habs but they do work.

As a customer I am frustrated by not being able to go to the local tackle shop and pick up one of John's when I need them. Last three weeks I would have killed for a purple black Habs needle and an Olive HAB'S Needle. I went to M&D's ask Mike, Powderhorn ask Andy, CMS ask Eric and Falmouth Bait and Tackle. All of these shops had Hab's plugs of some kind. NitenGales, some pencils and a few small needles in the colors I don't need ( which I would have bought if the were in the larger sizes and repainted).( I even prodded Don S. at Red Top why he doesn't stock them)

It totally frustrating. I have taken in the last 3 weeks more mid twenty pound to low 30 pound bass than I have had all year. They want needles and they want purple black or eel colored. Who makes the best needle, Habs. I got to get some, nope don't have any of those. I don't want pencils or nightengales or whatever I want needles and so do a lot of others.

I am sorry John. I have always respected you and I am and will still continue to be a fan of your stuff, which I will still gladly mention in anything I write that has anything to do with a needlefish being employed to take bass. Just need your best product and there ain't any.

(I still think that Hab's and Gibbs merger with John running the whole show and D&D as the backing would bring back Gibbs overall quality and give Hab's Plugs the means to satisfy demand and still put out the Mur-eels, Atom 40's and other classics. That would be the ultimate in a plug company.)

This is ended, peace out.

[NIB]

Nice one Steeve.
Is it 15 degrees out there today???

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by JHABS

capesams, If you are going to Plug Night will bring the plastic you were looking for before...................

John, can you bring me a Cinto signed goo-goo please, I have my 35 bucks

[Slipknot]

I like Dennis too, he's a real good guy.

I like Bud too, my favorite beer

[Slipknot]

Flap, I understand your frustration about not being able to get what you need and want. I have not had a bass over 20 pounds in more than 6 weeks, I can easily barter some of those needles you mentioned for just one phone call invite you remember right? weather permiting of course.

[Slipknot]

Wow, this thread took a long time to read

[NIB]

Ya,an now u made it longer.How was the seal fishin.

[Slipknot]

almost conked one off the noggin with a howdy when he popped up in front of me.
one swirled my plug too.
lots of mung and weed where we went

how's the schoolie fishing

[NIB]

Yesterday was a eating fest.I been sitting at the puter tying up smilin bills all day so i don't have to do it in that fall.We have fish.I'm gonna give it a go later.i'm gonna go for my Daily bikeride to the store to get smokes.
Then watch the Crap Sox get pounded by the evil empire again.

[SeaWolf]

watching gibbs quality go steadily downhill over the last decade was a sad thing to see. IF i am to buy a current giibs lure on the wall, it is like buying a lure from one of the older custom wooden lures that used to be made - pick one up, look at it, inspect it for being true, centered, etc., and it's sad to say how many i would put one back while trying to find 2 or 3 to buy. when i do buy that new gibbs lure, the first thing i do is open the package, cut the wire and throw away the wire, hooks, and barrels. then, replace it with quality and hope the wood makes it a season. i see i am not alone in doing that and most have had worse luck w/ the lure not even making it thru a tide. again, sad.

now, i would still gladly fish a gibbs IF they changed several things. first, they need to go down one of 2 roads: 1.) keep the quality where it is now and reduce the price by at least 20-30%. or, 2.) leave the price where it is now and use better barrels, vmc hooks, seal all the plugs, dont cut corners when making darters, bottles, painting (crude at that these days), sanding, etc., (and please, thru wire that plug already!). as for the pricing comment, i have seen there prices steadily grow to try and keep up with other lure builders whose quality are always on top. gibbs has changed nothing, but increased their prices. sure, i can see a moderate price increase due to price incrase for oil, materials, etc., but not to the degree they are at now from where they were 10 years ago.

when gibbs decided to make the "pro series" needle, that was just a slap in the face. instead, why not make the "pro series" be one of their current plug designs, but w/ all the improvements already mentioned by me and others? gibbs took a 2oz habs needle and cloned it as best they could, which is still far from the quality of a real habs.

the current owners of gibbs are running off the history of the company to sell their plugs and not caring too much about their future. if they keep up business as they currently are, gibbs will only sell themselves out of the market.

capesams - i would have liked to have seen someone w/ your abilities take gibbs when the opportunity arose. i've seen your 40s and other lures. i'm sure you'd make their current danny lure something worth throwing again.

[mikecc]

The comparison between Gibbs and Habs will go on and on.
Gibbs finish on the Pro Pencils does not compair to Habs. On every gibbs lure made there is Tareout. I 'm Not getting on them but it is a fact. You can go to my wall ang get any Gibbs plug and see that. Their belly holes are now not even filled in smooth (sunken).
It's getting to the point that we as a shop have to decide if the flaws and complaints are worth carring their product.The only thing that keeps Gibbs selling is their available.

[Pt.JudeJoe]

......by the way .....at the Habratory , there are 2000 or so needles of sizes from 1 1/4 oz. - 3 oz. drilled and sealed , painting starts next week .

[piemma]

BTW, After reading this thread I put a call into a friend of mine who is good friends with Dan Smalley, the owner of Gibbs Lures. I let him know about this thread so Dan could respond to the criticism or at least address the problem. If he doesn't know something is wrong, and many times the owner doesn't know an inferior product is going out the door, he can't fix it.

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by piemma

BTW, After reading this thread I put a call into a friend of mine who is good friends with Dan Smalley, the owner of Gibbs Lures. I let him know about this thread so Dan could respond to the criticism or at least address the problem. If he doesn't know something is wrong, and many times the owner doesn't know an inferior product is going out the door, he can't fix it.

They know, they watch this site - specially when their stuff comes into play... Hmmm - now if I could find that Nastygram from 5 years ago (that's a joke by the way )

I'm not a Plugologist so I can offer no scientific or nuts and bolts breakdown of their products. The stuff seems better than that of a few years ago but is it up to par with some of the other local hitters? Not sure. Though I have before recieved plugs from smaller builders that for example have the wire not through the swivel. Very rare though and I have experienced this more (in the past) on the Gibbs than some of the small builders. Seeing that I have more of the small builders plugs than Gibbs - that says a little something. I have not purchased much of the way of Gibbs products in recent years.

I think it is a QC thing for the most part and these are (I imagine) smart guys so hopefully the turn can still be made for the better...

[capesams]

what do u do?...hope to sell to the 10,000 weekender's that[kinda] go fishing or worry about the 1,000 hardcore's...$$$ talk's so hardcore's walk.....what a waste of a good co. and wood.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by capesams

what do u do?...hope to sell to the 10,000 weekender's that[kinda] go fishing or worry about the 1,000 hardcore's...$$$ talk's so hardcore's walk.....what a waste of a good co. and wood.

Exactly. I've been telling everyone that has an in with those guys that they should sell them without hooks, consideing that 80% of those crappy Mustads will break off on the first fish anyway. But the 1000 hardcores will change the hooks anyway, whereas the 10,000 weekenders won't buy a plug without hooks.