thought I would get me a pole and some lures for some bank fishing this summer.

got some sticker shock on the rods and reels , not bad but twice the price of 30 years ago.

not a big deal

then I sought out some lures


what the flying hell ?

how did plastic and paint quadruple in price?

maybe just buy the rod this year , the reel next year and the lures in year 3 !

I sold 180 lures ,long ago.
who knew plastic with hooks would appreciate 400 % ?

The new lures have those special hooks that attract logs and weeds too

There's that, and the fact that there's now 4 million DIFFERENT lures and they're all expensive......and about 3.9 million of those lures don't work worth a crap!!!!! Honestly a dozen of the right ones for freshwater fishing is all you need. My number 1 go to are the fake frogs that swim on top of the water.

No kidding, go price some decent snap swivels.

yeah I was going to stick with top water's initially .

quote:

how did plastic and paint quadruple in price?

and they were probably made in America 30 years ago, but they've still managed to quadruple even though current Chinese labor price is lower than US labor price 30 years ago.

Some fishermen's tackle expenditures would make our gun/ammo budgets seem frugal.

I've caught more fish of various species with Rapala minnow lures than anything else. Get a few of those to start out. Yeah, lures have become expensive, so you need to stick with proven brands.

Jim

My two favorites back in the sixties were the H&H spinner bait for $0.19 each - now $2.19 and a Tiny Torpedo for $.89 each - now $5.25.
I reckon the price of dynamite has also gone sky high.

No need to spend a ton of money.

A stick, some twine, a bent safety pin, and a worm still catch fish.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
I've caught more fish of various species with Rapala minnow lures than anything else. Get a few of those to start out. Yeah, lures have become expensive, so you need to stick with proven brands.

Jim

The jointed, black and silver, floating, shallow diving Rapala Minnow is one of my top 5 go to lures.

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Worms still work rather well too

.

quote:

Originally posted by sleepla8er:
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Worms still work rather well too

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So does cured Steelhead and Salmon eggs. Power bait as well. I wouldn't call those lures in the context that the thread is about however.

Jim

Over the past 55+ years of using lures...the five best lures I have used with the best results are as follows (in no particular order)...

Rooster Tail spinner.

Regular Rapala (in a tie with the old Thin Fin in silver).

Rattle Trap (Heddon Sonic)

Jitter Bug (with a Heddon Dying Flutter tied for top water lures).

The ubigious 8" plastic worm (I'm partial to the plain old Purple or black "Flip Tail" (forget "flavored" or "designer colors")...it just needs to be soft and flexible.

However my late wife (the fishing Queen) always said that she could pretty much catch anything that swims (here in the South) with a Rooster Tail or Flip Tail

And I agree...the price of fishing stuff (imported from China) has gotten stupid

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Over the past 55+ years of using lures...the five best lures I have used with the best results are as follows (in no particular order)...

Rooster Tail spinner.

Regular Rapala (in a tie with the old Thin Fin in silver).

Rattle Trap (Heddon Sonic)

Jitter Bug (with a Heddon Dying Flutter tied for top water lures).

The ubigious 8" plastic worm (I'm partial to the plain old Purple or black "Flip Tail" (forget "flavored" or "designer colors")...it just needs to be soft and flexible.

I totally agree with your top pick. Would add only one. I forgot what it was called but it was a small curved chrome spoon with a florescent red strip down one side. Maybe Hot-Shot??

I found it

https://binged.it/2HaD8Lx

Remember:

It’s easier to fool a fisherman than it is a fish.

Yard sales, estate sales, and Craigslist are great places to get just about all the tackle you'll need at good prices. Lots of people just want to get rid of granddad's old fishing stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by fiasconva:
Yard sales, estate sales, and Craigslist are great places to get just about all the tackle you'll need at good prices. Lots of people just want to get rid of granddad's old fishing stuff.

This is a good idea. I've caught a lot of fish on decades old lures. A 30 year old spinner bait is just as effective as an expensive newer one. As has already been said, the newer latest, greatest lures are designed to catch fishermen as much as fish. The same can be said for hunting gear as well in my opinion.

Jim

If you can't catch a fish on a black-and-yellow Panther Martin and a worm, there's somethin' wrong witcha.

I keep a couple in the get home bag for that reason. You just never know.