New lures

[Dannicus]

Got in some new lures from AliExpress I'm excited to try out. 3 tiny topwaters, a 2 inch mini glide bait, and a small bluegill crankbait.

I've actually owned several of the Japanese counterparts to a few of these, and on the surface at least, these seem indistinguishable. I am actually impressed with the quality.

The tariff fiasco has definitely effected pricing, and the shipping was extended over my previous orders, but still, the prices are considerably less than JDM pricing. I'll let you know how well they work after I've had a chance to throw them

[Early release]

That glide bait looks great. I have a small glide bait that just dominates, but it's $40, so I don't fish it enough, because I am worried to cast it.

[Dannicus]

That glide bait looks great. I have a small glide bait that just dominates, but it's $40, so I don't fish it enough, because I am worried to cast it.

This one was $4.00 and it seems really good. Of course I won't know for sure until I get it in the water tomorrow.

[StinkyPinky23]

It won’t be long before you only own one half of that little glide bait. Ask my son. Most of the time, the differences between the quality baits and knock offs will in weight transfer systems/weighting, materials/construction, and the hardware used. They might copy the mold and put a nice paint job/finish on it but it’s not the same bait

[StinkyPinky23]

I remember when 6th sense baits were blatant jdm knock-offs with bada$$ custom paint jobs, and were only available on EBay

[Dannicus]

It won’t be long before you only own one half of that little glide bait. Ask my son. Most of the time, the differences between the quality baits and knock offs will in weight transfer systems/weighting, materials/construction, and the hardware used. They might copy the mold and put a nice paint job/finish on it but it’s not the same bait

Maybe, but my little Tsurinoya topwater bait has seen 2 seasons, dozens of fish and even a 5 pounder. Still has the original hooks too, so I suspect it's kinda a crap shoot. I will say though that of all the cheap Chinese baits I've tried, about half were junk, but Tsurinoya has consistently been the best of them all.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm in no way attempting to replace my beloved JDM baits, but it's fun (and cheap) searching for little jewels in the chaff.

[StinkyPinky23]

I totally agree, there are plenty of quality baits out there that aren’t crazy expensive. Nothing wrong with cheaper if they work