Custom hard baits!

[McKeever 0]

Has anyone here messed around with custom hard baits? I keep seeing guys online making their own, and honestly, I’m wondering if they’re actually more effective or just another way to spend money. Some of these custom jobs look incredible, but I can’t tell if the fish care about the paint jobs as much as we do. Are they really worth the higher price, or just hype from small shops trying to stand out? I get the appeal of unique designs, but I’m skeptical.

Do custom hard baits actually outfish the store-bought ones, or is it mostly bragging rights?

[neil r 1,951]

It’s a bit of both . I used to buy them when I was into big lures partly for snob value because they were handmade and not many people had them but also because they are usually made from wood and fish well aswell . Mass produced baits are usually plastic and obviously still catch fish but the difference is custom are usually that bit better made and if for example you buy a suspending lure , it will actually suspend with the weight of a trace and not just sink . Some of my favourite lures were mass produced by musky innovations but they were poorly finished and usually needed to be sealed properly round the hangers yet they still caught fish .
You don’t get that with custom baits , they are spot on straight away and I always think a wooden bait , especially a glide bait fishes better than a plastic one .                                   
I have made a couple myself like the one in the photo but I’m nowhere near the standard of the proper makers and instead of painting them I just sealed them and used a jig skin and sealed them again but they caught .                                          

Edited 2 minutes ago by neil r