copies galore

[Senkosam]

Anyone notice how many Basstrix hollow minnow copies are out there?

I got a few 2008 fishing catologs and wonder if there is any protection for the original design. At least if I decide to mold and sell the prototype I came up with a few years ago, I'll be safe because the bait is nothing more than a 3" Fin S Fish fused to a Sassy Shad tail. Talk about shimmy!

Looks like some more copies of the Beaver came out, one that is the spitting image of a 3.5" Beaver called the Tiny Beaver made for BPS.

Maybe Andre is supplying them for BPS. If not, the patent wasn't worth the money since these baits are much less per bag. (Color selection sucks.)

BPS has a new version of the Swimming Senko called the Swimming Stik-O. Wonder if either bait works?

Is nothing sacred?

[The Dutchman]

There is a good article concerning this in the last issue of BasswestUSA magazine. Matt Servant of Mattlures and others talk about this very thing. I think you can debate this until you are blue in the face but if you make a lure that catches fish - lots of them - someone will copy it and market it. Some will be as good as, same worse than, and maybe some better than, the original. I have noticed many "knockoffs" of the Basstrix. They catch fish - lots of them. I am guessing you will see more. I guess you have to go with your conscience. Some people think it is dead wrong to copy a bait while others copy them "exactly". To each his/her own. JMHO Joe

[SwampBaits]

I did see that BPS Beaver bait. And it was an exact copy!!

[Senkosam]

I've seen underwater videos of some of the k/o's and I can't say that I'm impressed. Most have the action of a hard jerkbait than a soft hollow swimbait. The key I guess is producing something that is different than a hard jerk or large Sassy Shad and the stampede to jump on the money train has many swamping the market with confusing options the don't perform.

Poor consumer.

Some will be as good as, same worse than, and maybe some better than, the original.

So true!

[JSC]

A real KO must be "Better Than The Original" !!!!!

JSC

[Tubeman]

Todays retail market both past and present have always evolved. Any consumer should make themselves aware by doing the research on the product they are looking for. 98% of us (handpourers) are making copies of baits already out there...there are a few who are doing their own thing, but not many. Look at every product in this world and someone has improved it in one way or another and or changed it slightly to make it unique in the eyes of the consumer. That's life on earth, not much you can do to change it...best to understand and play the game smart.

[Delw]

Good point Mike.

as far as action goes no one is right or wrong on what action is better than another action.

why people seem to say that bait has a better action then a copy or even a org. is beyond me when there is really no such thing.

Look at a crankbait for example.

some have a slow wiggle some have a fast wiggle is one better action than the other? NOPE it all depends on the circumstance's in which you fish which calls for the action to be right or wrong.

The best way I ever fished a Basstrix bait was on the bottom dead sticking it as a carolina rig. there is NO action per say when its just sitting there. guys who drop shot will understand, sometimes you need to shake the heck out of it and sometimes you need to dead stick it.

whats nice about making your own baits is you can use different hardness of plastics to give it different "actions" in aug sept and oct I tend to catch more fish with a faster bait, in late nov dec jan I catch more fish dead sticking a bait or reeling it very slowly were it barely moves. then even sometimes you want the tail to move as fast as it can but at a very slow pace ( like in dirty water).

now if you think about it does this companies baits work better than that companies baits? over all throughout the year probably not for one particular time maybe so.

Another good example is the swimming senko and the reaction inovations clone to the swimming senko ( sorry the name slipped my mind)

when you burn them in I mean burn them in on 6.1:1 and 7.4:1 reels as fast as you can they are awsum baits, doing that other times of the year your lucky to catch 2 fish on them, however c rigging them in the summer nights produces some really big fish.

Bottom line no one makes clone thats any better or worse than anyone else.

[stratmanv]

Well said Delw! We don't have clear water here in NJ like in say California, so we depend more on vibration and scent. Different strokes...

[Senkosam]

as far as action goes no one is right or wrong on what action is better than another action. why people seem to say that bait has a better action then a copy or even a org. is beyond me when there is really no such thing.

it all depends on the circumstance's in which you fish which calls for the action to be right or wrong.

For those that truly notice what lures of a similar design can do, that may be accurate and I know it is for the majority of experienced handpourers. But for quite a few anlgers that expect the lure to catch fish and not the fisherman, it matters little how special a k/o is ; many anglers just aren't sophisticated enough to care!

What many do care about is a special color and whether a particular lure ctaches fish consistently without much effort. The Senko is a soft stick-for-dumbies type lure. Is is versatile? IMO no. The overall shape is a winner, but the handpourer or big k/o company will change an original that impress anglers that notice the little things and correlate them to seasons, structure types, activity levels, etc. , as Del said. And that's where we come. Customizing baits is as old as the plastic worm and better is as better does in the right hands or from the hand that produced it!

I like Dels 5" stick better than Bobs, but I think Bob's 4" is better. That's just my opinion and as we all know, everyone has one. I get a kick out of pro endorsements of one bait over many unmentioned others. But what you don't see on tv or read in Bassmaster is that many other lures can do as well if not better given the same circumstances, even k/o's.

The most difficult thing for the garage based luremaker is consistency so that what someone has bought in the past will be the same in the future; same color, same hardness, same action, same quality. Even the novice notices inconsistency, whether it be a k/o or standard brand lure.

The k/o's we produce in order to satisfy the customer or ourselves, must be within certain specs and therefore the statement

no one is right or wrong on what action is better than another action

, is not accurate. Some lures are crap and rarely get noticed, much less bit. Inferior lures (especially k/o's) are usually discontinued and end up in the clearance bin. But some lures that end up there are because of angler fickleness, not the lack fish-catching quality or higher versatility.

The great thing about copying defunct baits or those in short supply is that the customer is provided a service that keeps his favorite baits available. Is it wrong? I think it's wrong if the patenter says, 'I don't feel like providing this lure anymore and don't want anyone else to supply it' or 'I'm giving one retailer exclusive rights to sell my patented bait and no other'. Sure Basstix or Reaction Innovations have the right to limit supply, but is it right? Do they have the right to limit innovation?

As far as I'm concerned, once a lure or product is in the public eye, all bets are off. Supply is one thing; innovation to make a lure unique in other ways, is the other. It's like saying a baitcast reel patented and sold years ago should not be made better or cheaper by another company. It will never work that way.

[wccjanel]

Ya hafta wonder what Nick and Cosma Creme would have to say.