Mercury Posted April 13, 2003 Report Share Posted April 13, 2003 Hey guys, just got back from Gander Mountain, they also just got a large supply of d'em big ol baits in. Looking at them, A: nothing special, 1,2,and 3 color laminate pours. B, Hella expensive. the 14" (2 1/2 lb) was $17.00!!! Hook was molded into the bait as well as a wire guide for the addition of 2 more hooks. (not included) The hook looked to be about a 6/0 long shanked jig hook, Theese baits are NOT out of our ability range. They are flat top baits( can you say hand poured?) and do not have the detailings go beyond gill plates, eye socket, and wide flat paddle tail. Shoot its just a oversized swimming minnow/shad jerk bait. I was dumbstruck to find theese a verry simple bait, low detail and as per normal, harder plastic was used to mold the baits. The rainbow trout version has nothing more than large multi color flake glitter in the top 1/3 and a off white opaque belly. Just a FYI from what I seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 13, 2003 Report Share Posted April 13, 2003 Hey Mercury, I too am amazed at the prices on those things. There is one simple solution as to why they sell 'em at ridiculous rates.......because they can :!: :!: I have a friend who sells a pre-rigged 10 inch swimbait for $22.99; and he sells the heck out of 'em :!: I have a few of his sample swimmies and I can tell you it might cost him 4 or 5 bucks a piece to make these things; hooks included. In fact, it might be less because I know he uses a super cheap plastic. That's a pretty darn good profit :!: The hard part is getting a nice customer base. I have just recently ventured into swimbaits (smaller sizes; not pre-rigs), and it's been one of my biggest challenges as far as sales go. It's very difficult to get a swimbait fisherman to try something new Once you do get a few regular customer, stores, etc., prices are not that big of deal to them if your baits are good quality and they catch fish Take a look at Yamamoto....... Are their Senkos a dynamite fish-catching product : You Betcha :!: Do they really need to charge 6 bucks for a 10-pack : No Way :!: They sell 'em for that simply because they can. I think they could charge 10 bucks per pack and still sell 'em. As it is, I can't begin to imagine what their profit margin is I just know my profit margin will never be close to theirs Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drop Shot Store Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 Hi guys, One thing I want to add, dont forget about the cost of advertising. Even for small companies like us it can add up to thousands per year. And for a company like Yamamoto, geez, it's gotta be in the tens of thousands. My wife is an accountant and several months ago forced me to start using Quickbooks and tracking everything I do. Boy was that an eye opener. The cheapest thing about doing this is the baits themselves. Packaging, shipping supplies, utilities, web site expenses, freebies, all that stuff really add up. It takes alot of worms to pay for that stuff as you guys well know. So the actual profit margin a company sees might be far lower than you might expect. I fussed around with swim baits about six months ago. I determined that for me it wasn't worth it. If you use quality plastic and hardware your unit cost is pretty high. You really need dedicated equipment to use just for those baits and your mold costs are gonna be high because of the number you need to allow you to keep pouring while the first ones cool. To make a long story short, the profit margin wasn't any greater than what I do now so I dropped the project. Although I do make them for myself. Take care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Posted April 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 Hey Bruce, What would you use a huge swim bait for? Im aware of the grande bass down in CASITAS, and other lakes like it, But I havent seen anyone come close to needing (at least freshwater fishing) a bait that size anyway. Saltwater, yeah sure, freshwater,,,, Well, I can see more people use it to tell fish tales than as bait. Now did you actualy sell many of them Bruce? Or did they just sit on the shelf and collect dust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 I personally throw a lot of big swim baits. The baits I use range from 5-12". I have caught bass on all sizes. I don't just throw them on big bodied water like Casitas, but also on smaller waters. Sometimes on ponds as little as 6 or 8 acres. Big baits attract Big Bass! I'm partial to the MS Slammer, Osprey and Generic Trout. Only other swim bait I've given any time to is the big hammer. But that particular one I throw a 5" on a lead head. I think you'll find that most people prefer the baits that incorporate a treble hook or two on the bottom instead of the single hook up top. There is also some time spent making the rigging harness. They have to be balanced. They also allow the bait to slide up the line without being destroyed from a violent attack. Don't forget the tail thickness. If it's too thick or stiff, you don't get the proper amount of vibration while "swimming" the bait. If you happen to buy one that's too stiff, you can just place the bait in boiling water for a few minutes to get better action out of the tail. They are expensive, but I will gladly pay $30 or $40 for a quality swimbait. There are a lot of imitations and cheap knock-offs on the market, and the word gets around fast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 I have used the Osprey swimbait in their trout pattern, and it works like a charm. They work great on our river around dusk when the bigger bass start roaming. Used to throw nothing but buzzbaits at that time, but now I've gone more to the bigger swimbaits. The funny thing is you'll catch a fair share of smaller bass on 'em too. It's not uncommon to catch a 12 inch bass on a 9 inch swimbait. Makes me wonder what the heck those fish are thinkin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 The funny thing is you'll catch a fair share of smaller bass on 'em too. It's not uncommon to catch a 12 inch bass on a 9 inch swimbait. Makes me wonder what the heck those fish are thinkin' I'll have to fully agree with you there!! Regardless of the size, they all hit the bait like a freight train!!! Until you see it, you would think every fish is at least a 5 pounder. I put a stinger hook on my 9" Osprey's and have had the main hook in the mouth and the stinger about 1 inch in front of the tail. But it's still fun ... ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drop Shot Store Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 Hi Merc, I dont make them to sell but hell yeah I throw 'em, and like Chris and Woodsac said, its amazing how many short fish will hit a huge trout. My buddy and I had a little contest one evening to see who could catch the smallest largemouth on a 12" trout. LMAO. He won with a 8.5 incher. Damn little guy was seriously hungry. Seriously, most of the lakes in this area are stocked in the winter with 10-12 inch trout. The bass know when this is happening and cruise on over to find stragglers. That is why we have such huge fish in these lakes. They feed on trout and have tremendous growth rates. The biggest fish I have personally seen taken out of Lake Perris is 18 and change. On a 12" swimbait. Largest during a tournament was 14 and change. Friggin guys caught it right next to my partner and I. LOL. Needless to say they won with just two fish. So, yes I use them, no I dont use them during tournaments because I'm not good enough with them to get that reliable of a bite. I am constantly amazed at the size of a largemouths mouth and what they will eat. Hmmm, I wonder if they would bite a meatloaf and would that be considered live bait? Cya Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drop Shot Store Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 I've got a question for you Mercury. Why is it that you are representing your products on your web site with pictures of my baits, taken off of my web site. You have not asked my permission to do so. Could you please explain yourself and your actions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Posted April 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 actualy I didnt set up the site, I had a buddy of mine that does web hosting (he set up the main page) look at a site for fishing baits. The only one that came to mind at the time was yourse. The pics are coming off, This is my first attempt at it and had him set a main page. I guess he used your pics as a place holder. They will be removed. I was trying to get pages to link together and am having a impossible time at doing it. Thats why i was asking you about your website before. Sorry that happened, Im trying to get that taken off. Please accept my appologies Bruce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Hey Bruce, Any ideas on a "meatloaf" color?? I like that one Let's see.........take a brown back and add some black flake.......and.....hmmmmmmm.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drop Shot Store Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 I'm glad you took care of that Mercury. Apology accepted. And Chris, I was talking about real meatloaf. I think I should make up a few using the trout molds. Not sure about putting ketchup on it though before each cast. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Yeah I know Bruce.....just givin' you a hard time My mind is always on colors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Posted April 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Bruce, NP, I knew the baits looked familiar, but didnt know where they came from. Like I said Im in a crash course in web stuff, That school of try, fail, try, fail, cuss a bit, try again, Pull your hair, try, fail. Now Im getting a handle on things. But I still have no idea of the stuff you were talking about earlier. I guess in time. But anyway, its starting to come together. ANd i got some links to work. Any tips would be great. BTW it is dreamweaver that I am using the 60. version. We might want to take this to a diffrent posting string...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big lou Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 Hi Bruce, I am pulling my hair out trying to cut tails on my tube baits. I have tried the one from Lure Craft, Did little to help. I had some aluminium machined and clamped down on the tubes and ran a razor through the teeth, looked like crap. Your tubes look absolutely spectulair. The tails look perfect. Please, I really need your help. I sort of bragged over the winter to the guys, that the tubes that I was making would look just like store bought. Any Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again in advance. Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
