lucky craft versus rapala?

[fish4me]

I like both a lot, but find for casting i prefer LC and for trolling Raps in general. Despite the higher cost (some on sale at BPS right now) they are built much better, nicer finishes, hooks, breater attention to detail, but both definitely catch fish. Any thoughts?

[just2manylures]

I bought some of those LC's when they first came out for $25 a pop. What a waste of money in my opinion. one day I was out and used only the lucky and caught the same amount of fish that I did with my rapala's. I think a good fisherman catches the fish, not the bait. If they were on sale I would consider buying them again. Because the finishes are really nice, and they do look more natural but they would have to be down to the same cost as a rapala. Other than that I wouldn't give 'em another penny of my hard earned money.

[BITEME]

RAPALA #1 goto of all time in my opinion

 

I would Cry if they went out of the market

[mattyk]

i have picked up a few this year and am going to give them a try.

[OhioFisherman]

I am to freaking cheap to by Lucky Craft, caught a lot of fish on Rapala`s though. 7 inch perch or silver was a favorite of mine up north.

[David Chong]

Rapalas are great lures, always have caught fish and will always catch fish! I started fishing Lucky Crafts about 10 years ago and have won a lot of money over the years using them. Are they worth the money? Each individual has to answer that for himself. What I like about them is the fit & finish, the consistency, the action and oblviously the fact that they catch big fish! It would be similar to comparing a Japanese vehicle to a domestic vehicle. They both get you from point A to point B, but you're going to pay more for the Japanese vehicle. There are always people who are Chevy, Ford, Toyota or Honda people. It's something each person should figure out for themselves. The Lucky Crafts are on sale at BPS during the Spring Classic so it's a good time to get one and try it for yourself.

Cheers,

Dave

[lew]

Maybe I'm wrong in my thinking, but I've always thought that some folks put too much importance on fancy paint jobs, as I think it's the action of the bait, rather than pretty little painted fins and gills that attract the fish.

 

The Rapala has been around forever with it's plain old paint job, and little side to side wobble, yet there are few lures in my opinion that will ever stand the test of time like it has, or ever catch as many fish. I've got old blue & white, and black & white Raps in my box that are probably older than half our board members, yet they still put pickeral in the boat every single spring.

 

Same as my musky baits, some of the best producers I have are old beat up Suicks that I re-paint with spray bombs every once in awhile when they need a bit more color added to replace what's been chewed off....very plain and simple, yet the fish luv them.

 

Fancy paint jobs like those found on the Lucky Craft look nice in the tackle box and I'm sure they work well, but I'll still take a Rap for 1/3 the price and catch as many fish........well maybe, anyways

[OhioFisherman]

LOL Lew, Storm wee warts, wee steelie warts, fit and finish was average, one in 6 or so was magic. Can`t afford to do that with the pricing on some of the new lures, buy 6? LOL

[Terry]

rapala work great most of the time

but I have seen where Lucky Craft is catching fish when the others do not..and that is when they shine

[Steve]

the thing I've personally noticed that puts luckycraft above rapala, well above rapala, is the quality of their split rings and treble hooks.

 

you'll find, if you walk down the pier at bronte, or any north shore pier in teh fall, when the coho salmon are hoppin', the folks that are chucking body baits, Rapala's have to get their hooks and split rings changed.....

 

Lucky Craft Dont.

 

If your fishing for bass or walleye, its not really an issue.

[David Chong]

Ohiofisherman,

You're absolutely right about those baits, I used to use a lot of Poe's crankbaits and maybe 1 in 10 was magic. Another thing about Lucky Crafts is that virtually everyone is the same out of the package so your odds have just gone up! If you look at the engineering of some of the Japanese baits there are some great features such as sliding weight system to give extra distance to your cast and also to help the bait start diving quicker. Lucky Craft jerkbaits have a balancer built-in which causes the bait to roll/rock side to side when stopped sometimes this can be the triggering mechanisms when the bite is tough! When the fish are on you could probably throw a popsicle stick with hooks on it and catch fish, oh that would be Suick!LOL

Good luck!

Dave

Edited March 13, 2007 by David Chong

[charlesn]

The high dollar baits: Jackall, Lucky Craft, MegaBass, Team Daiwa are not just good, they are necessary tools. And if my wife asks, they're about $3 each...

 

The difference between a husky jerk and a lucky craft or megabass is that not all Husky Jerks suspend out of the box. Sometimes tinkering is needed, sometimes, no amount of tinkering will save a Husky Jerk. I've yet to buy a lemon LC or Megabass bait.

 

My rule of thumb is that the slower you are moving the bait, the more realistic it has to look. That is why the Megabass and Lucky's seem to shine on those super tough days. Leaving it sitting there for 60 seconds at a time, you need it to suspend horizontally, not nose or tail down, and you want it to look like it is alive, but frozen in place out of fear.

 

When you are "ripping" that jerk bait through the water trying to get a reaction bite, the finish is secondary to the erratic motion of the bait and it seems (just from my experience) that the rogues & x-raps seem to be better in those instances.

 

But when it comes to jerkbaits, I'd trade all my Luckys and Megabass for a day in the boat with Chonger. He is a master of jerkbait fishing for bass.

 

Charles

[OhioFisherman]

David, I started using the Storms back in the 70`s my brother turned me on to them as his go to walleye bait on Lake Erie, just not into walleye fishing on Erie but the lure had promise as a bass lure. It did, L/M and S/M like them, a lot of focus here on the finesse bite, lots of pressure. The small size can make a big difference, I also used small shad raps, Storms out produce though.

 

I agree with the bite, some days they don`t seem to care what, as long as you are fishing the right location.

[SHAD]

I have yet to own or use a Luckycraft so can't comment there.

 

I have used Rapala for a long time and they have produced countless number of fish. I agree with whomever mentioned that the wabble and not the finish is what catches the fish but I also think that in some of today's zebra muscle infested ultra clear water; the more realistic the bait + good action on the bait will put more fish in the boat.

 

This is an example as to why we upgrade the split rings and hooks on rapala's and alot of other crankbaits:

 

[Steve]

More pictures of quality Rapala Components....And neither this lure, or the one pictured above, were caused by Salmon.....they were Trout! (salmon, i can understand lure manufacturers not making their hardware suitable for, but trout.....)

 

[Steve]

It should be mentioned on this thread that Rapala always stands by their lure quality, replacing bunk lures without question.

 

Their 2004-2005 Rapala Taildancer Production lures had some major paint flaking/chipping problems, but because they are a decent company, they got it fixed by 2006. Good Job Rapala!