Realistic painted baits

Is there any evidence that hardbaits with highly detailed realistic colors, like Bluegill, baby bass, crayfish, etc. that also show fins, eyes and gills, are anymore effective on catching bass than just a plain silver, gold, yellow, white or just about any color? We see some baits that look so realistic and alive, But when cast out and retrieved back, the fish can't possibly see all the detail that is put on that bait. I could understand a topwater bait painted with detail, but for the diving crank baits and vibrating baits, I don't see it. One of my best lures at Puddingstone was an old sun bleached almost white 1/2 oz. Rattletrap that I found up on shore.

I don't think the detailed colors matter to the fish that much, I think the movement and shape of the bait is the key. But the detailed realistic colored hard baits sure are effective on the fisherman's eye that is buying them $$$.

most of these lures came from having to fish on super pressured crystal clear waters with super smart largemouth. sure they will work till all the fish have been caught and released by them. but the main reason you see these style of baits is because they have banned using all the bait fish as bait.. so next best thing is a detailed fake bait and you really wont get those for cheap. that will actually work like the real thing. you think those are bad just start looking at all the big swimbaits and the prices of those. the best would be to carve your own. learn to paint your own. but also if you learn to carve your own you can just make molds then make plastic swimbaits from your main carving and its a lot cheaper and less time consuming then having to replace a hand made one over and over. 4-500 for a bait no thanks. but there are guys out there who have 3-5k of baits in a small pouch....they make these rolling pouches to carry all those high priced baits and still keep them kinda in a small package for storage and mobility. idk to me it not worth it more for guys who can blow tons of cash an not give 2 ***** about it.

It wasn't too long ago, when the big bait craze started, baits like Huddlestons and Triple Trouts were selling for triple-digits. (Some still do.) Big bait makers came out of the woodworks. It wasn't long before you started seeing Chinese knock-offs flooding the market. Color nuances, various depths/ROF, hinged/jointed vs paddletail - it was hard to keep up after a while.

It actually got comical, because I remember more than one angler saying they didn't dare cast their +$100 swimbaits for fear of losing them to structure. Fun times.

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Originally Posted by Lady Quagga

It actually got comical, because I remember more than one angle saying they didn't dare cast their +$100 swimbaits for fear of losing them to structure. Fun times.

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Why you gotta call me out like that.

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Originally Posted by DarkShadow

Why you gotta call me out like that.

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Hahahaha, I didn't mean you! :Dancing Banana:

Well I can understand the big swimbaits painted to look like planted Rainbow Trout, but some of the highly detailed crankbaits are ridicules. They look awesome to us buyers at Bass Pro Shops and in catalogs, but unless they are retrieved very slowly, the bass won't notice the little details like the individual silver scales or pectoral fins. I will say this. I am guilty of purchasing some of these realistic lures, but I put them on little plastic stands in my den's lighted display case. I do think they look pretty cool on display though.