After having many hard baits, rattle traps, square bills i wonder if they are really needed. Soft plastic baits have evolved, i see many post here where people use soft plastic swim baits more and more they even make a popper plastic bait. Plastics technology has evolved so i wonder if hard baits really matter now a days and if a plastic tackle arsenal will get better results.

Yes they are still relevant because soft plastics can't rattle like hard plastics do, and the soft plastics can't deflect off of cover or float away from snags like hard plastic crankbaits can.

You can still go catch fish consistently without any type of hard plastic, but they're still a highly productive option in certain situations and they don't get torn up as quickly as soft plastics.

Yes. I don't know what I would do without deep diving crankbaits during the winter months

O

The specific way harder materials move/wobble and reflect light can't be replicated by soft plastics. Don't know what I'd do without my favorite spoons.

Vibration,water movement.
Give me a Crank that is made to dive 20+ ft.I'll show you what it can do in 8ft
or less !

Are you kidding?
Crankbaits, stickbaits, spinnerbaits, spoons, topwaters?

Don't leave home without 'em.

Do whuuut?

I can c-rig in 1'-40'. No need for hard baits.

There is a reason pros don't use plastics in 40 deg. water, no I couldn't go with out them and use them year round won more tournaments on hard baits then plastics

good points all around...

so what about a plastic bait that will rattle and make noise? will that be a game changer on the market?

one bad thing about plastic is that they may not last for ever right?

You can buy glass, plastic, metal and brass rattles to insert into your worm. But to answer your question, NEVER. Give me a school of big largemouths on deep, offshore structure. You throw whatever plastic you'd like. I'll throw a deep diving crankbait, fire them up and catch the entire school before you have your first bite. A big crankbait will catch more and larger bass than just about anything offshore. Ask Keith Combs.

I'll take all of the hardbaits that you don't want anymore. You're right...you don't need them...

How many tournaments has KVD won on a hard bait? Vs. soft plastic. If anything I seriously might take hard baits over and soft bait

This might be the silliest question I've seen here