Rapalas for example.

I can remember when you could buy a small Rapala Lure for pan fish for about $3.95. Now they are running between $6.50 and $9.50. You can find some pretty good deals on Amazon. Every now and then Bass Pro will have a good sale on Rapala Lures. Just like everything else the price seem to go up. I guess malfunctioning and shipping plays a big part in cost!

I feel it's a little bit of greed and even gouging. For example....I've seen mini fat raps go anywhere from $5 - $15.
I have many lures and considered buying more this year but now I'm thinking twice about it. Anything lure for panfish above $5 is too much for me. I see myself becoming more of a bait fisherman in the future. I think every species I've caught at one time or another will eat a plain ol worm anyway. Anymore thoughts on this subject?

I see your point. The cost have really gone up on the Bass and saltwater lures. Small pan fish lures for sunfish are still affordable. I get some great deals at Walmart especially on the Rooster Tails and Betsy Minnows. Amazon always has pretty good deals on lures. You are right about the overall cost on lures going up. You just have to shop around for good deals. Good Topic.




Side Note: I have been using my fly rod a lot more!

Bass lures have gone up a lot as well as top brand line. Supply and demand play factors in cost. As for sunfish lures I see a lot of baits at low cost. You can really find some inexpensive lures during clearance sales at Walmart and Acadamey.

Like everything else the cost on fishing tackle goes up! The best thing about targeting sunfish the cost of tackle does not play a factor! The cost of live Night Crawlers is another story. They have gone up over the past few years but still very affordable. I use worms most of the time I fish for sunfish. To me worms are "The Bait of Champions" as far as sunfish go!



Side Note: As Don stated,just about any fish loves a worm!

The price of the lure needs to cover the cost of advertising, marketing, display space, and packaging. Just like the higher priced coffee mugs and coolers, if there is a market willing to pay higher prices, then there will be higher priced lures. Academy and Walmart sales and clearance priced lures keep my tackle box stocked. Just recently picked up some Yum 2" and 3" curly tail grubs for $1.38/ pack 15 and Cotton Cordell crank baits for $1.97. Walmart's regular price. I love to fish cheap. A 1/16 oz jig head and a 2" curly tail grub cost me less than a quarter ($0.25).

Rapalas seem especially expensive until you look at a Yozuri. I've got stacks of expensive saltwater plugs like Skitterwalks and Corkies that I seldom if ever use. I only hold on to them in case I ever want to fish with Low profile bait casting gear again. No plans to ever put down the money needed to buy any new ones.

I tie jigs and flies and fish them for everything from Sunfish to Redfish. If one is careful about what materials they use, flies are pretty cheap to make. One Turkey feather can make a pretty good Crawfish pattern with the addition of a lead, brass or tungsten weight and a couple of eyes made from bead chain or glass. Deer tails make great flies like clousers and Deceivers and the body and belly hair make great bass poppers and divers. Left over carpet fibers and discarded flip flops and rubber bands can be used to make a variety of stuff like foam spiders and grasshoppers. I live life looking at old stuff people are about to throw away to see if there's anything to use for fly tying.

Fly fishing has gotten a pretty recent reputation for being expensive, but all you really need is a cheap Eagle Claw ($25) or Cabelas rod, a cheap reel and line and and some mono to make leaders. Flies can be bought at less than $1 per copy for sunfish and less than $2 for bass and redfish. Roll your own for quite a bit under that. Fly fishing could be for just about for everyone, but a lot of people within the fly fishing business and community make it more complicated than it needs to be. However, if you fish real deep, it's a harder (and in my opinion less fun than conventional) to pull off with a fly set up.

inflation

because fishermen will pay that price..

I definitely agree with yall about finding good deals on things at Walmart and sometimes Academy. I get cheap beetle spins, roostertails, tube jigs, jig heads, kastmasters etc. I guess I should be more specific when I mean brand name plugs, like Rapala, Rebel, YoZuri, Cotton Cordell, Arbogast... I did get some cheap Strike King plugs from Walmart that work great.
I even got a few cheap plugs from Cabelas....though I know BPS just bought them out. Gander Mtn. has also closed down near me. I do order the Chinese plugs from Ebay, I may have too many now....ah addiction.

That being said what is the most expensive lure you guys have seen , I know those Jackall Gantarel Swimbait are around $40.00 or more

Don't tell Rapala VMC but a balsa Rapala (of various types) is one bait I will ante up for.

I've found good deals for Rapala baits on Ebay. I just bought a lot of 5 Rapala Countdown CD-7's
new-in-box for $26.00 shipped.

I consider them a bargain for what they produce for me.

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Ever have tackle and you just don't know where it went? Well that could be a whole nother topic but that's where all of my Rapalas went....where ever the missing socks go. I had a great set of mini fatraps, the smallest cd/floting/jointed. I was looking to replace them and was just in awe on how much they had gone up. That was a great deal doctorxwing got at about $5ea. I've seen some of the Japanese version/colours for about $22.

I have seen swim baits in the $40.00 to $50.00 range. I have also seen some crank baits in the $20.00 range!


Side Note: That's why I love targeting sunfish! It's very inexpensive!