Yes, the speed and the way they back up when they rise.

THIS ^ ^ ^ ^

I remember years ago I saw a video of a bass that followed a Bagley balsa back to the boat several times without taking it.

Then when the bait was suddenly stopped and it backed up, the fish sucked it right in.

That made me a believer in balsa baits.

Plastic can't come close to the buoyancy of Balsa unless someone has filled some with Helium?

As Clark Rheem mentioned, there are some baits that were built with the circuit material several years ago. I liked the bounce off of these baits, but they soon became too birital to throw for long. The more they were fished, the weaker the bill got and I even threw several away, as the lure came loose from the bill. NOT something you want to happen. I do not know if I bought faulty baits or if the water/time/abuse syndrome just made them fail for me. Someone else may have had different luck with them, but I retired the when they started falling apart. Tjey DID have a very unique wobble and wiggle, but woulnd-t last form me HOpe this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Good article. i loved the old Balsa Alphabet series baits. First started buying them way back when I was a youngster. Back then, it was hard to justify spending hard earned allowance money on baits that ran a whopping 3-4 dollars.

I believe it's the old WEC E-1. I haven't tried any yet, but every other bait he makes has been lights out for me.

Wasn't this one was it?

This is one baits I bought. Black Label Ricochet

Good looking bait BC. It is almost levitating already lol.

Some of the best paint jobs ever back in the day. One of those is a plastic Rebel bait.
The Bang O Lure is one I repainted myself.

Wasn't this one was it?

[img]https://blacklabeltackle.com/wp-con...T-STD-CITRUS-SHAD-FOIL-RICSF-570x380.jpg[/
That looks good. What is the name of that one ?

That's a Black Label Ricochet, Citrus Shad foil. It will catch!

Thanks bigfishtx that is awesome looking bait.

I repped Bagley back in the early 90s and knew Jim Bagley. He was a good man.
When Squaw Creek opened you would get tired of catching bass on that little Bagley Bream.
I had sample rings of original baits and probably 100 or so various originals and just quit using them. Don’t know why.
Sold the sample rings for a pretty penny and gave almost all of the complete baits away.
Still use bang o lures quite a bit.

The Bagley's paint jobs aint what they used to be. Still not bad though. A lot of times one big fish will chip the paint off and ruin the buoyancy but worth it every time.
Here's another one I had to repaint. Still not as good as their old ones but hopefully more durable.