Those are my 3 pics above. Looks to me like SK forgot to let the paint dry before boxing it up for quick shipping. I'm unimpressed to say the least...

The SK are fine I have thrown them for year if u hit rocks and knock chips in them like u should be doing they are not going to look the best but every crankbait is going to get the hell beat out of it if you are putting it in the righ places. I have a assortment of shallow crankbaits some color are more crisp in detail but i dont think the bass can eyeball the baits to hairline detail more of a flash or bounce off something makes the strike. Color to me is a up to what type of bait are in the area. Shad, Perch, and Crawfish pretty simple.
Also with any company that makes this many of anything expect some problems I have sebiles crack after a few uses and some bombers that I can't break nor scratch just the way it is.

I got my order in. The 2.5s in were made in China and did not have the red gill plate or the black dot on the side. The 1.5s were made in Costa Rica and had the red gill plate and the black dot on the side. Do I care? Not really. Given my long history in buying Strike King merchandise, I am supprized that the same color code would be different depending on where they were made. Is this the sign of things to come from Strike King or is one style being fazed out?

Bandits are made in Mexico and China now. All those brands will still have foreign made components unless they are using Eagle Claw hooks. hard to buy American crankbaits.

Maybe just maybe all of these new out of the box KVDs that are scratched and have paint fractures and dont run right is because SK performs such a good product test on every CB on 14lb test in a 6 inch rock pit or a test tank with rebar and cinder blocks to test the deflection action to see if they will intice a reaction strike. Ever think about Yea maybe SK is just that good in there product testing.

HUM!!! The 2011 Bass Pro catalog shows Made in USA under the Bandit baits. False advertisement?
That don't suprize me none, almost everything is being made in china and i'm sick of it. A Chinaman can't make nothing but alot of noise.

The way I look at it is companies like Strike King employ a LOT of Americans. Probably way more than the smaller companies at that. Even when I buy their products I am still supporting Americans and jobs right here in our country. An American working for Strike King is no less important than a guy that works for a made in the USA company in my book. He spends his salary here in this country and specifically the area he lives in and he is supporting local jobs as well.

Poor KVD, y'all are gonna kill his 1.5/2.5 sales with this blasphemous propaganda...

:-) NOT!!!......and no, the baits the top pros use are not the baits we are buying

Isnt't thats why some baits say pro series and cost a little more?

lol...just different paint schemes and a little better hardware.