anybody got any feedback on these baits from Academy?
I just picked up the model crm in the bluegill pattern to give it a try. The price for these isn't bad at all if they will catch fish.

let me know what you think about them.

I used them a few years ago ... good stuff for the price.

I quit shopping there after finding out Academy is owned by some Obama-loving and Democratic Party-contributing New Yorkers.

There's been quite a few threads about them on the BassBoatCentral boards. Nearly all of the posts made on the H2O baits have been positive. There have been some posts that said that they are made in the same factory as Lucky Craft lures and some that say there were a couple of guys that worked for LC that split off and started making the H2O line of baits.

My wife got me a box set of H2O Express frogs and H2O box set of crankbaits for Christmas. There were 6 frogs in the set for $13 and 5 CBs in the set for $10. The local Academy here had them on clearance. 2 weeks later, the frogs were $20 and the CBs were $15.

I've only used the floating frogs, but they performed just as well as the spro brand. (and much cheaper!) They just don't have as many color options. I looked at their crankbaits not long ago, and it looks like they have quite a large selection. I just don't fish cranks much. Great for the money imo.

I like the crankbaits, they ran straight right out of the box. I bought the bluegill color frog and wore 'em out one weekend and that was all the frog was good for. The nose and belly are ripped up and it won't float. I caught about 20 fish between 3-5.5lb. They are half the price and last half as long as spro.

From what I have read, the paint was one of the drawbacks. I'm wondering if I sprayed them with a clear coat if it would help them last a little longer.
I threw the bait this afternoon and like how it ran. caught one fish on it, so I guess that was good for a small down payment on what I paid for it.

I have several H2O baits, and never had one problem out of them. Of course I haven't caught many fish off them either, but that holds true for all lures in my tacle box.

I am thinking about trying the Laser Lure. I am not a fan of the laser, but the detail and paint job on them look really good. For the price of a Lucky Craft, I guess they should.