Tots vs. Kabooms vs. Producers

[tubejig]

I have a ton of the old style tots with the metal bills (hate the plastic) that I have been using for many seasons and I would like to get some of the newer colors that are being offered by Kaboom and Producers. I dont see any physical difference between the three of them except the colors and the price, is there something that I am missing here? From what I am seeing, a person can buy dam near two producers for the price of a kaboom, not that I am concered about the money its just getting more bang for your buck. Do the Kabooms and Producers run the same as the tots at the same speeds, line out, etc?? Please enlighten me if you can.

tubejig

[shametamer]

hey ken! I have a few of the 'knockoffs'. i've never been over thrilled with them,but they seem to 'track' true once adjusted. Price , i think is irrelevant....i have enough of those 12 to 21 dollar lures that are best used as posts to aid young tomato plants!...lol

[ESOX]

I have been using both Kabooms and Producers for plugging steelhead, they seem to be equal in all respects but price.

[Steven Arend]

I have them all, original Hot-N-Tot, New Hot-N-Tot, Producers and Kabooms. I have run them side-by-side and the original Tots will out produce them all by far, with Kabooms running second, then the new style Tots with the producers running dead last. Why!!!! I don’t know. I did notice that the Hot-N-Tot and the Kabooms paint jobs are a lot nicer then the Producers.

Steve

[Burksee]

Great informational thread! Thanks for your input Steve. I've looked at those lures and wondered how price effected performance. Producers seem to have a decent lure for the budget minded fisherman but I wondered just how many more fish would be caught using an original "tot" or the in-between priced kaboom. I have not yet fished/used to many of either but when I start I'll keep this thread in mind! Thanks again! :)

[tubejig]

Thanks for all of feedback on this subject. I did a search over at walleye central and found very little positive feed back on the producers. I guess you get what you pay for with these things.

[slowpoke]

I think the Kabooms are a good replacement for the original Tots, just a little high in price but they are USA made with good hooks. KABOOMS are OK in my book, so are all DAVES STORM lures that I have used so far. Just my thoughts.

[captain jay]

Interesting.......I switched over to almost all Producers 2 years ago, and I have not had a problem with one of them. I read where everyone says they have to change the hooks or they are no good, and every lure has to be tuned right out of the box....I have never changed a hook or tuned one of them and I have never had a problem. I guess I just bought a good group of them.

Captain Jay

[ifish4eyes]

I think another difference is producers have rattles?

[fatboy]

The Producers 'DOUBLE DOWNER" lure works great for me.They have out fished my KABOOM lures.This is trolling erie.

[Hilljack]

Producers work great for me on Erie. The paint doesn't last as long as the old Tots though. They do have a rattle.

[RickyP]

I too have found the Producers produce as well or better than the others on Erie. I would recommend them for the price. In fact, does anyone have a good website to order them from? I'd like to pick up some more of them. Thanks.

[HuRon]

There was a thread in the coldwater section that they (Producers) went out of business. Probably some still floating around, though.

[tubejig]

Ricky, here ya go.

http://franksgreatoutdoors.com/manufacturer.asp?categoryid=1&classid=1140

[RickyP]

Thanks Tubejig, but I tried getting some through Franks about a month ago and they had a very limited selection and they told me they weren't going to carry them anymore. I didn't realize they went out of business. Too bad.

Maybe I'll check at Wallmart. Seems I've seen them there too.

[Wobble]

To me the Producer has a different sounding rattle then the Rattle Tots and Kabooms have. I think that may be the big difference in if they catch fish or not.

The Producer sounds like it has smalled bbs in it so there is more of a sand sound then a rattle. The Rattle tots and Kaboom have a larger chamber and larger bbs, so the rattle seems to be a lot louder.

Just my 2 cents. Anyone else notice the same thing?

Another point, I know that everyone here hates the plastic lip hot n tot, but I have to admit, my best day on lake erie came with that bait. It was chartruese and chrome, PLASTIC lip hot n tot with a rattle. Maybe just a fluke, but it is the truth. Caught a 9 pounder that day with that lure. :)

[SabikiRig]

Just Curious Guys,

But I thought they brought back the original Tot's recently? Or was that just old stock....

[kbkrause]

But I thought they brought back the original Tot's recently? Or was that just old stock....


As far as I know, it's new manufaturing. Many of the stores that I've seen the old ones at have the packaging marked as "original". This applies to thundersticks and hot'n tots.


Storm Original Series
Back by popular demand - original Storm colors, components, patterns and packaging. Classic designs for the ThunderStick®, Wiggle Wart® and Hot 'N Tot® use the original lure molds for tried-and-true action.