I’ve been wanting to do the review between Mystery Tackle Box (MTB) and Lucky Tackle Box (LTB) for a while now. These two monthly subscription boxes send tackle to your door, curated for the species of your choice, and are direct competitors of one another. I chose to review their basic bass boxes, and will review the boxes based upon the following conditions:
1.) Order to door time – out of 5 stars
2.) Quality of items in the box – out of 5 stars
3.) Relation of items to one another – out of 5 stars
4.) Relation of items to the season – out of 5 stars
5.) Overall quality of box – out of 5 stars
For a total of 25 stars, each box will be rated and compared between each category. This review is not a review of the baits within the box, but rather a comparison of each box to persuade you of which to purchase.
1.) Order to door time
Whether a person has a subscription or not, each box is considered an “order”, and these orders are generally entered once your payment for the month goes through. I already had an MTB subscription, and the turnaround time between order and arriving to my house was only 8 days.
With the Lucky Tackle Box, I made my order on September 2nd. Guys, the box didn’t arrive until September 20th. It took 18 days, almost 3 weeks, for me to get the LTB. With this said, it could be because I was a new customer, but this is still absurd.
MTB: 4.5/5 ★★★★1/2
LTB: 1.5/5 ★1/2
*The only reason I gave 1.5 instead of 1 for the LTB is because I was a new customer, which could have made the process less streamlined.
2.) Quality of items in the box
For the following category, I did not use the given values that each box states within the box. Instead, I searched each bait on Tackle Warehouse to see what I could get it for, and if I couldn’t find it on Tackle Warehouse, then I looked elsewhere. Only if I couldn’t find it anywhere online would I use the stated price on the given pamphlet.
The MTB contained the following items, costing an estimated $21.37.
Westin Danny the Duck - $8.99
Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace Grub - $2.65
Big Bite Baits Swimming Jerk Minnow - $1.49
Maxx Lure Squarebill - $5.99
Hard Hat Jigs Rear Loader Swing Jig - $2.25
I first had mixed feelings about seeing the Westin duck, as the whole duck hype is sort of ridiculous in my opinion. I would pay no more for a duck lure than a hollow-bodied frog, because that’s all a duck is. I was happy to see that the hooks are sharp, and the overall quality is very good.
Strike King is basically the industry standard when it comes to soft plastic baits, especially for trailers. I was happy to get a solid Rage Tail product, and I don’t even need to test it to know its quality.
Big Bite Baits continues to impress me with their soft plastics. I can honestly say that I have caught bass on only their products at my local pond, of which gets extremely pressured and must be finessed to the extreme. This paddletail minnow seems like it would destroy in the right conditions.
Honestly, the Maxx Lure squarebill seems a bit…cheap. The Chinese made lure seems like something I could get at Walmart for less than $5.00, and the hooks are dull as could be. Also, whoever designed the packaging for this bait needs to be fired.
I’d not heard of Hard Hat Jigs, and am not honestly sure if they’re an actual company or just an offshoot of Catch Co. I will say that this swing jig is high quality, and the hook is pretty dang sharp.
Overall, I give the quality of products in the MTB 4 out of 5 stars. I would rate all of the items in this box between 4 and 5 stars, except for the sqaurebill, which ultimately lowered my final score to a 4.
The LTB contained the following items, costing an estimated $26.71
Bagley Pro Sunny B - $9.99
BD Jerkbait - $6.99
Z Man Finesse TRD - $3.99
Bass Attacker Stix - $4.75
VMC Weedless Neko Hooks - $0.99
I’m not going to lie, I’m a sucker for Bagley products. I think they’re high quality, have great hooks, and are not terribly expensive; this bait from Bagley was no different. The paint looked great and the hooks were sharp.
The BD Jerkbait was a pleasant surprise – the build seems quality, though I think the paint/clearcoat could be better. It brags about having Kitana hooks, which is something to brag about, as they’re razor sharp. I should mention that this bait is useless to me, as the use of any bait with more than 2 hooks is prohibited by law in Arizona.
Z Man is a tried and true soft plastic bait company, and have some of the best Ned rig plastics on the market. I was happy to see these baits in the box.
The VMC Weedless Neko rig hooks are high quality hooks that claim to be stronger than normal hooks – I can’t confirm or deny this claim.
The Bass Attacker Stix was the odd man out of the group. I’d not heard of this bait, nor the company, nor was there any sort of information on the bag. I will mention that after a short Google search that the owner was arrested for murder in 2016. Odd.
Overall, I give the quality of products in this box a 4 out of 5. A better paint job on the BD Jerkbait would have raised this score to a 4.5, and replacing the Bass Attacker bait with another quality product would have given a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.
MTB:4/5 ★★★★
LTB: 4/5 ★★★★
3.) Relation of Items to One Another
A curated box should provide some necessary equipment to fit baits/lures that have a particular need. For example, I wouldn’t give catfish dip bait hooks without dip bait, and vice versa.
The MTB did a decent of relating their products to one another. The swing jig and the Menace Grub work well with one another (sort of); I would personally use a different bait on a swing jig, but that’s just me. I would have liked to have seen some belly-weighted hooks or something similar for the minnows. I give the MTB 3 out of 5 stars.
The LTB also did a decent job of relating their products. I would have liked to have seen some Ned rig hooks be given to accompany the Z Man Finesse TRD, but they did supply Neko rig hooks for the Bass Attacker Stix, though I’d rather Ned hooks over Neko hooks. I give the LTB a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
MTB:3/5 ★★★
LTB: 3.5/5 ★★★1/2
4.) Relation of Items to the Season
Rolling out of summer and into fall calls for rattletraps and squarebills, but the heat can still call for some more finesse techniques, along with some early morning top water action. Baits within the boxes should have been able to fit into these 3 categories for this seasonal transition.
I have mixed emotions towards MTB within this category. The duck is for sure a summer bait, along with the swing jig/rage tail, and the squarebill is optimal for fall bass fishing. Why would this box focus so heavily on summer fishing tactics, though? Don’t get me wrong, almost any bait can be used nearly year round with varying success, but why not increase your odds? I’m going to give MTB 4 out of 5 stars on this one.
This category is where the LTB really shined. The Bagley squarebill and jerkbait were perfect for current and near fishing conditions (though perhaps a more shallow jerkbait would have been preferred). The Z Man baits, Bass Attacker Stix, and Neko rig hooks are perfect for finesse applications, though I would have preferred a smaller stickbait from Bass Attacker. Overall, I give the LTB 4.5 stars out of 5.
MTB:4/5 ★★★★
LTB: 4.5/5 ★★★★1/2
5.) Overall Quality of the Box
Overall quality is comparing smaller attributes from each box; the details that can make or break a company. This category can range within multiple and varying thoughts.
I’ve been getting MTBs for quite a few months now, and have always been happy with them (though happiness has varied). I do believe that they are a company with good intentions, though I may not necessarily agree with some of their business tactics. I will say that many items from this box were left overs from the previous month, as I’d seen many of the baits on various social media platforms the month before. I was somewhat disappointed with this, because I was hoping for a good surprise. It also makes it seem as if MTB is trying to get rid of excess product, and I do not like this method of doing so. The final disappointment with this box was that I got the same sticker as last month. Now, I know, I know, it’s just a sticker. DON”T JUDGE ME AND MY STICKERS, OK?! It may seem silly, but it’s a portion of the box that adds extra flair and fluff, of which I appreciate. Overall, I give MTB 3 out of 3 stars in this category.
I was excited to get my first LTB, as I’d not received one before. I will say that the 18 day turnaround time left a bitter taste in my mouth, and left me somewhat skeptical. Upon opening the box, I was greeted with a few pamphlets; one was an advertisement for Battlbox, the other was a card explaining what was in the box and how much it cost, and the last was a letter from the founder, explaining a few details. Within the letter, he explained how the Bagley bait was an exclusive for LTB, and wouldn’t be released until Spring of 2018. 2018? Yup, I looked at the Bagley package and it said the same thing. The letter also mentioned about how the Z Man baits weren’t to be released until 2018. This means that I got an old box, probably a left over from last year. To me, this is not good customer care, as I feel as if I was just an afterthought, and that they are just trying to get rid of old product. Also, the packaging was sort of odd, with a taped piece of LTB paper just draped over the baits. Overall, it felt like someone truly tried, but didn’t have the drive to give it 100% effort. I will say, however, that the LTB did provide for an additional $5.34 value over the MTB, which is the only reason why I’m giving a score of 2 stars in this category, and not lower.
MTB: 3/5 ★★★
LTB: 2/5 ★★
After being completely tallied, MTB scored a total of 18.5 out of 25 stars, and LTB scored a total of 15.5 out of 25 stars.
I do believe that LTB has more potential than the box that I received, though I have heard that they do tend to send out cheap, unheard of baits to their customers. If LTB were to work on their shipping, than we’d have a tied up game here, folks. As you can read and see, the differences between these boxes aren’t huge, though I’m going to stick with my monthly MTB. I’m not going to lie, I figured that MTB would blow LTB out of the water, but that wasn’t the case. I will say that I will probably use LTB in the future for gift giving, as I feel as if their boxes have a little more “finesse”. The numbers don’t lie, though; if you’re looking to add quality tackle to your collection, sign up for Mystery Tackle Box.