A Little Dock Talk: Fooled by the Color Chart

One of the baits that has been productive for me since colder days moved into town has been a Bandit 100 in a color the lure maker describes as "khaki/brown back/scales." I've caught several fish with the only one in that color I possessed until yesterday, when an order for some spares arrived by way of UPS.

This particular color has worked well enough in recent weeks I decided to spring for three of the Footloose models in the same color when I placed my order. I always try to cover different water depths with a color that I find to be successful. However, I'll be the first to admit that, more often than not, this theory proves to be nothing more than that: a theory. It's no wonder I have multiple tackleboxes sitting in my garage filled with lures I no longer ever take fishing with me. The only satisfaction I derive from this admission is knowing that I'm not the Lone Ranger here--a lot of other folks out there are in the same boat with me. And, yes, I've known for a long time that lures are made to hook the fishermen, not the fish.

All that being said, imagine my surprise yesterday evening when I opened my box from Bandit Lures and discovered what you see in this photo. The top lure here is the Bandit 100 in khaki/brown back/scales--the color I've come to like. The bottom lure is a Bandit Footloose, also supposedly in khaki/brown back/scales. At least, that's what is printed on the lure packaging.

My first move was to go online to Bandit Lures and check their color chart to see if they had anything in their lineup that matched the Footloose you see here. They don't. And, yet, when you check the Footloose color chart for khaki/brown back/scales, what you see matches the color of the Bandit 100 above.

I sent an email to Bandit Lures last night, noting my dissatisfaction, and will be anxiously waiting to see if I get any kind of response. If I don't, I'll likely give 'em a call, because I want to hear their explanation for how they could possibly try to pass these two colors off as being the same. This "fish" isn't biting this time.

Since posting this item, I've learned that customer relations isn't one of Bandit Lures' strong points. John Goodman shared details with me of an incident he also had with them. Sometime last year, he emailed them, asking why their hats had been "temporarily out of stock" for about 18 months. Six months passed without a response, so he called them, and the receptionist indicated they probably had deleted his email, thinking it was junk mail or something.

Four weeks ago, he again emailed Bandit about the hats--and, again, he has had no response to this point in time. He urges me to call them, but he's betting they'll likely tell me they thought my email was spam or junk mail. He describes their actions, or in this case, the lack of them, as a "hell of a way to run a business," and I'm afraid I have to agree with him.

I called Bandit Lures on Monday, Jan. 21, and talked to a lady who chalked up the difference in colors to the fact they have a new painter. She assured me that if the packaging said "khaki/brown back/scales," that's what it was, whether it matches the color with the same title in the 100 series or not. As for why my email hasn't yet been answered, I was told the person who takes care of such things recently had a death in the family and hasn't been himself--a possibility that I can't really challenge. However, I will think long and hard before I place another order with Bandit Lures, and I would encourage everyone else to do likewise.