Agreed a plug is just a plug. Can you walk the same distance at night with a comfortable pair of used sneakers, or the most expensive pair of wading boots? (just on a sandy beach, we're not talking boulder fields here)
The thing that catches the fish is the technique. Waaaaaaaay more important than the brand or the maker. As long as you are fishing the level of the water column where most of the fish are at you will catch. You will catch more fish with bucktail, rubber, or metal presented properly than a 2oo dollar plug that is not. My .02