Overcomplicating things

[slonezp]

17 minutes ago, Little Fish.... said:

Great thread. Thanks. Many times I wonder if they're not biting or if I'm in the wrong place and or with the wrong bait. There's my problem. Have to eliminate the chance of not having the right tool for the job. The more I go the more I lean toward it's about the spot, though. 

The right tool for the job is knowledge.

 

[Paul Roberts]

On 3/9/2016 at 7:31 PM, Little Fish.... said:

Great thread. Thanks. Many times I wonder if they're not biting or if I'm in the wrong place and or with the wrong bait. There's my problem. Have to eliminate the chance of not having the right tool for the job. The more I go the more I lean toward it's about the spot, though. 

It's more than the spot, or the lure, or weather... As I've come to understand it, it's about the behavior of the bass and that is very contextual. The spot, the other critters at that spot, the conditions, the immediate circumstances, recent trends, the previous year, heck, the populations history, all play in. When we catch them we have ready answers. When we don't we.. conjure up reasons, often why our answers didn't hold up. Yes, there certainly is rhyme and reason to it. But it just isn't always/often simple. Any one who spends time in the great (and I mean BIG) outdoors realizes that there are more things that can mess up our best laid plans than a novice would ever guess.

This is not to disagree with slonezp's excellent OP. Yes, we do run the risk of overthinking stuff, and wasting effort on what's NOT most important in the moment. If anything its often bc we simply can't be on the water all the time to keep track of all (or many) of those contingencies. And, a lot of it we simply don't have access too. We end up at home in our man-caves reading, dreaming up silly tangents, and shopping to fill the void. I do it too. I have more tackle than I can actually get around to using. It's even embarrassing -in the wrong company lol. But, bottom line: All that time spent overthinking can actually help us conjure up some pretty neat things that may allow us to tap into something useful. The cool thing about fishing is that we all can and do come up with stuff. It’s NOT all known; Not by a long shot. You stumble onto something out there (if you happen to be awake), then you tweak it, and tweak it some more and … you’ve got… insight, an understanding, or… a Senko! Keep on keeping on you wacko’s.

 

On 3/9/2016 at 8:01 PM, slonezp said:

The right tool for the job is knowledge.

 

Ayup! It's the greatest tool we possess. And overthinking / overcomplicating is part of the price we pay for that knowledge. Divining what's most important, esp in the moment, is the true task. It takes time in "the library" and on the water. There are no (known -although the Senko came close) shortcuts below that. And no one will ever get it right every time. It's just too big, too contextual, with too many contingencies.

[juicebass]

On February 28, 2016 at 0:43 PM, Fishin Ethan said:

Not having a lot of money. In some ways I want to be that "guy" with all that gear. Fish are fish and they don't care how much you spend or the "2 inch" difference on the rod. It's not the gear it's the fisher.

Exactly. The pros are consistently preaching "this is very important"

Theres a different rod, rod strength, rod tip, reel size, reel speed, lure, lure size, lure type, lure colour, weight size, different line strength, different line type. It's all bull. They are just trying to sell, once people understand that, you can simplify but avoiding buying a million lures and rod set ups.

Unlike the pros, people actually have to buy their gear, and it's impossible or gonna cost $100,000 to have the arson all they have.

Yes in a perfect world everyone would have a rod and lure for every single technique, but for most, having a few rods and tackle that'lol do the trick is good enough!

[S. Sass]

37 minutes ago, juicebass said:

Exactly. The pros are consistently preaching "this is very important"

Theres a different rod, rod strength, rod tip, reel size, reel speed, lure, lure size, lure type, lure colour, weight size, different line strength, different line type. It's all bull. They are just trying to sell, once people understand that, you can simplify but avoiding buying a million lures and rod set ups.

Unlike the pros, people actually have to buy their gear, and it's impossible or gonna cost $100,000 to have the arson all they have.

Yes in a perfect world everyone would have a rod and lure for every single technique, but for most, having a few rods and tackle that'lol do the trick is good enough!

Wow someone gets it. It's unbelievable how many buy into the hype. It's great if you're wealthy but the redicioulus prices on some of the lures is funny but the fact people actually believe the sales pitch is absurd. 

[Choporoz]

I'm that guy....but I'm working on it...:)

 

Thanks for this thread.   Here's what brought me back to it for some grounding:  Someone started a thread asking about Sunline.  So, naturally, I open up T.W. and take a look, since I've not used this line.  Not content to just carry a braid, a mono and FC.  Nope.  No less than 19 DIFFERENT Sunline fishing lines... at T.W. alone.  In as many as TWENTY different #/spool size combos (Shooter.)  There are over one HUNDRED different spools to choose from...just in Sunline....just in FC, mono and braid.  My head is spinning

[0119]

18 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I'm that guy....but I'm working on it...:)

 

No less than 19 DIFFERENT Sunline fishing lines

There are over one HUNDRED different spools to choose from...just in Sunline....

My head is spinning

I've been trying to kick this addiction.....  I've whittled down to 4 casters and 2 spinners. I now have a full closet organizer and a small cabinet of tackle and eliminated all the overflow that was lying around in piles.  Down to just one type of line in 4 different test sizes.  But then I walk into the store and see the end cap featuring "New" Berkeley hardbaits and...... relapse!   My fishin' buddy has success with the new Yo-zuri  square bill and.....relapse   Why do I need 2 of everything in each color?

[HookdUP]

I may have already figured things out by the time I was a man. With the help of My dad and just enveloping myself with information in the sport I loved. I was raised to pay attention.. I think playing sports has had such an effect on everything I do either focus or technique based . As a result I learned very young in fishing simple worked ... From watching my grandmother catch crappies and bluegill with a bobber and worm while I caught nothing throwing lures I'd be trying ... But in figuring things out , when you get lucky and get it right it give you such a sense of confidence it allows you to reach further for the next thing. I learned bass liked bluegill very young in Florida . I think people become or remain that guy in search of confidence but don't realize it not what you do many times .. But how you go about doing it that makes or breaks a lot of endeavors 

[soflabasser]

On 3/9/2016 at 10:01 PM, slonezp said:

The right tool for the job is knowledge.

 

I agree with you 100%.

[Junk Fisherman]

I am definitely not that guy.  I always fish out from my strengths and add either different baits or techniques slowly.  I have a good variety of different confident baits and colors I can match to just about any situation and I don't vary too far from them.  There are a few different techniques that I want to play with this season but I will experiment with them in practice, fun fishing.   And it is definitely experience and a successful history on the water that gives me confidence in what I am using.  

 

And as I think about this more, generally it is the newbie fishermen that buys every new bait that hits the market.  The newbies don't have a lot of success to draw on and lack the confidence to stick with a few baits.  They need  to get everything since they don't really know what works.  On the other hand, more experienced fishermen know what niche new baits fit and already have baits for those conditions.  Sure, we all experiment with a few new baits and colors here and there but we are not buying baits nonstop or loading up on every new bait since Pro X used it to win a tournament.     Good topic.  

[camovan]

I have so much gear that I added flotation foam to my kayak and outriggers.  I started trailering the kayak so it wouldn't take an hour loading it every trip.  Last year I decided to take a fly rod and 3 flies to a stretch of the river that I always thought looked fishy but I never hooked anything on my battleship filled with baitcasting gear.  In 3 hours I hooked 30 smallies.  I did that over and over again all last year and pulled thousands of fish out with a single rod, a 4" fly box and some wading boots.  I sharpened my hooks instead of replacing them.  I carried my lunch on my back and made 10x more trips out because all I really needed was already tucked under the backseat of my truck.  I "think" I have been cured, time will tell.  I think reading threads like this instead of "has anyone tried the new xxx..." ones will help though.

[Nitrofreak]

I have the fortunate ability to be financially strapped, enough so that I couldn't be that guy even if I wanted to, kinda glad that it turned out that way because I could see myself as a sucker for all things fishing...

["hamma"]

many many years ago i was "that guy" i thought that i "needed" it all . i was looking into joining a bass club and figured i was going to need it all to compete against seasoned anglers. then i found a club and in a few months i realized how wrong i was. I had 2 of those huge marlboro duffle bags each filled with 9 or 10 plano 3700's (my tackle shop if you will.)  The amount of tackle i owned at that time was litterally more than most tackle shops had. i figured i was all set and didnt "need" anymore lures. Then the garage i rented was broken into and they stole all my tools and the two duffles as they were right next to my rollaway tool box.

as i replaced my "tackle shop" i did so in a manner that i bought only what was going to need.,.. its been a while now and i consolidated my "neccesary". lures down to a medium duffle bag with a half dozen 3700's, which fits in one of the boats compartments and a good sized over under box that i keep out on the deck with my "usuals" it has my terminal tackle and spinnerbaits in the bottom and the usual hardbaits and a few plastics in the top. this works well for me and although i lost thousands of dollars, worth of lures they dont make anymore, (and yes it hurts) due to the theft. my new system is one thats easy to use and uncluttered with stuff i dont use.

 So, in summary it was theft and the club i joined that broke my"shopping habit"  and reinstituted it into a streamlined version

Now,... there is a huge diffence as to what you "need" if you are a tourney angler, or not . I think back to when i started fishing bass exclusively I had one of those huge black plano's that had everything in it, my buddy and i would fish out of a coleman crawdad. and it worked out just fine..when i started looking into tourney fishing i had to adopt to the 2 marlboro duffles as that old black plano just wasnt enough.

[papajoe222]

On 2/27/2016 at 0:38 PM, Raul said:

I´m guilty of having tons of baits in every size, shape, form, color, shade but I can´t help it, not only I hear that voice in my head but I love to own stuff ! 

Yet I continue to fish and catch with pretty much the same baits I´ve been using for more than 20 years, long time ago I learned that lesson  ....... but it don´t hurt to carry a lil bit more, better have and not need than need and not have.

Sounds to me like you're campaigning for the bait monkey.  Either that, or you're a sucker for a good sales pitch. Not that I've ever been accused of either one.

[Heron]

The size of the fish is important to me.  Bass don't even get interesting until they reach 4 or 5lbs. Any smaller than that, then theyre just another panfish.  But just like panfish, it doesn't require a huge investment in gear to catch them.  On the flip side of that coin, the artificial  bait that has probably claimed the most trophy-sized bass, is the simple plastic worm.  Once again, doesn't require a huge investment to catch fish of that size either.

But that's just me.

[Afishionado]

I won't lie I didn't read 5 pages of comments haha so hopefully this hasn't been said yet 

 

Weighing yourself down with too many choices and options is a big mistake in my opinion.. Pick a few lures that cover a range of characteristics and depths and become proficient with them.. The biggest key is building confidence in the choices of lure you throw and you will subconciously fish it better, guaranteed.. For the normal type of fishing I do (redfish) I use a 4" curly tail shad and only bring 4 colors.. White, Natural silver, Brown/gold glitter and chartruese.. This gives me a loud color for stained water, a natural color for clean water, and a darker color for dark water, and a white which seems to work in just about every water condition.. and being new to bass fishing, I only bring a couple certain types of baits out each time so I am not constantly switching.. Just working with one lure for a long period of time with different techniques to see what brings the bite and why..  Having 20+ different styles and colors colors of something is kind of an example of the fisherman being caught by the lure companies.. In reality you only need a small handful of tackle and a few situational colors to be successful.. 

[jamey1e]

Man this thread is great.  I will admit that I been caught up in all the hype.  I had all different colors and setups, most of which I had never fished with or caught a single fish using.  Then I came to realize that I usually only caught fish on a hand full of lures most of which are just the basics in only a handful of colors so I cut out all the rest.  Now when I head out I know exactly what I'm going to be fishing with and focus on those baits and to be honest It's made things a lot more enjoyable.