Is there any tackle/gear that was better ~20 years ago?

[Neil McCauley]

The composite rods, fluorocarbon line, etc we have now is great but are there any tackle products that are actually worse now? Things "they don't make like they used to"...

[roadwarrior]

Nothing I can think of right now. However, all of the reels I have kept that are a decade old perform better today than the day I took them out of the box!

 

[Hog Basser]

I think you just need to be careful about products once manufactured in one place that are now produced in China or another developing economy for cheaper.  This goes especially for reels, where quality is paramount.  One that comes to mind is Abu Garcia, you can still get the Swedish made reels, but you need to be real careful you don't end up with one made in China when you purchase them.  

[avidone1]

the technology in fishing is like any other technology.  it just keeps getting better and better.  the problem comes from corporate decisions to cut costs.  Moving production off shore, china and the like does not automatically mean inferior quality but it certainly can.  so like Hog Basser says one must beware.

Where I think technology has worked against improving quality is in lure manufacturing.   The old time baits were made from wood.  since you can't melt wood and pour it into molds the manufacturing process for wood is much more expensive.  hence the demise of the production wood lure.  Yes, I know companies still make them but they used to be the primary material for crankbaits, topwaters, and jerkbaits, now they are specialty items like vinyl records.

Ask anyone who used the original bagleys balsa wood crankbaits and they will tell you that the action was different and not as good when they switched to plastic.  sam is true for may other baits.   I had a wood zara spook for years that was all chewed up but still out fished any super deluxe JapanesemegacraftZtenthousandendorsedbytackletour bait on the market.

Lost it to a small black tipped shark and my life has never been the same since

[Senko lover]

The Storm Wiggle Wart comes to mind, as well as the Luhr Jenson Speed Trap. 

[Basseditor]

I have a Browning graphite rod I bought in the '80s and it still is the most sensitive rod I have. It was about $200 back then, by far one of the most expensive production rods at the time. 

[eyedabassman]

Wiggle Wart,Bass Areno,

[WRB]

I was 20 years younger and in a lot better physical condition then now.

You could buy polar bear hair to make jigs with and several brands of good pork trailers were available.

Ken Huddleston Sr. Came with his Castiac wooden hand carved Rainbow trout swimbait, no swimbait today comes close to catching giant bass that lure did.

20 years ago we could catch DD bass every week and caught my 5 giant bass over 17 lbs over 20 years ago....none over 17 lbs since that time period, so for me fishing was better then.

I used 12 lb Big a Game and just started using Sunline Shooter FC, line hasn't change too much.

Still used a 1510 Lowrance paper graph 20 years ago, today's sonar is far superior.

No big changes in bass boats, engines run quieter and get better gas mileage, cost is 3X today.

Rods are lighter weight, both rods and reels are 3X the price, better is subjective today's rods and reels don't catch bass any better today.

Tom

[bowhunter63]

I dont know if there better or worse but i miss the old Quantum iron and the pro 3.They were great reels for sure.

[Mike L]

Maybe not 20yrs but there was a time when all crank baits were made of balsa. I know some people think that todays molded plastic ones are better in some ways, given todays technology, but to me nothing ran truer with an action all thier own, than a pure balsa wood crank and/or jerk bait 

 

 

Mike

[KDW96]

Plano tackle boxes! I have a few from the 70,80. They were made 100% better made than what you get now. Even the 3600&3700 boxes in the 90s were made of alot thicker plastic, than you get now just better latchs. Planos quality is really flimsey.

[Airman4754]

My dad is long gone now but I have all of his Shad Raps and I still catch way more fish on those than the much newer ones I have. 

[Catt]

4 hours ago, Mike L said:

Maybe not 20yrs but there was a time when all crank baits were made of balsa. I know some people think that todays molded plastic ones are better in some ways, given todays technology, but to me nothing ran truer with an action all thier own, than a pure balsa wood crank and/or jerk bait 

 

 

Mike

None run better than hand carved & hand tuned cranks!

[smalljaw67]

13 hours ago, avidone1 said:

the technology in fishing is like any other technology.  it just keeps getting better and better.  the problem comes from corporate decisions to cut costs.  Moving production off shore, china and the like does not automatically mean inferior quality but it certainly can.  so like Hog Basser says one must beware.

Where I think technology has worked against improving quality is in lure manufacturing.   The old time baits were made from wood.  since you can't melt wood and pour it into molds the manufacturing process for wood is much more expensive.  hence the demise of the production wood lure.  Yes, I know companies still make them but they used to be the primary material for crankbaits, topwaters, and jerkbaits, now they are specialty items like vinyl records.

Ask anyone who used the original bagleys balsa wood crankbaits and they will tell you that the action was different and not as good when they switched to plastic.  sam is true for may other baits.   I had a wood zara spook for years that was all chewed up but still out fished any super deluxe JapanesemegacraftZtenthousandendorsedbytackletour bait on the market.

Lost it to a small black tipped shark and my life has never been the same since

I agree with this 100% but there has been a change and it is happening with not much being said. The plastic being used for lures is not changing as well, Bagley has started making a line of plastic crankbaits but they did copy the Kill 'R B and called it the Rattling Kill'R B and when I used them the first time I was amazed at how buoyant they were, and that is why balsa was and still is so good, it is so buoyant that it causes a different action. Well as I said, Bagley made their plastic version run really close to the same as the original wood model, it made me ask them how did they do it and they told me it is the type of plastic, they tweaked the formula to make it more buoyant. That was the secret of Japanese lures, the high end ones use a different type of plastic that gives them a more erratic action. Yeah, I agree wood baits are different but the newer plastic lure coming out are working similar to wood, and it is that close that it may be better just because the baits are consistent so you don't get 1 good one out of a dozen baits.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, smalljaw67 said:

I agree with this 100% but there has been a change and it is happening with not much being said. The plastic being used for lures is not changing as well, Bagley has started making a line of plastic crankbaits but they did copy the Kill 'R B and called it the Rattling Kill'R B and when I used them the first time I was amazed at how buoyant they were, and that is why balsa was and still is so good, it is so buoyant that it causes a different action. Well as I said, Bagley made their plastic version run really close to the same as the original wood model, it made me ask them how did they do it and they told me it is the type of plastic, they tweaked the formula to make it more buoyant. That was the secret of Japanese lures, the high end ones use a different type of plastic that gives them a more erratic action. Yeah, I agree wood baits are different but the newer plastic lure coming out are working similar to wood, and it is that close that it may be better just because the baits are consistent so you don't get 1 good one out of a dozen baits.

Y'all can talk technology all ya want but they are still "plastic" lures spit out by a machine!

That's all fine & dandy but why ya charging me 4 times the cost for something that is "really close" to the original!

I sorry but I got some hand carved, hand painted, hand tuned, Alphabet baits that I bought from Bill Norman, Cotton Cordell, & Jim Bagley.

So to answer the question "Is there any tackle/gear that was better ~20 years ago?"

Yes there is!

Rant over!

 

[avidone1]

Thank you smalljaw.  while I agree with Catt that the wood baits were better, I have to admit that 'advances' in plastic are the way the manufacturers will go.  They will never give up the ability to mass produce and that is just the way it is.  I have on occasion bought hand carved baits from custom lure builders and have actually carved a few successful baits myself. 

I'll take todays rods and reels and line, but I long for the bagleys and storms, and Cordells, and heddons, and creek chubs of the 'good ole days'

ps.  Catt, you are one lucky dog to have vintage baits built by the masters.  Are they in your collectors case or your tackle box?

[Catt]

45 minutes ago, avidone1 said:

ps.  Catt, you are one lucky dog to have vintage baits built by the masters.  Are they in your collectors case or your tackle box?

Like many "older" members I grew up in an era when bass fishing took this nation by storm. Not only did I watch it & read about it, I was there!

Lures are mass produced because someone convinced a Bill Lewis, a Lonnie Stanley, a Tom Mann that this sport is about money not passion. Oh they sell them under the pretense of passion but bottom line it's about money!

[2tall79]

Zebco Cardinal 3/4/4x

[Cgrinder]

Most Rapalas. Maybe Trilene as well? Not a big fan of the XL and XT out there these days.

It's also possible to say that baitcasting reels were better ~10 years ago, depending on how much one likes the TD-Z and Alphas platforms.

[primetime]

Do people still use the Original Stren Fishing Line in that glacier blue color? I remember growing up the only 2 lines that I ever used were either Berkley XL then XT on Casting gear, and my brother only used Stren and I see it in stores but never even think about it anymore....

I also find that Spinnerbaits have become so much more expensive yet seem to be cheaper in quality than the one's I used to buy from BPS for a few bucks 20 years ago...I also think the industry has created way to many terms for a type of Jig, Hook etc...Do I need a Casting Jig, Skipping Jig, Flipping Jig, Punch Jig, Swim Jig, Finesse Jig, Heavy duty Finesse, Mop jig or rubber or is there maybe 1-2 that cover all? 

And why is it very few people use Black worms and all Black Jigs anymore? Seems it has to be black and blue to be "Legit"

[fishballer06]

Wiggle warts... 

[frogflogger]

I'm impressed by how good hooks are now - treble hook improvements have made crankbait fishing much more effective.