Money saving tricks, ideas, and homemade stuff

[Glenn]

Please share some of your money savers.

For example, instead of those nail weights for flukes and worms. I cut up lead core solder into different size pieces. You can also wrap solder around the hooks of a bait to add weight instead of buying suspend strips or dots

 

[A-Jay]

I like to pump at least one full tube of Megastrike into my boats gas tank when I top off.

It makes the best fish attracting out board motor exhaust ever . . . . . . .

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Kidding . . .

A-Jay

[Mike L]

Only use twist lock hooks when rigging moving soft plastics

Don't assume that every crank or jerk bait is tuned out of the package  

Don't leave plastics hooked when storing your rods

Always use line conditioner when spooling fluorocarbon line

Try useing a punch skirt when rigging your punch rig  

 

 

Mike 

[slonezp]

Money saving idea? Change hobbies. This one is too dang expensive

[.ghoti.]

Do NOT buy that first high end rod and reel.

[Bluebasser86]

Find a friend with a boat instead of buying your own. 

["hamma"]

     Money saving idea's???  A fly tying vise, and a cheap one at that,  a cheap one you say? Yeah,.. thats what I got, the hooks on most bass gear we use are quite heavy duty compaired to a light fly hook. Buying a mid range or even a high end vise may just be a wasted venture as these thicker heavier hooks over time might just ruin that nice vise's jaws. If you want a high end one? Ask about the jaws for heavier hooks,.... I paid about 20 bucks for mine, over 30 years ago, and im still using the same vise and its original set of jaws.

 This vise has paid for itself that first year, and over and over again every year since. I've been tying my jig skirts on so they dont slide down the hook, on a missed hookset due to the slippery scent I use, also spinnebaits as well. Albeit a tricky venture on spinnerbaits but worth it.(elastics work well to hold the strands) Then I got into tying "custom" colored skirts for both,  and then hair and maribou jigs for weather like now. 

Add some powder paint and a free toaster oven mom was throwing away? Now you're really cookin,..lol  Some of the custom jigs I made not only kept winters cabin fever at bay, but yeilded some incredible creations. Jigheads that now match the alwive, herring, shad, and even bluegill colored plastics almost to the "t". Since they appeared so lifelike, I even started adding eyes. Finish it all off by sealing it all with some "tough as nails" clear nail polish. and you've got a long lasting jighead to present those small slugos, power worms, and custom handpours that will give you an advantage in gin clear waters. Just be sure to hit it with a scent before you use it. The scents of making it will scare fish away, but if you add that scent on there? and it becomes a killer lure, outfishing plain old black jigheads by far. I must add that jigcraft.com was a huge help.

The vise also works for tying hackle on trebles, another good tip

 The true money saving tip? when done fishing make sure you remove any plastics off any type hooks. Usually,.. they will rust the hook kinda quick like

 This winter I will start tying hook holders on the rods I have that dont have them, with the thread and maybe nail polish "sealer" I use now, hope this works, maybe I'll even look into the right rod eye sealers out there for a professional type fix. I image a question on the rod building threads wont hurt for that scenario.

[webertime]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Morris-Products-100-Pack-15-625-in-L-Nylon-Mounting-Cable-Ties/4618376

Hook keepers...

 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Mend-it

Mend-it

Mend-it

Has saved me hundreds of $$$ on soft plastics--paddletails, ikas, senkos--plus fixed 2" slash in my pvc rain jacket

 

[Jon G]

always use backing on your reels.

[Wayne P.]

Trolling motor transducer cable guard. Prevents damage to the cable when fishing in hard cover:

[CrustyMono]

1. Use backing to save line

2. Use line conditioner to save florocarbon

3. Use Yum Dingers instead of GYBs 

4. Use braid on spinning reels and tie leaders

5. Melt used soft plastics and use them again

6. Use a cheaper rod for topwater because you don't need sensitivity; therefore, you can get away with lower modulus blanks

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, CrustyMono said:

1. Use backing to save line

2. Use line conditioner to save florocarbon

3. Use Yum Dingers instead of GYBs 

4. Use braid on spinning reels and tie leaders

5. Melt used soft plastics and use them again

6. Use a cheaper rod for topwater because you don't need sensitivity; therefore, you can get away with lower modulus blanks

Not sure how true this is but I heard along time ago they came up with the color camo from melting down a batch of soft plastics and reusing them. If this is true, what a color, because Berkley Camo has always been a good color for me. Just something I heard in the past.

[georgeyew]

I use a small piece of silicone tubing on the hook and above the trailer to keep it from sliding down. This trick has extended the life of my trailers significantly. I also use the tubing at the bottom of the bend on texas rigged worms to keep them from sliding.

[Further North]

Buy used.

• Used boats
• Used reels
• Used rods

...or just buy them on e-Bay, unused, but not current models. 

Used boats alone will save tens of thousands of dollars...

[whitwolf]

While I buy old discontinued Rebel baits, the thing that has saved me more money than anything is this; as I fish from year to year I know exactly what I like to fish and what works for me. Yes, I still buy some things that strike my fancy but the simplification of bait selection has saved me hundreds of dollars a year. 

I also now take care of my equipment on a much more regular schedule. I have reels that are over 20 years old that are in excellent working condition. I do have many newer reels but If I have  a problem my back-ups are more than adequate. 

The last thing I want to share is this: I tend to fun fish more and more and simply having fun, taking In the sights and sounds of nature, and never taking for granted the time I get to spend on the water, well, you can't "buy" that. 

[jonnysmith]

I use wallmart fishing equipment..my most productive lure has always been a silver spoon ..my secret weapon that never fails is a casting net.bait bucket.live bait what ever i catch on the net and a bobber..ive got the most fish that way

[roadwarrior]

Pocket Rocket:  3 oz bell weight & large paper clip as a lure retriever. About a 95% success rate!

 

[the reel ess]

When using Trick Worms, the nose of the worm will get chewed up after a couple catches. Just bite (or tear) off about 1/2" from the nose and re-rig the worm for a couple more bites. Fish really don't care.

Use thin gauge wire to tie around skirts on baits so the rubber band doesn't rot off. Many times I've pulled out a spinnerbait that hasn't even been used and lost the skirt soon thereafter. If you do lose the skirt, grab a fluke or soft swimbait of the same color make do in a pinch. You can use a toad or craw on a buzzbait.

The Carolina Keeper is a small section of what looks like very thick weedeater cord with a slit cut down the middle. You compress it with pliers and slide your line through it. It acts as the swivel on a C rig and you can adjust the leader length without retying any terminal tackle. If you break off you only lose the bait instead of your whole rig.This is maybe more time saving that $.

[the reel ess]

20 hours ago, CrustyMono said:

1. Use backing to save line

2. Use line conditioner to save florocarbon

3. Use Yum Dingers instead of GYBs 

4. Use braid on spinning reels and tie leaders

5. Melt used soft plastics and use them again

6. Use a cheaper rod for topwater because you don't need sensitivity; therefore, you can get away with lower modulus blanks

I do 1, 3, 4 & 6. Except I don't use leaders for the most part. My topwaters, cranks, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits rods are Berkley Lightning Rods that I bought on clearance. Light and insensitive.

[TriCityBassin']

On 11/26/2016 at 9:57 PM, .ghoti. said:

Do NOT buy that first high end rod and reel.

nothing but the truth! I bought 3 Cumaras and Fenwick Elite Tech....ruined me for life.

1.  Don't succumb to peer pressure and ignore advertising.  if you have gear that you LIKE...you don't need to replace it.

2.  Quality/price...make your own stuff whenever possible.  Jigs, spinner baits, etc.  For the money, you come out on top.

3.  Be a scrounger!  If one of my boys or I break a spinner bait, crank, etc. I will pull every part i can off of it.  Split rings, BB swivels, blades (Especially) all come off.  I have a really good collection of blades now so I can switch up as needed with no EXTRA cost.

4.  Put backing on your reels and use a leader to braid whenever possible.  Good Fluorocarbon is expensive!

5.  We are bass fishermen...we gonna buy stuff!  Spend time on the inter-web searching for closeouts, buyouts, clearance etc.  I have found some really high dollar stuff for 75% off sometimes.  Not always, but it was fun searching too.

um mm......i ran out but may have more.  great thread!

[Scarborough817]

if you have an old broken rod turn it into a line spooler instead of buying one i can post pics of mine tonight when i get home 

[roadwarrior]

1 hour ago, TriCityBassin' said:

2.  Quality/price...make your own stuff whenever possible.  Jigs, spinner baits, etc.  For the money, you come out on top.

I don't think this is generally the case at all. As a specific example, pouring and assembling your own jigs probably requires a hundred jigs or more to break even if you assign $0 for your time. This certainly can be fun, but not "cost effective".

 

 

 

[the reel ess]

Pfleuger Trion is the best spinning reel for the price ($40) I have seen, IMO.

When the end of your braid gets old and highly visible reel it off one reel onto another and you'll be using the new end (for maybe three more seasons as it lasts as long as you can stand to look at it). Use cheap mono for backing of course. No need to use up the whole spool of braid on one reel.

Berkley Big Game!!!

1/2 or 3/4 oz spinnerbaits are all you need. If you try you can get by with just a few and mix and match skirts and blades as needed. I don't mean that's the only bait you need. Just that a couple SBs will suffice.

I use a kayak. $600 vs whatever you can stand to pay for a bass boat that depreciates faster than a new car.

[Turtle135]

On 11/28/2016 at 11:13 AM, roadwarrior said:

I don't think this is generally the case at all. As a specific example, pouring and assembling your own jigs probably requires a hundred jigs or more to break even if you assign $0 for your time. This certainly can be fun, but not":cost effective".

I agree with this. As something of a "jig addict" I always have one tied on. What I like in a jig changes from season to season and year to year. I would wind up buying many molds. What I find more cost effective is to purchase finished jig heads and then tie my own skirts. A finished jig with a trailer then costs me about $ 1.50 on average.