How to Go About Buying Tackle

[connorwallin]

Hello, I have a very small amount of tackle, a few senkos, swimbaits, a jig, a frog, a spinnerbait and that's pretty much it. I want to expand my tackle and really am lost on how to do so. I just don't want to go out and buy something usless or drop a lot of money. When do you guys buy your tackle or when do you know it's time to buy more? 

[CTBassin860]

You buy stuff to figure out what you like.Sometimes it's useless.Comes with the game.Think of it as you trying to figure out your style.

[J Francho]

24 minutes ago, connorwallin said:

I've really thought about theses but would it be better for me to find some of the tackle I like than to get perhaps random tackle and things that would make my tackle arsenal lack in some areas? 

 

Isn't that every bit as random, though?  The point of the services is to introduce you to a few varied types of baits each month.  Try them, and you can go an purchase the ones you like.

[jr231]

As someone who has no tackle, you should be careful going on buying binges. You can have a hot day on a lure and go buy a bunch at the store , only to have it never produce again like it did that one day.  Timing and location are the most important things in catching bass..not lure style/color. 

 

You have a good start. If I was to come fishing with you (this summer ) and could only bring two baits. Itd be worms and jigs... 

 

I had my girlfriend catching bass the other day (4 in total) slow cranking a finesse jig and rage chunk parallel to the bank. I was catching them "yo-yoing " a tube in deeper water. 

 

So many ways to catch em ! One of the many reasons I love chasing bass. 

[J Francho]

I'd say the services are good for anyone wanting to try new things - experienced or not.

[Bluebasser86]

I buy things as the monkey commands me to. No real rhyme or reason, I just see fishing gear on sale, everything goes dark, then when I wake up all my money is gone and there's banana peels everywhere. 

[Gundog]

My suggestion to the OP is if you want to try new lures buy only one pack (if its soft plastics) or buy used at a flea market (if its hard baits). That way you get to try new stuff without a large expense. You have an advantage to me when I started bass fishing. You have the internet. You can order things at 2 a.m. in your pajamas. So if you run out of something you can get it pretty easy. Go slow with buying new baits. Read reviews and ask yourself if you have a lure now that will do the same thing. We all have made questionable purchases (I think there is another thread about that) so don't feel to bad about buying junk. It happens. If you do buy a lure that is cr@9 sell it online quick before anybody else finds out its lousy.  And have fun. That's what fishing is about. 

[mllrtm79]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I buy things as the monkey commands me to.

I do as well, in fact I just was checking my order on Amazon for a wiring adapter for my truck and started to buy another baitcaster because it came with free sunglasses. Lucky for me the monkey was shot down by the LH reels being out of stock.

When the girlfriend asks why...   

(I have a problem with sunglasses, almost worse than baits) 

The boxes work, but can be repetitive with some baits, so start with simply buying a 21' boat then match the price of that with tackle to fill it, and the garage, and the attic, and the lawnmower shed, and the barn... 

@connorwallin if you get down into Delaware this summer, shoot me a pm. I have some "leftovers" (read Baitmonkey feed) that you are more than welcome to take home with you. I think my overflowing box of soft plastics in the truck (not the ones in the plano's or plastics bag) could be put to better use than just riding around with me. 

[jtharris3]

12 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I buy things as the monkey commands me to. No real rhyme or reason, I just see fishing gear on sale, everything goes dark, then when I wake up all my money is gone and there's banana peels everywhere. 

 

Thank god! Here, I thought that I was the only one who experienced this! I tried to tell people about it but, they just look at me weird! 

[tholmes]

Buy it all!

You'll sort it out sooner or later.

 

Tom

[Turkey sandwich]

In addition to the subscription services, I think it's important to have a focus.  It's hard to learn how to spend money early on.  It's also really overwhelming trying to learn everything.  My advice is to pick a technique and focus on learning that.  Have a medium or MH Fast action rod?  Great! learn to fish jigs and T-rigs and how to cover your bases there.  Want to learn to fish crankbaits?  Pick up some basics like DT series, Fat Free, KVD square bills, etc and a slow action rod and learn.  There's no sense in trying to take everything on at once.  

[Angry John]

I find a technique that i want to try and then pick up a few things to figure it out.  I think it beats going totally random.  Dropshot is one that i continue to work on and finding the right hook, the weight for the conditions and the correct equipment can either be fun or drive you insane.  An objective based approach to me makes the most sense, and it give you direction based on what you want to try or accomplish.  The ned rig is very popular right now so that is another direction that may be beneficial to check out.  The baits in a box are fun if you want to discover new tackle, but may not fit your fishing style.  Might be fun during the winter to kill the cabin fever.

[MassYak85]

I went through your exact same predicament like 4 years ago. I was learning a lot and wanted to expand what I had to cover all my bases, and so I did....rapidly. My first piece of advice is for each new technique, start basic. Maybe a couple colors, a couple sizes of high quality lures. You might pay more up front but if you start out searching for the diamonds in the rough you'll spend more than had you just started with the diamond. I don't mean you need to be buying 25$ jerkbaits to start but do your research and buy lures that have a good reputation. Then also if you get frustrated and have issues catching them you won't be looking to your tackle as the source of error in the equation.

 

Also I would only try to introduce a few techniques at a time and spend some decent time learning them before expanding beyond it. Obviously be logical about your choices, don't try to learn frog fishing in the winter, but you want to avoid the mistake I made and have a bunch of new techniques available that you may not fully grasp how or when to use. 

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

Connorwallin: In my opinion, you have a number of options given the selection of tackle you already own.  I really like @MassYak85's response! My suggestion would be to use what you have until you are confident in one or more of your baits, then expand your selection for that type of bait.  The guy that got me started in "serious" bass fishing started me with Texas-rigged worms and a couple of spinner baits.  I was moderately successful with the worms but never could catch a fish on a spinnerbait.  So, I expanded my selection of worms and added crawfish. Then I added some jigs.  Next was a Zara Spook and a Devil's Horse for evening surface action.  I'm not saying this would be your choice, but it may help you focus on learning to fish, not learning to collect hardware. With everything that's out there, it's easy to get overwhelmed.  Try to find a style of fishing in which you have confidence, then expand. Of course, you have to accept that there will be days when your method won't produce, but you will still be a better fisherman by learning conditions under which a method WON'T work.

 

While the subscription services provide cool stuff and introduce you to new gear, they may not be suitable for you. Here in western Massachusetts, no bass has ever seen a shad and anything with treble hooks is merely a tool for gathering salad ingredients so it seems to me that I wouldn't be getting my money's worth from a subscription. I do believe they are great for some folks, but not everyone.  

 

Just some thoughts before you get assaulted by the tackle monkey. And, sooner or later, he will get you!  Good luck!

[JustJames]

All is good idea there? My question to you is you know how you like to fish, slow or fast, soft plastic hard plastic, spinnerbait chatterbait etc. How do you know the one you like work best in your area? If you try different thing you might even like it better.

 

Search in our flea market there you might fine something that interest you at deep discount price.

 

I have many way that I don't like to fish, like deep driving crank and lipless but I do have some of those just in case.

 

[Mike L]

Every so often check the flea market on this site. 

Sometimes guys sell lots of different tackle and some have excellent pricing.

 

 

 

Mike