That one thing you never thought you needed...

[Lost..]

But when you got it, you wonder how in the heck you ever lived without it?

Could be anything pertaining to fishing. Only parameters is that at one time you never thought you would need it/them, but when you finally decided to take the plunge and purchase said item.. You wondered how you ever lived without it. Mine would have to be a good pair of split ring pliers. 

[J Francho]

KVD Line & Lure.  Use it after every trip.

Hemocuts.  Simply the best tool I've found for cutting lines and removing hooks.

Side Imaging. Can't live without it now.

[mllrtm79]

Baitcaster. And nail weights, I never realized how versatile they could be

[A-Jay]

Buff sun gaitor and the Talon shallow water anchors.

A-Jay

 

[deep]

Scale.

 

Actually I was doing great before I had one. Now all my 5 lb-ers weigh 3 lb or less.

[riverbasser]

good topic!

 

never thought I would need 8 combos on deck but I wouldn't give em up now

 

onboard battery charger.- come home plug it in and charge all the batteries at once

 

lakemaster map card- I spend more time looking at the GPS than any other screen. 

[scaleface]

Fishgrip .

[Preytorien]

Mine would probably be pliers with a split ring lip on it. I used to never change out split rings, but didn't since I always had to jam some kind of tiny screwdriver in there or something, now I can change them quick and keep sharp hooks on everything.

[geo g]

A lure knocker!!!!!!!  Since I don't fish crank baits much, I never had one.  Then I went to the stick marsh with a friend that mainly fishes square bill crank baits.  He caught fish at a steady rate, but had to use his crank knocker to free the square bill every ten casts, from all the stumps and lay downs.  It was a pain in the butt for him, but he was the only one catching fish that day.  He gave me a good lesson of how effective these baits can be.  But you need the tools to free the bait when hung.

[NYWayfarer]

These are some of mine:

 

"O" ring wacky rig tool (Makes baits last so much longer and tool makes it easy to put them on)

 

Neck Gaiter (No matter how much sunscreen I applied I would always get a sunburned neck before I got one of these)

 

Kayak (nuff said)

 

[islandbass]

Polarized sunglasses.  If I ever forget them, I have that same feeling you get when you don't have your wallet or cell phone.

[Choporoz]

@A-Jay, @Finesse Wayfarer, and @geo g hit a couple great ones for me.

 

Never ever would have considered that I needed a hoodie on the hottest summer days.  But, now that I have them, I don't go out without.  I don't do the buffs so well, but a summer-weight long-sleeve hoodie is just the ticket.

 

And the plug knocker is another great mention. Most cranks don't work their best unless they spend a lot of time in the wood.   I didn't have the nerve to throw them into the wood until I had the confidence that I'd be able to get some of them back.

[Raul]

A roll of sanitary paper :.............

[fishballer06]

Side cutters

Peroxide

Both of them are like a firearm. You hope you never need them, but if/when you do, you'll be glad you have them.

[Mike L]

Bobber stops..

A File..

Dye

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Sam]

Umbrella.

 

Yes, the kind that fits on your bass boat seat.

 

Never thought I would need one but use it when it is hot and the sun is out.

 

Looks funny but it works!

[MassYak85]

Oh man this is a good topic, I'm going to need to pick a few I think. 

 

Polarized sunglasses would have to top the list for me. I wear them all the time when fishing and I often point stuff out to my father before realizing he can't see what I'm looking at because he isn't wearing a pair. 

 

Good split ring pliers (seriously, texas tackle ones are amazing and I will never go back). It's not a big deal not having any until you start changing out more treble hooks...or try and open an Owner hyper wire size 7 with anything but a good split ring plier. 

 

A lure knocker, not even because of the money it saves but it allows me to fish snaggy areas with confidence knowing the odds of losing whatever I am using really aren't that high. 

 

 

[Shanexd9]

Mine would have to be braided fishing line. One specific brand I switched to lately just works for me. My casting and casting distance have both improved.

[Jar11591]

My Buff UV mask, a scale and braid.

[Bruce424]

Line conditioner. 

[Mike L]

5 hours ago, Choporoz said:

 

Never ever would have considered that I needed a hoodie on the hottest summer days.  But, now that I have them, I don't go out without.  I don't do the buffs so well, but a summer-weight long-sleeve hoodie is just the ticket.

 

 

Ditto!

I never thought about them either until a boater I was with last year had one on. After seeing how it protected him from not only the sun, but from bugs that were swarming all over us I was sold. 

 

 

 

Mike

[Yakalong]

I'm waiting for the yeti cooler response 

[Jeff H]

7 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 Talon shallow water anchors.

A-Jay

 

Same for me.  What a game changer!

[moguy1973]

I'm going to have to go with the light weight wicking shirts, long convertible pants, light weight fingerless gloves and neck gaiters.  I always hated putting sunscreen on and all those keep you covered while still keeping you relatively cool on hot days. 

[MichaelCopeland]

I'd have to say braid too. Hasn't hindered my hook ups, if anything it has increased it. Knots are easier to tie, it's very strong and it holds up well. Never thought I'd pay that much for fishing line, but I'm glad I did. One more thing I never thought I'd need are Zoom Ol' Monster 10.5" worms. I'm sure glad I bought some. They have been what most of the bass I've caught wanted. Out of 16 bass I have caught, since I started bass fishing, I've caught 13 on the Ol' Monster. Best $4-$5 I've ever spent on bait/lures. 9 in a pack. All are pretty beat up now, but I still have one unused one left. Gotta get some more soon. Gonna even get some Magnum Ol' Monster 12" worms. They gotta be at least as good if not better.