Do you find that this sport is made difficult and expensive for no reason?

[Glaucus]

As the years go by, I'm finding that, more and more, a vast majority of my bass fishing gear and supplies is, for all intents and purposes, useless. There is seldom a time when I need anything but a M/F casting setup and a M/F spinning setup. If I'm at the river, I really only use KVD 1.5's, a Whopper Plopper 90, and the Ned Rig. If I'm at a pond, I really only use 1/4oz Rat-L-Traps, a Whopper Plopper 90, and 4in/5in Senkos (2/0-3/0 Gammy EWG Hooks for Texas Rigging - 1/0 Gammy Octopus Circle Hooks for Wacky Rigging). I fish from the middle of April to the middle of October.

 

I look around at my supplies and think about all the money sitting here for no reason because I don't use the stuff - it caught me, not the fish. And I catch a lot of fish. The shelves of stores are filled with a plethora of different lures and tackle and gear. At my first tournament last week (3rd place), most guys were in decked out Jon Boats. One guy had a $60,000 bass boat. Another guy chuckled and quietly said to me, "The man's got a 60,000 dollar rig and catches the same fish as everybody else." I'm not talking down about people who have amazing boats, a garage full of tackle, 20 different rods, etc. I just got to thinking about the fact that most of my stuff is unused and I rarely deviate from what I have found that works and that I'm most comfortable and confident with. Not too long ago I was fishing with a friend who was using spinnerbait he was really excited about, catching fish few and far between, and I'm just doing my thing, tossing a Wacky Rig and catching all of 'em.

 

To newcomers it can be overwhelming. It can be overwhelming to those of us who have fished for awhile. And it really doesn't need to be.

 

Serious tournament fishing and trophy hunting is obviously a different story. I think for us who are Average Joe's who just like to fish, we can get carried away. 

[Bluebasser86]

I think part of what makes this sport so great is you can make it as complicated or as simple as you wish. We have members like @Team9nine who are more into understanding the fish and keeping tackle simple, and have tremendous results in doing so. We have lots of folks in the middle of the road that like having some of the new gadgets, but don't go too crazy. Then there's guys that have the biggest, fastest boats and limited run JDM rods and reels just for the sake of having them. I can't say that the guys in the fast boat catch more fish that Team9nine catches with his pocket of baits and single rod and reel from the shore, because the fish don't care who you are, what you do for a living, what your views are, all they care about is that thing is close enough for me to catch and looks like food.

 

I think things like Midwest Finesse are a prime example of bass fishermen needing to make things too complicated. It's a technique based in simplicity and frugality, and now you can buy all variations of heads for it that almost all go for a dollar or more apiece, a lot of them not even fitting the simple guidelines of what makes it MWF fishing (a TRD on a 1/4oz head isn't a Ned rig, it's a jigworm). There's all sorts of expensive "Ned" worms out there now that only last a few fish. It's a small thing, but I think it's funny how we manage to make even something so simple into something so complicated and expensive.

 

Is it more expensive for no reason? Not really for no reason, those fancy toys serve their purpose, but they're not a requirement. Just like a guy doesn't need a Corvette or other fancy car to get to work, but I think there's probably not many out there that wouldn't do it if they had the money to throw away. 

 

Me personally, I'm stuck in this constant battle of not really needing anything, but man that new bait coming out sure does look cool! I've downsized a lot of gear, still own more than I could ever really need, but it's doesn't feel out of hand like it use to. I use to find baits that appeared to be years old that I have no idea when or where I got them. I like both sides, being able to grab a rod or two and shove a couple bags of plastics in my pockets and walk the banks, and I also like tying on a $200 swimbait onto my custom built swimbait rod in search of a single bite I probably won't get that day, and we think the fish are hard to understand ?

[CroakHunter]

I fish about 10 times a year (maybe). I own 14 combos and have 9 3600 tackle boxes crammed to their limits. Do I need all of this? Nope. But I sure wouldn't enjoy my time out if I could only fish a few techniques and had to use just a few rods. I like stuff. Not necessarily high end stuff. But I like having my options. It's what makes fishing so fun. People can have their own views and preferences on how they want to fish but it doesn't make any of them a better angler.

[J.Vincent]

Absolutely, this sport can be expensive. But it can also be inexpensive; it really depends on the angler.

[The Bassman]

We're no different than women with their purses and shoes. We're wired to want to buy things. The industry thrives on that. The OP said exactly what I've considered posting at other times. In all honesty some of my best outings are when I grab a rod with only the lure that's attached and a pair of pliers for hook removal. Conversely, some of my least productive trips have resulted from having too many choices.

[Catt]

The #1 key to consistently catching bass is between your ears not between the folds of your wallet.

[Black Hawk Basser]

51 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

In all honesty some of my best outings are when I grab a rod with only the lure that's attached and a pair of pliers for hook removal. Conversely, some of my least productive trips have resulted from having too many choices.

Well said!

[BuzzHudson19c]

It's the same with every hobby, it's only as expensive as you want it to be. You can buy a $300 mossberg or $1700 Benelli. A $8,000 Yamaha or a $25,000 Harley. Harbor freight ratchet set or a Snap On one. It's not the debate about if expensive is better, it just that fact that we have so many options, which is always a good thing.

 

Does more stuff make something more fun? That's a completely subjective question.

[Wurming67]

1 hour ago, The Bassman said:

We're no different than women with their purses and shoes. We're wired to want to buy things. The industry thrives on that. The OP said exactly what I've considered posting at other times. In all honesty some of my best outings are when I grab a rod with only the lure that's attached and a pair of pliers for hook removal. Conversely, some of my least productive trips have resulted from having too many choices.

Totally agree,I believe it's more about finding them than lure just  my humble opinion

[TOXIC]

Couple of things to remember.  Lure/Bait/rod/reel/electronics/Trolling motors/boat companies are in business to make $$.  You can't rest on your laurels in the fishing industry so there always something bigger and better.  My attitude has always been you can't put a price on happiness, so I buy what makes me happy and what I can afford.  I like the comfort ans speed of a big boat for example but won't spend $70k or more on it so I have a used big boat.  I am lucky enough to have sponsors so I concentrate on their products and don't get tempted by others.  This year on my annual trip to St Clair, we had a friend come in from Australia and I bounced around between a few boats so he could fish with everyone in our group.  When he got in my regular partners boat he discovered all of my discarded/used baits in his cup holder (that's where I put them to be thrown away at the end of the day) and he caught fish all day long by re-purposing my throwaways.    Cost to him -0-.    

[scaleface]

 Know what you mean . I have thirty year old lures that have not gotten wet . 

[lo n slo]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

The #1 key to consistently catching bass is between your ears not between the folds of your wallet.

well said

[NHBull]

The two things that go through my mind when reading this thread is

1. There are needs and wants......know the difference 

2. Life is a choice

.......a distant third would be that many have become use to instant gratification, and that yellow duck is going to be the key to success.

Truth  be told, there are far worse things to spend your money on and it is cheaper than therapy 

[Arlo Smithereen]

I'm a mechanic, and it's the same with tools. Does having a huge snapon toolbox full of snapon tools mean the guy is a master mechanic? Absolutely not. Is it possible to do a brake job with a crescent wrench and a couple screwdrivers? I suppose. But it aint gonna be fun. I fish for fun, and for me, trying to do everything with one or two rods isn't fun. Just my .02

[the reel ess]

My dad only wanted to fish a T-rigged 6" purple worm. EVER. The last time we ever fished together I handed him a spinning rod with a weightless Trick Worm and he caught fish. I usually carry 6 or 7 combos in the truck "just in case". But most of the time I catch all the fish on two rods (or less). It's not that I think I need 7 rods to catch a few dink bass. But they're specialized for techniques and I will catch more over time having those rigged and ready when conditions warrant.

 

I know that I'm more addicted to buying the equipment to catch bass than actually catching the bass. Every lure that I look at, I imagine myself simply slaying them with it next time out. Usually, what happens is the opposite and I put the bait back in the box for another try at a later date. On the other hand, I went cheaper on the boat by getting a kayak. So there's that.

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, The Bassman said:

We're no different than women with their purses and shoes. We're wired to want to buy things. The industry thrives on that. The OP said exactly what I've considered posting at other times. In all honesty some of my best outings are when I grab a rod with only the lure that's attached and a pair of pliers for hook removal. Conversely, some of my least productive trips have resulted from having too many choices.

I would like to think I’m a little different than a woman and her purses....... hahaha

[rejesterd]

I think the only buildup of unused stuff in my boat is soft plastics.  Just certain colors that have never seemed to work in my lake, or things for which I don't currently have the right hooks for.  Other than that, I use everything in my 4 flat boxes.  I have baits that I use less often than others, but I still use them all at least once a month or so.  Experimenting blindly with different baits has yielded great results over time, so I think it's a good idea to dust off whatever you haven't been using.  I did that just this past week with topwaters, and caught a couple nice ones.

 

I have 6 rods for convenience only.. but like you said, I could do everything I want to do using only 2 of them.  I'd just rather not have to tie on/off as often.  I think the expensive rods/reels market is a bunch of hype for the average fisherman.  To this day, I still have 3 Ugly Stiks that cost me $40 each.  My most expensive rod is a St. Croix Mojo, and I wouldn't buy it again.  It's a nice rod, but the only advantage over a cheaper-but-good make is that it's lighter in weight.  Not a huge deal for me, as I only go out for 2-3 hours at a time.

[Troy85]

Do I think the sport is made more difficult?  I'd say no to that one.  I exclusively inshore salt water fished for about 25 years, I switched to primarily bass fishing the past 4 years or so.  IMO, it is much more challenging to consistently catch quality bass than it is to catch speckled trout or redfish.  

 

Do I think it is made more expensive that it needs to be?  Probably so.  There is a lot of money that is made in the bass fishing world.  A lot spent on advertising as well, just look at the Elite Series, MLF and FLW.  Advertisers spend tons of money to promote and sponsor those anglers and events.  They gotta recoup that money somehow.  For the record, I'm not dogging any of the televised events, I watch the world fishing network so much that I think the logo is burned into my TV screen.

 

Overall tho, I don't think I'm to bad off when it comes to spending.  I do have 6 rods, but that is mainly because I hate having to re-tie just to try a different technique.  As far as baits, the only thing I have in several colors that don't get used much are probably soft plastics.  I use soft plastics all the time, but I generally stick with the same few colors and the others don't get thrown much.

 

 

[padon]

all just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.you can keep it simple or you can go for all the big ticket stuff. to me a big part of the fun of this is learning. I want that new high end depthfinder because I wanna know whats down there. why do the fish use this grass edge compared tow the 3000 acres of other grass edge etc , and then I wanna figure out how to catch them. other guys are happy to fish 2 acre farm ponds with the same 2 lures. sometimes they catch them sometimes they don't. if they don't then the fish " weren't biting" . nothing wrong with either approach just a matter of what you enjoy.

[roadwarrior]

It's not only about catching fish, for many just the "collecting" is as much fun.

As a specific example, I like jerkbaits, especially Megabass Ito Vision 110. I have

been buying a couple a year ever since they were first introduced. I may have

fished five, but that could be an exaggeration! 

 

 

[shovelmouth83]

i fish around 14 times a month. the most money i have in anything is my reels. i have lews and they are not top end reels they are the speed reels 7.1 and 6.3. they are $60 reels and i have others that i have collected over the years and use. when i got to the shop i think do i need or want that. then i have the ltb box. that i think is a waste and i am thinking of stopping. but i like how they interest new baits to people. my boat is a 14 ft v bottom and it only has a trolling motor. 

 

over all i catch fish about every time i go out but i sometimes strike out and that is trying new things. 

[Jaderose]

If you make it that way, yes.

[toni63]

I think most fisherman need to remember to buy what they are capable of getting the most out of within a reasonable price range for their level of expertise and frequency of use. Im at the point where I don't want cheap because it doesn't last or get the job done, but I'm not a pro so I don't need the best like they have either. I try to gear what I buy to what I will actually use and what is reasonable for my level of ability and my reason for fishing, which is just recreationally, not competitively for for a living.

 

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

4 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

It's not only about catching fish, for many just the "collecting" is as much fun.

I agree. I like purchasing new rods and reels as much as I like catching a fish.

 

Hell, I can catch a fish on a stick with some thread, a bent paperclip makeshift hook and a dug up Nightcrawler. I have more fun catching one on a nice set-up.

[BankBasser]

The majority of my fishing this year has been from the bank with either a m/f spinning outfit or a mh/f casting outfit. But, on those days when the bite is slow I grab a ml/f  spinning outfit and fish a ned rig (I don't like ned rigs on a medium power rod). During the summer a LOT of the waters I fish are ringed with 6' or more (sometimes the whole pond) of slop. It's nice to grab the h/f outfit and fish a frog when that's the case. When I fish lipless or squarebill (1/4oz RES, KVD 1.5 or Mann's -1) I like to use a m/mf casting. If I had to use just one outfit it'd be the m/f spinning (for where I fish) and I'd be fine with it, but options are nice and can turn a bad day to good.