A question for bait and tackle junkies

[Koz]

Why?

 

Understand that I'm not being condescending here, it's a legitimate question. I see photos on BR of guys that have giant, wall to wall  peg boards with a bazillion soft plastics hanging from them and dozens and dozens and dozens of Plano boxes stuffed with lures. Some pictures are of a half a dozen of the same exact lure in a Plano slot.

 

I have about 7 (mostly) filled Plano boxes with lures and 6-8 bags of different plastics and that gets me through any bass fishing that I need to do. If I lose a lure I go out and buy one of the same - or I don't.

 

I wonder why some tie up so much cash in home inventory especially when there's a good chance that 25% or more of what was bought will never be used. So, why have thousands of baits and lures in your own personal storage?

[dgkasper58]

The simple answer for me is-  Just in case.

[JediAmoeba]

I know I have an illness, do you have to yell at me?

[The Bassman]

I buy stuff up when it's on sale................then when it's on sale again I buy more. Probably speak for others on here. Maybe we need a support group thread.

[Spankey]

I don’t know dude about that one. Admittedly I’m not short on soft plastics or crankbaits. Not wall hangers but very well organized on my boat and I take everything out in the winter. Easy to see what I need and don’t like that stuff stored out in very cold temps. 

 

During the season I don’t buy very much stuff. I’ll replenish my soft plastics during the winter. If I want to try something new I try to get it in the off season. I try to buy my line in bulk. I’m anal about re-spooling I guess. Some of the pro guys probably get everything handed to them. I’m not gonna buy 10 of a certain DT 06 Rapala for the heck of it to stick on a peg board. I have some that I’ve fished religiously for years. And the more beat up they get the better they are at catching fish. I do have some doubles and a few triples just in case a do loose a good producer. 

[Hawkeye21]

One reason is because it's fun to get new stuff that you like.  Another reason is to take advantage of sales because you know you'll use those lures eventually.  Another reason is just so you have whatever you'd think you'd need on hand.

[fishballer06]

Honey, is that you on here?

[jr231]

So my kids can sell them for dirt cheap when I die. ?

Could you imagine the gold mine you'd be sitting on if your grandfather hoarded lures and now you have them? 

 

I have 100+ rapala cranks/jerks/topwaters etc And probably 50+ from brands like SK , bomber bandit etc. 

 

I won't need any ever again. I've stopped buying them but always get the urge. 

 

 

[OnthePotomac]

It is a terrible to live.  I see an item and think I need that, get it home and I already have it.  What to do.

[Bassattackr]

If you fish the same lakes for the same fish at the same times of year, then yes you would have a more limited tackle selection.  

 

If you fish different lakes across the country at different times of year for fish in all phases of life and growth, do you think the same bait will work all the time?  Rhetorical but you get my point.

 

The same could be said for rods, reels, etc. etc..

[king fisher]

Because the next lure I buy will be the one that catches the big one.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

[NYWayfarer]

I stock up on baits I know I use regularly when they go on sale. Things like TRD's and Yum Dingers are on my peg board in bulk.

 

I do like to try new baits. I have shoe boxes full of soft plastics that didn't work as well for me as I would have liked. It makes me look like a tackle junkie but I am not.

[Fried Lemons]

For me the process used to go something like this. Buy new bait, fish it a while, realize I don’t like it that much, relegate to bin. Over time I learned not to buy into hype and to stick with proven baits that I know will work for my specific type of fishing. I have drawers filled with baits collecting dust as a reminder.

 

That said I still love trying out new baits. I’m just much more selective than I used to be.

[JediAmoeba]

One truthful answer would be a lot of people here have had a bait over the years that is very successful for their waters or certain conditions they encounter.  It may be a bait or it may be a pattern or color. They lose said bait and go to buy new ones only to find out it was discontinued...so now they have to pay through the nose from someone or on an auction site.  And then there are the baits that a manufacturer changes due to technology, maybe outsourcing it and maybe the exact material is no longer available and this bait no longer performs like you remember.  

 

Anyone having experienced the old wiggle warts knows this...  so when they find a bait that works they buy bulk for the future.  

[Tennessee Boy]

I'll give you just one example of how it happens.

 

Bill Dance does a couple of shows on the new Strike King Grass Frog.  Everybody's talking about the new Grass Frog.  Every tackle store is out of them.  Bass Pro Shops is out of them so I backorder 5.  I go in a tackle store and I'm surprised that they have 3 Grass Frogs in stock so I buy them all.  I go fishing for the first time with the new Grass Frog.  The fish love it but I'm able to hook maybe one in ten.  Everybody starts complaining about missing fish on the Grass Frog.  Everybody stops using the Grass Frog.  My order of 5 Grass Frogs finally arrives from Bass Pro Shops.  

 

That story is from 25 years ago.  I still have 8 Grass Frogs somewhere in my basement,  seven are still in the package.

[NHBull]

.....did Mrs Bull put you up to posting that ???

[ike8120]

Cause I can :)

[A-Jay]

On 9/5/2019 at 1:54 PM, Koz said:

Why?

 

Understand that I'm not being condescending here, it's a legitimate question. I see photos on BR of guys that have giant, wall to wall  peg boards with a bazillion soft plastics hanging from them and dozens and dozens and dozens of Plano boxes stuffed with lures. Some pictures are of a half a dozen of the same exact lure in a Plano slot.

 

I have about 7 (mostly) filled Plano boxes with lures and 6-8 bags of different plastics and that gets me through any bass fishing that I need to do. If I lose a lure I go out and buy one of the same - or I don't.

 

I wonder why some tie up so much cash in home inventory especially when there's a good chance that 25% or more of what was bought will never be used. So, why have thousands of baits and lures in your own personal storage?

Can not speak for others, but I do it because it makes me happy. 

A-Jay 

 

[Mobasser]

I used to buy tons of baits. Now not so much. Over the course of 35+ yrs I've collected way too.much tackle. Now, I only have one style I buy a lot of: plastic worms. I love em

[Logan S]

I've actually been trying to slim my overall tackle footprint over the past few years, trying to keep it more or less at a single 'boat-load'...Literally  

 

It's still a lot of tackle though.  In my area I'm fishing just about every type of water-body that bass live in from shallow tidal rivers to clear highland reservoirs and pretty much everything in between and can target Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted bass...So variety in tackle is unavoidable and that inflates the total amount a good bit.  
 

[Bassattackr]

37 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Can not speak for others, but I do it because it makes me happy. 

A-Jay 

 

Agree!  Isn't that why we fish in the first place?

[Brett's_daddy]

This has to be somebody's wife trolling the BR boards . I know I have a problem...my name is Justin, I'm a Tackle Junky...lol. Seriously, like A-Jay says...it's fun, it provides enjoyment for me. My wife loves buying clothes, watches, SHOES, jewelry...my son loves toys even though he already has a bazillion of them...bass tackle are my toys, they are my watches/shoes/jewelry...they provide me enjoyment like those other things provide enjoyment for my wife and son. There are certainly much worse addictions I could have (drugs, alcohol, gambling etc.) .

[fin]

We’ve all got a problem, some just worse than others. Is it the wisest investment? No, but it’s not like a gambling or heroin addiction either. If people can afford it, what’s the problem? There are plenty of others wasting my money besides me. Life is short.

 

You sound like you know what lures work for you and you’ve gotten past the point of getting pleasure out of trying the latest thing. There’s still some logic behind stocking up on those things. I just noticed Academy went up 10% on their Zoom worms and 15% on their H2O lures. Neither one of those are perishable. I bought several bags of my favorite colors last time they had a 25% off sale, but now I wish I had bought more. I paid $2.99 for a bag of worms on sale, now I’m out, there’s no sale in the near future, so I’m looking at paying $4.29 a bag. Even when they go on sale, they’ll never be $2.99 again. I was foolish to not buy more back then.

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I'll give you just one example of how it happens.

 

Bill Dance does a couple of shows on the new Strike King Grass Frog.  Everybody's talking about the new Grass Frog.  Every tackle store is out of them.  Bass Pro Shops is out of them so I backorder 5.  I go in a tackle store and I'm surprised that they have 3 Grass Frogs in stock so I buy them all.  I go fishing for the first time with the new Grass Frog.  The fish love it but I'm able to hook maybe one in ten.  Everybody starts complaining about missing fish on the Grass Frog.  Everybody stops using the Grass Frog.  My order of 5 Grass Frogs finally arrives from Bass Pro Shops.  

 

That story is from 25 years ago.  I still have 8 Grass Frogs somewhere in my basement,  seven are still in the package.

Bill Dance is king of fishing private pits and holes that the bass in them have never ever seen a lure. 

 

Did you ever take notice there is never a boating angler or bank angler  in the background in any of his shows. 

[Hammer 4]

Pretty sure good ole Bill has his own private lake/pond, or at least he use to.