A question for bait and tackle junkies

[king fisher]

Just now, fin said:

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.

I thought I got some good advice on this thread.  I told my wife my tackle problem wasn't nearly as bad as a drug or gambling problem.  She informed me that kind of logic was going to cause a big marital problem. It  never occurred to me that she might have friends with husbands that have no addictions.  Probably not true, but  I decided it was best to make good use my right of silence before I have to use my right to an attorney.  Hiding bait monkey in the shop for a few days. 

[BoatSquirrel]

38 minutes ago, mrpao said:

If I stopped buying tackle today, I would still have enough stuff to probably last me two lifetimes.

For some reason, I don't feel like I'm alone in this.

You definitely are not alone!

Lots of tackle for me equals preparedness for lots of different situations, different lakes, times of year, and the inevitable, (not really) shortages or discontinuations.

[Dorado]

11 minutes ago, BoatSquirrel said:

You definitely are not alone!

Lots of tackle for me equals preparedness for lots of different situations, different lakes, times of year, and the inevitable, (not really) shortages or discontinuations.

I have enough tackle to supply my children for their lifetime too??. 

[Choporoz]

One big excuse is that I fish a variety of different waters; from upper midwest lakes to shallow smallie rivers; from grassy tidal Potomac to deep, steep TVA lakes....year round.   This year alone, I have fished at least a half dozen different types of waters (IMO) from nearly two dozen different locations.

   I may not NEED a different line up for each one, but sometimes it feels like I should. 

 

Besides, my widow's next husband will never want for tackle or cigars....I'm generous like that. 

[Fishes in trees]

Sometimes I go into a tackle store and the gear speaks to me.  "Buy me, buy me!!" it says, " I can help you catch more & bigger fish & come a part of your collection!"   Who am I - ? - to not listen to inanimate fishing gear?

[Choporoz]

I was recently going through the corner of my tackle room that has stuff that I probably will never use.  I didn't do a scientific analysis, but I estimate that 80+% of it is stuff that I got either as gifts, or from subscription services like MTB, LTB, etc.    Most of the other 20 is stuff I bought because I read on BR, a report that someone killed with it ....and I was checking out a cart from TW five minutes later.

[PourMyOwn]

I've found the best way to handle a surplus of soft plastics is to spend a pile of money on injectors and molds and melt them into something I will use-someday.

?

[greentrout]

over the yrs. i've purchased many a pack of plastic worms of all shapes colors and sizes ... problem is they are relatively inexpensive at time of purchase ...

 

got a box of 'em now ... and i don't mean a shoe box ... i mean a very big box ... no way i'll ever get to them all ... some forgotten ... brand no longer around ...

 

good fishing ...

[Koz]

OK, so more than a few have mentioned that they have a ton of plastic baits and even lures that they will probably never use and that gave me a few ideas:

 

• Donate them to a local boys & girls club, youth club, youth fishing club, or something similar
• Partner with a local organization or two and have a local Take a Kid Fishing day
• Donate them to the local middle school or high school bass fishing team
• Donate them to schools or other organizations as part of their annual raffle or silent auction
• Keep some in your vehicle and the next time you see a kid out there fishing give him a few bags or some old lures. That would be a great way for a young angler to build up their tackle box. Just make sure you don't say something like, "Pssst. Hey kid! Comer here..."

The idea is to put them to good use if you're not able to use them. You can even take a tax deduction for your donation.

[Choporoz]

2 minutes ago, Koz said:

OK, so more than a few have mentioned that they have a ton of plastic baits and even lures that they will probably never use and that gave me a few ideas:

 

• Donate them to a local boys & girls club, youth club, youth fishing club, or something similar
• Partner with a local organization or two and have a local Take a Kid Fishing day
• Donate them to the local middle school or high school bass fishing team
• Donate them to schools or other organizations as part of their annual raffle or silent auction
• Keep some in your vehicle and the next time you see a kid out there fishing give him a few bags or some old lures. That would be a great way for a young angler to build up their tackle box. Just make sure you don't say something like, "Pssst. Hey kid! Comer here..."

The idea is to put them to good use if you're not able to use them. You can even take a tax deduction for your donation.

Good ideas....I've donated LOTS. 

There's quite a few veterans' service organizations out there with a fishing focus -- you might add those to your list

 

Not trying to drag your post down, but a couple minor points:

-I am sometimes hesitant to donate stuff that I don't feel works well

-The whole tax deduction thing went out the window for the majority of us last year

[Revival]

I like options.

[whitwolf]

Like @A-Jay and others, I simply like to buy baits. I can and will buy baits. Other than the Rebels if any person,from  this site or otherwise, came to the house I would  be more than happy for you to take what you like. 

 

For me fishing is all encompassing and a part of that is buying baits.  I also figure that once I'm gone , my son, my grandson's, granddaughter, and all their spouses, will have aplenty of baits to fish with.

[NorcalBassin]

When I spend time with a new technique and have success I stock up with what ends up being more than I'll need in anticipation of sharing it with others. Problem is most of my "others" also tend to be tacklephilic and don't really need a whole lot. I donate quite a bit to local churches/thrift stores, but I'd much prefer to just give it to someone that would enjoy it but doesn't have the means to purchase it.

[Harold Scoggins]

On ‎9‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 12:54 PM, Koz said:

So, why have thousands of baits and lures in your own personal storage?

Putting the meme I posted earlier aside, I'll tell you why I try to stock up on some baits. I was recently caught off guard when I discovered that my favorite, go-to, and IMO, the best worm of all time, the 9" Blackberry Jelly Worm had been discontinued. (All 9" worms are discontinued.)  That worm has landed me hundreds of bass, including my PB, over the past 40+ years. I've got just under 200 left and although it pains me to do so, I can no longer give them away freely around the lake to kids as I've done in the past. Then adding insult to injury, yesterday I saw where TW has their remaining stock of Jelly Worms listed under "closeout." A quick check of other retailers gave no indication of the brand being discontinued across the board, but it still left me with a strange feeling in the gut. I'll have a rather large order of the 8" worms (50 packs) coming next week, so those kids and myself will settle for those. I'm sure they will do just as well as the 9" worms. All that being said, don't ever think your favorite bait will always be around...stock up!

[FishinBuck07]

I share baits with friends when they go with me, I go through my stuff twice a year and sort the stuff out that I haven't used and give it to my younger brother.  I don't have as many financial responsibilities as he does so I can afford tackle more than he can.  So if I am not using something it gets thrown in a bag and is given to him when we go fishing together, which is one weekend a year, since we live 7 hours away from each other.  I also have more tackle than I will ever use in a lifetime, but it isn't going to stop me from buying more!

[MassYak85]

I'll be honest and say that a lot of it just comes down to a feeling of "imperfection" in what I currently use and trying to fill a niche need in my tackle. I'm a bit of a perfectionist sometimes and when I'm fishing and some technique  I feel was not quite what I wanted I buy something else to try. A lot of times it's simple, not-so-expensive things. Like my thought process might be something along the lines of:

Try new jig..."hook is too light wire"...try a new jig..."hook is good, but the skirt doesn't flare as much as I'd like it to"...try new jig...."Great jig! Now I need three different weights to cover different depths and sink rates, and maybe two or three colors for each weight"...Now on to trailers and repeat the process....one trailer is too small and gets smothered by the jig skirt, one has to much action for fishing cold water, one doesn't have much action on the fall, one's claws don't stand up when on the bottom....and on and on and on.

 

That's not to say I'm trying to find a "do it all" lure, but in the process of finding the "best" presentation for various fishing situations I usually end up trying a lot of stuff and settling on a couple that I really like for those specific conditions. It's nice in a way cause when I do settle on something I have a LOT of confidence in it, but it ends up in some stuff just not getting used. 

 

Plus....it's fun to buy and try new stuff I won't lie lol. 

[papajoe222]

Whenever I bring fishing gear home, I hear: "you have too much fishing gear" or 'half the lures you have you never use"

I don't say a word, I just go to the walk in closet, open the door and point at the boxes and boxes of shoes. Then I go put my new gear away  .?

[jbsoonerfan]

My wife asks me about spending money on fishing and hunting. I just tell her, I will quit fishing and hunting and start spending it on cocaine and strippers. 

 

All of the sudden me sitting in a tree stand or standing on a boat doesn't really seem that bad.

[Raul]

On 9/5/2019 at 12:54 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?

Coz it's fun to purchase tons of stuff you ain't ever gonna use.

 

Now if it comes a competition on with how little I can catch outfish most of the fellas in this board your 7 boxes of stuff are too much.

 

It's like another of my hobbies which is videogames, I own thousands and I pretty much play a few dozens all year long.

[Hammer 4]

On my small pension, I buy only what I need, and replace baits as needed. Long time ago when I was working I had more, and Expensive baits then I needed..Lesson learned in my case.. 

[rboat]

i think buying and collecting fishing lures is fun, kind of a part of the sport. Do i need it? No.

It still makes me happy. I think a large portion of the appeal is thinking you may stumble on that one lure that crushes it on your local fish. You probably never will, but you have fun along the way. Also, what works great one day may not work next time, so something else is needed. It is also a bit like having several birthdays or an extra Xmas through the year when you buy, or get that box in the mail.

[fishwizzard]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:17 AM, Harold Scoggins said:

Putting the meme I posted earlier aside, I'll tell you why I try to stock up on some baits. I was recently caught off guard when I discovered that my favorite, go-to, and IMO, the best worm of all time, the 9" Blackberry Jelly Worm had been discontinued. (All 9" worms are discontinued.)  

Last fall I worked myself into a frenzy because I was convinced that Strike King was going to discontinue the Shellcracker plastics.  I freaked out and bought a few dozen packs.   

 

They still seem to be available, but I am still glad to have them. 

[Backroad Angler]

Like fishing, collecting a bunch of lures and new baits becomes a hobby and addicting, can't stop till you have a million of each type of lure ?

[greentrout]

i stocked up on walmarts old renegade tequila sunrise curl tail worms ... luck e strike ain't the same worm ...

 

glad i did ...

 

good fishing ...

[schplurg]

Because a Plano box full of shiny colorful crank baits looks so beautiful! Like candy! Let's be honest - "<grunt>...me like...colors...prettyyyyyyy!!!"

 

I have a Plano box for some barbless ponds near my house. I bought mostly Walmart baits and pinched the barbs on everything, baits, hooks in the package, jig heads and made a complete barbless tackle kit.

 

I noticed I didn't have every crank bait in the collection. There's maybe 7 or 8. Hmmm...they're only $1.97, so I filled out my "collection" last night, except for one not in stock.

 

Good thing I had that extra Plano box at home (cuz they're so cheap at Walmart), in fact that extra Plano box helped me to allow myself to buy these haha.

 

So now I have 2 barbless boxes, and both have space in them still...they must be filled!