It took me a few years

[Mobasser]

In my mid 20s, I belonged to a bass club. I remember being a little bit dismayed, and dissapointed when I saw that the best fisherman in this 25 member club carried a small two tray tacklebox.                                             At that time, I thought ALL serious bass fisherman carried a giant tacklebox, filled with every bait possible.                                                It took me a few years to realize that a huge box full of baits doesn't always mean a successful bass fisherman.                        Now, I carry less tackle than I ever did, and, my catch rates are as good, or better than they've ever been.                                          Have any others here come to realize this too?

[A-Jay]

Can't help you with this one Sean . . . .

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[BrianMDTX]

I have a big box but use it as storage. I have smaller Plano boxes that fit in storage pouches on my inflatable boat that I swap out baits I plan to use that day. Too many options seems to make me want to change baits more frequently and catch less bass lol. 

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m thick headed, but coming to the same conclusion.  My tackle box is tiny now by comparison. 

[GaryH]

Go with what works.... ?

 

[Mike L]

Nope 

I tried but just can’t do it. 
As much as I’d love to carry just what I plan to use for the day, I can’t do it. 
If I lived on a lake or had a pond within walking distance of the house then probably. 

Over the past 10 yrs or so, I fish more tournaments than fun fish. 
Ive probably gone through 4-5 different bag types to find the one to help me be the most efficient in finding what I want with the least amount of wasted time or decision making. 

It’s like having 3 or 4 rigs ready to go and other lure options at my finger tips,  instead of bringing 2 and taking 10 min to decide and find what I need to rig, and not having it. 

Been there and done that. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

[Dwight Hottle]

Your point makes sense because it forces to just select proven winners & eliminates the thought process of what color to use, what size to throw & wasting time mulling over what to use next. But I'm guilty of carrying way to many baits. 

[mrpao]

When you really think about it, we probably only use about 10 to 20 percent of all the tackle we buy. The rest just collects dust.

We find out what works in our local waters and tend to stick with it. Be it a certain color or lure.

Might try something new to see how it fishes or works but the old stuff still works the same. I think most of us will die with 90% of our tackle never being ever fished. We have a tackle hoarding problem. I know I do.

[scaleface]

In a boat I carry a tote with 6 planos and the pouches stuffed with soft plastics . Over 90 per cent of the fish I catch are with 5 categories of lures .

[RDB]

I carry a lot of tackle but I fish from a boat and have the storage space.  Last weekend I went through the tackle in my boat with the goal of streamlining.  I think I ended up with more.  There is no doubt that I could probably eliminate 50% and never miss but I just can’t get past the what if’s.

[813basstard]

Yep! That’s me to a T now. 
We had 19lbs in a local tourney couple weeks back I had 3 packs of worms in one pocket and weights in hooks in a zip lock bag in the other. Buddy called me with an hour heads up. It was fun because there were no other options. Had to fish what I had
 

[WRB]

I started bass fishing with 1 lure tied a Hawaiian Wiggler #3.

About 5 years later I had a 14 tray Philipsson tackle box that was full of over 200 bass lures and needed a boat to carry it.

60 years later my boat stored more variety of tackle then most tackle shops.

Today I have 2 tackle bags, 1 for terminal tackle the other contains every lure I now own; 3 Plano 3600 boxes  for jigs, hard lures and worms. 5 rod-reel combo’s, 3 casting and 2 spinning. No boat and occasional backseater.

Tom

[Luke Barnes]

Yeah..... I went from a three tray tackle bag to a backpack that fits five trays plus almost every single bag of plastics I own. Add in all the dyes, attractants, extra line etc.... And its probably 40lbs. Doesn't bother me weight wise at all. 

[Spy]

I use an old Plano Over/Under. It has a 3700's worth of 'tray' on top witch hold crank baits and under that is a built in spinner bait rack, three stacked trays each the size of a 3500 which hold my jigs and an open well for soft plastics and other bulky items. The whole package is the same size as four 3700's stacked yet holds everything I need to rig for any application yet small enough to force me into being selective in loading. Less bulk in the kayak and more importantly less to mull over when tying on something new. Honestly, the built in rack is the real selling point as I love throwing spinners and chatters and it's large enough to holds everything I need. 

 

 

[king fisher]

I'm sure I would catch more fish, if I only owned a hand full of lures, but fished those lures skillfully and often.  Bass fishing isn't only about how many fish a person catches.  Trying a new lure and catching a big fish with it is one of the biggest thrills of bass fishing, at least that is what the Bait Monkey tells me and I tell wife.  After all there is so many lures, and so little time.

[OkobojiEagle]

7 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Too many options seems to make me want to change baits more frequently and catch less bass. 

^ Wisdom from experience

[LCG]

I have slowly realized that I carried way more tackle than I would ever use in a year let alone a trip out for the day. 

 

Now I use two double sided 3500 boxes. One for plastics and one for hard baits. Small micro double sided box for terminal tackle. 

 

Goal by the end of this season is down to one double sided box for plastics and lures. If I don't catch anything with various lures this year, they are gone. Only want to carry what I know works and have confidence in. 

 

But easier said than done. 

[Log Catcher]

I carry too much tackle in my boat. I need to trim it down. A lot of the soft plastics I take I am trying to use up and get rid of them.

[waymont]

I limit myself to bringing 5 3600 Plano boxes in one Cabela's tackle bag.

I never feel like I need more than that. Lots of times I bring the tackle bag and 3 3600 boxes, and a terminal tackle box. I have found less is more. Sometimes I end up adding a box if I'm throwing glide baits.

[TnRiver46]

All I need is some zoom dead ringers and jigheads, but I usually take a little more 

[NavyVet1204]

My pond hopping back pack may as well be a bowling bag. I feel that if I don’t have at least....everything....I am hurting my overall chances for success. I do have a small slinger style back pack that I would like to move to by downsizing and I will make that my goal.

[Kyle S]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

All I need is some zoom dead ringers and jigheads, but I usually take a little more 

I heard that! What kind of jig heads do you use for the dead ringers? I've been Texas rigging them, but due to their thin body its rare if I get more than a few fish out of a single worm. I realize they're not expensive but hey, i'm not rich either?

I bet a slider head would work nicely...?

[KCFinesse]

Think about what you've had tied on at the end of a tournament you really struggled... I realized that about half the time I'd end up asking myself "what was I thinking???" 

 

I realized that my theory on baits was wrong. Answers don't come from the bottom of the tackle box- they come from finding the best presentation for getting the 'right' fish to bite. It seems like this subject comes up a lot with co-anglers digging for magic baits repeatedly. 

 

There are exceptions, but much of the bait selection game is choosing what best addresses the mood of the fish in the location they're at and fine tuning from there. Even with the big selection @A-Jay has- much of it is high confidence stuff with tweaks and variations- big random changes in bait is just grasping at straws.

 

Food for thought!

-Jared

 

[Captain Phil]

Back in the day, the sign you were a great bass fisherman was the size of your tackle box.   That was the wrapped boat with twin power poles of it's day.  I once fished with a man who had an aluminum boat with a built in tackle box that reached from gunnel to gunnel.  He must have had over 100 lures in those trays.  Many bass fisherman have a side hobby of collecting lures.  Some people become hoarders.  My old fishing buddy never saw a lure he didn't want to buy.  I would buy 2-3 of some bait and he would buy 2 or 3 hundred.  His garage looks like a Bass Pro Shop.

 

I used to carry the biggest tackle box they make filled to the brim with every lure style and color imaginable.  My excuse was I might need all of them.  In reality, I only fish with about 7-8 of them.   My total tackle now would fit in a large pants pocket.

 

[A-Jay]

  I think that it's fair to say, that bass really have a hard time knowing what any anglers tackle selection might consist of.  Additionally, I don't believe that I'm too far off the mark when I say

that they probably don't even consider this when deciding on whether or not to strike a bait. 

  It took me a few years but eventually I figured out that being in the right place, at the right time and doing the right thing, seems much more of a priority; especially to the keen senses of a mature fish. 

 So while my personal version of doing the right thing, sees me having a few options,

it plays very little role, if any, in the other two deals.

Fish Hard. 

A-Jay