Wasting Money on Soft Plastics

[Kdizzle]

I've got about 300 Dollars just in my 2 3/4" tube box. 

[FishinBuck07]

5 minutes ago, Kdizzle said:

I've got about 300 Dollars just in my 2 3/4" tube box. 

Right there with ya and my tote of 5" Senkos!  ?

[Tatsu Dave]

Well I did run up to Dicks today between posts and scored some more soft plastics, fish day tomorrow and don't know how hungry the pickerel will be. My state has tried to pass laws twice banning the soft plastic baits, it gets shot down of course but sooner or later. All the more reason to stock-up, I have some hand painted plastic curly tails real big and they match the shad in the big river (susky) I bought em' in 1990. 

[NoShoes]

37 minutes ago, Tatsu Dave said:

Well I did run up to Dicks today between posts and scored some more soft plastics, fish day tomorrow and don't know how hungry the pickerel will be. My state has tried to pass laws twice banning the soft plastic baits, it gets shot down of course but sooner or later. All the more reason to stock-up, I have some hand painted plastic curly tails real big and they match the shad in the big river (susky) I bought em' in 1990. 

what state and why??!?!

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Kdizzle said:

I've got about 300 Dollars just in my 2 3/4" tube box. 

Yeah but 2&3/4 is the perfect size 

[Tatsu Dave]

Believe it or not Maine, they say the loons, fish and turtles are eating them. 

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, Tatsu Dave said:

Believe it or not Maine, they say the loons, fish and turtles are eating them. 

Well if they eat elaztech it might melt to the inside of their throat if it’s sunny out haha

[Alpster]

Midway had a sale on "Yum Dingers" so I bought a couple of hundred. Yep, I needed them....?

[Scott F]

10 hours ago, Bankc said:

I feel like I've wasted a lot of money on soft plastics.  I've been fishing a pond recently on my lunch break.  I just take one rod and a Ziploc bag of assorted plastics and terminal.  When I get hung up or a plastic gets cut up too badly, I just tie on another one, usually a different one, because I tend to carry one of everything.  What I've noticed is, when the fish or biting soft plastics, it doesn't seem to matter what I have tied on.  They'll bite it.  And when they're not biting, the same goes.  Speed worm, Senko, curly tail, rage tail craw, fatty craw, or even a lifelike craw... they all seem to produce the same for me.  Color doesn't seem to matter either.  What does seem to matter is how I retrieve it.  How fast, how big of hops, how long of pauses, etc.  That seems to matter.  The weight also seems to matter, as I can't hardly get bit with a pegged weight, even a 1/16 oz. pegged weight.  It needs to be free.  

 

So now I'm questioning if I really need all of these different plastic baits.  I understand that if you're a tournament angler, then using the right worm might mean the difference between 9 bass and 10 bass in the boat, which could be the difference in getting paid or not.  So I get it then.  But for us average hobbyists, who fish for fun and don't make any money off it, is it really worth it to have $500 worth of soft plastics lying around just in case, when you could probably get almost identical results with just a few?  

 

Or is what I'm experiencing just a weird anomaly of this particular pond?  What's your thoughts on this?  Do any of you notice the same thing, or are there times when some baits won't work and others really produce for you?  

You’ve hit on the solution that tackle companies don’t want you to figure out. From what I’ve seen, too many anglers think that the secret to catching fish is having the exact bait and color that a fish can’t resist. So they buy everything so that they will always have that magic bait. 

[flyfisher]

Anyone can catch fish on a bait when they are hitting it like you mentioned.  It is the times they are not actively feeding that separates the average from the great fisherman.  It is those non active times that type of soft plastic matters, at least it has to me on many occasions.

 

[Bubba 460]

 

 

10 hours ago, Bankc said:

"What I've noticed is, when the fish or biting soft plastics, it doesn't seem to matter what I have tied on.  They'll bite it.  And when they're not biting, the same goes.  Speed worm, Senko, curly tail, rage tail craw, fatty craw, or even a lifelike craw... they all seem to produce the same for me.  Color doesn't seem to matter either."

 

Or any bait for that matter, particularly when they are in a feeding mode. They eat whatever is available, be it live or a bait/lure. A big solitary bass will eat when she is hungry and if something too good to pass up presents itself (an easy meal in a realistic manner) she may take it but she didn't get big being stupid.  When they are not fired up to feed then you have to work at it a lot harder, reaction strike, teasing, annoying, curiosity etc.

[MGF]

The main reason that I have so many is because of the number of ways that I use them. Only a very small percentage of my plastics fishing is a TR. 

 

I fish several very different weightless plastics...wacky rigged stick/worm or a jerk bait like a fluke.

 

I have a few different plastics that I use for jig trailers and bladed jig trailers (they're different.)

 

I have the ned and "tiny child " stuff.

 

Tubes

 

The stuff I lead head...like twister tails or paddle tails.

 

This is the time of the year that I'm using a finesse worm on a splitshot rig in the river.

 

And then the occasional TR where some of the above can do some double duty but here I add the ribbon tail. LOL

 

I do have some that get used far more than others but I think that's just because I don't get to do enough fishing. Options are good.

 

 

 

 

[Mobasser]

I have way too many soft plastic baits at home. It's always fun to try a new one, and see how it works compared to your favourites. But, all soft plastic baits can and will work at times. You really don't need that many.

[scaleface]

I just gave my cousins boy two huge bags of soft plastics that I will never use and I still have too much . 

[Bruce424]

what i think it has to do with. having a fish seeing something different than what hes always seeing. im sure if all you throw and every one throws is a senko. im sure hell get accustomed to it.  then again i fished ponds where it seemed i could catch em on a rubberband.... so i dont kno?

[CrankFate]

 

Still much more economical than fresh bait. I see every cast with every technique with anything I’m throwing as one of these dollars and a dream.

[Dash Riprock]

In the creek I fish the most, black or some combination of black/gray works the best. I've also caught fish there on that merthiolate (sp?) color but I can't recall ever catching anything on green pumpkin. Yet I have a green pumpkin version of almost every soft bait I have, and I don't know why.

 

Also, 75% of my luck is on a weightless trick worm type bait, the rest a combination of wacky rig and, when those aren't working a good old white Shyster. I recently got some tubes and some Berkley Pit Bosses I'm anxious to try out. I don't use weighted worms or Neds here because the bottom is so mossed over, yet somehow I've accumulated a tray full of tungsten. I don't know why.

 

Yeah, I think nearly all of us spend way too much on tackle than is necessary. 

 

[David 7]

I’ll typically buy 4 bags of GYCB senko #297 a year. Between that and new line, I typically spend about $50 in tackle a year. Sometimes a bit more if I’m upgrading something but I pretty much exclusively fish with senkos and top water. This year was expensive though because I bought a new kayak.

 

I use to spend a lot on lures that I never really used, which was a waste. Now I only buy what I have confidence/ history with. It simplifies things and saves me money. But you can bet that I still look through that Bass Pro Master Catalog every year, just for fun ?.

17 hours ago, Tatsu Dave said:

Well I did run up to Dicks today between posts and scored some more soft plastics, fish day tomorrow and don't know how hungry the pickerel will be. My state has tried to pass laws twice banning the soft plastic baits, it gets shot down of course but sooner or later. All the more reason to stock-up, I have some hand painted plastic curly tails real big and they match the shad in the big river (susky) I bought em' in 1990. 

What state is this?! If New York did that I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, David 7 said:

I’ll typically buy 4 bags of GYCB senko #297 a year. Between that and new line, I typically spend about $50 in tackle a year. Sometimes a bit more if I’m upgrading something but I pretty much exclusively fish with senkos and top water. This year was expensive though because I bought a new kayak.

 

I use to spend a lot on lures that I never really used, which was a waste. Now I only buy what I have confidence/ history with. It simplifies things and saves me money. But you can bet that I still look through that Bass Pro Master Catalog every year, just for fun ?.

What state is this?! If New York did that I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.

You buy 4 bags of senkos per year, I read earlier where someone said they buy 10 bags of zinkerz a year………. Myth busted ! 

[David 7]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You buy 4 bags of senkos per year, I read earlier where someone said they buy 10 bags of zinkerz a year………. Myth busted ! 

To be fair though I only get to fish once or twice a week, I average about 8-10 hours on the water a week just because of my schedule etc. They might be fishing more than me. But my senkos definitely last quite a bit because I use the o rings.

[TnRiver46]

Just now, David 7 said:

To be fair though I only get to fish once or twice a week, I average about 8-10 hours on the water a week just because of my schedule etc. They might be fishing more than me. But my senkos definitely last quite a bit because I use the o rings.

Once or twice a week is a lot of fishing!!! Sounds like you’ve mastered the O ring method 

[gim]

17 hours ago, flyfisher said:

Anyone can catch fish on a bait when they are hitting it like you mentioned.

Not true.  I've seen people catch virtually nothing when others were hammering them.  They were simply in the wrong location.

 

1 hour ago, CrankFate said:

Still much more economical than fresh bait.

Isn't that the truth.  Live bait is very popular up here especially in the spring, fall, and winter for certain species of fish, but stopping to buy it, keep it alive, and then dispose of it properly is a complete headache that I am rarely willing to deal with.

[FishTank]

 

I have wall full of soft plastic on hooks and three 3700 deep boxes I take fishing.  I would say I have 75 to 100 packs of 5in senkos alone.  I think I can use them all before it's over.

[purpurite]

Angler: I need multiple pieces of multiple colors of multiple baits and lures, in multiple sizes for every different weather and water condition known to man.

 

Fishing Industry: Yes, you do.

 

Fish: There's a dark thing moving over there, I think I'll eat it.

[Luke Barnes]

I thought my wife was posting on here and this was about me. Glad to know its not just me thinking this!!!