Money that you regret spending on tackle related items

[Cgolf]

I have a few and that could change at any time with a little fishing luck.

 

Right now I have a pile of swim jigs that are doing nothing for me. One year I went all in big time instead of buying a few and getting the system down before buying more. If I do finally figure it out it won't be money wasted.

 

Jackall ReRanges - These have been a bust for me and I hate the weight transfer sound when casting.

 

Ima Flits - Got these from TW on a 25 days sale and all were out of tune, even after tuning them I haven't caught anything on them.

 

Topwaters in general especially baits in the plopper family and style - I haven't figured out when the time is right for these and 9 times out of 10 I apparently pick the wrong time.

 

On the Fence - Plano edge Jig box and that series in general. See above on the jigs, and for now it has been repurposed into a spinnerbait box. For some reason I can't properly close the lids one handed like the add, but that is probably a me thing. I do like the 3600 box for my spinnerbait components. The hard shell aspect is better for that type of storage. I had hoped to do a 3700 flex in the future as I buy more components thinking I could also store some extra wire frames, but wow on the price. Will probably do the standard 3700 and store the frames elsewhere. Solid boxes, but they need a lipless box similar to the falcon box that was discontinued after they bought them. @Glenn If you ever talk to them that is the box they are missing. I have like 8 of the falcon boxes, but they are an inbetween size and don't fit in many tackle bags.

 

Overall that is probably about it for me.

 

One last one worm weights - Since I went slider heads 20+ years ago I don't believe I have used them more than a handful of times.

[Bird]

Mine was a fishing kayak, spent close to 2k and sold it 2 years later for $500 just to get rid of it.

Simply to old to comfortably fish out of it.

 

As far as tackle, it's not that I own baits that won't successfully catch fish. It's having an abundance of techniques and many may get overlooked for the entire year if what I'm throwing keeps producing.

[Choporoz]

12 minutes ago, Cgolf said:

I have a few...

But much more than this, you did it your way, Frank.

 

I decided decades ago not to bother with regrets, especially if I made a reasoned decision at the time.

 

There's always BR Flea Market.....put a good price.... those bass fishermen will buy anything at least once if it looks like a deal

[PhishLI]

Like anyone else I could list several of my loser baits, call them junk, but I know better. I've had runs on baits I should've given up on following several seasons of busts, but didn't. When that's happened I assess why, connect the dots, then the baits find their place. Often those baits become a Hail Mary pass on a bad day, and often I score throwing them. This has happened too many times for me to ignore.

[scaleface]

When I started making spinnerbaits I bought all kind of blades . What a waste . I only use a few and ran out of them quickly . 

[king fisher]

No regrets.  All my tackle was money well spent.  That is my story and I'm sticking to it.  Does any one want to trade a helicopter lure for a Jack Hammer?

[scaleface]

5 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Does any one want to trade a helicopter lure for a Jack Hammer?

we need a swap meet . 

[roadwarrior]

22 minutes ago, Bird said:

Mine was a fishing kayak, spent close to 2k and sold it 2 years later for $500 just to get rid of it.

Simply to old to comfortably fish out of it.

 I went through that a few years ago myself.

[Finessegenics]

There's definitely tackle I regret buying; not cause they don't work but they're just kinda niche and I don't use them often enough because they don't reflect the way I fish or the waters I fish. For example, I have over 20 bags of creature baits that you'd use for punching. I only punch a few times a year. Same with frogs. I really don't need that much but at least I'm set for a long time. 

 

Rod and reel wise, the same thing. I have some nice gear and I do enjoy fishing with them but I didn't need to buy that expensive of a reel or rod, when I'm perfectly happy with my more affordable ones. You live and you learn. 

[Bankc]

Not really.  I make it a point not to invest too heavily into a new type of lure that I haven't already had a lot of success with.  So when trying out something new, I'll just buy one to see how it works before committing more.  And if it's a dud, which many wind up being, then I've got something I can throw into areas where I'm not real certain I'll get my lure back.  I do a lot of bank fishing in the reeds, so it's good to have lures I'm not afraid to lose.  

[Darth-Baiter]

Sore subject for me. 
 

With the ebb and flow of product availability during our pandemic, I bought more than I need.  Now I just kinda gravitate towards a few favorite softbaits and I’m have a pile of colors and styles I simply don use.  
 

I need to quit listening to YouTubers and forum influencers

[gim]

1 hour ago, Cgolf said:

Topwaters in general especially baits in the plopper family and style - I haven't figured out when the time is right for these and 9 times out of 10 I apparently pick the wrong time.

 

Whopper plopper is a waste of money and time.  So you're not the only one with that problem.

 

I've done really good on buzz baits and hollow body frogs at various times and locations over the years, but the WP just doesn't produce.  I don't necessarily regret buying one and trying it.  I'll try just about any lure at least once to give it a chance.  What I regret is buying three of them at once when DSG had their buy two/get one free sale.  So now I have three of them that don't work instead of one.

[Junk Fisherman]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Mine was a fishing kayak, spent close to 2k and sold it 2 years later for $500 just to get rid of it.

Simply to old to comfortably fish out of it.

 

As far as tackle, it's not that I own baits that won't successfully catch fish. It's having an abundance of techniques and many may get overlooked for the entire year if what I'm throwing keeps producing.

 

Yeap- the only difference is I still have the kayak.  I bought a very nice Wilderness Systems kayak for $900 right before the kayak fishing boom took off.  No question- I would have bought a BPS or some used kayak for a much cheaper price just to see if I liked kayak bass fishing (I don't).  So I now have a kayak and gear I have spent well over 1K for and I have gone maybe a dozen times over the last 10 years.  It was nice when my boat was out of commission a few years ago.  I used it every week for about a month back then.  At this point, it is not taking up much space in my garage so I just keep it.   And it's not that I really dislike kayak bass fishing.  It's that I always opt for fishing out of my boat which is much, much better.  

 

And I agree with the tackle too.  I have a bunch of stuff I don't throw anymore but I don't really regret it.  Every once in a while I need to pull out some old stuff that I've had for years that I don't use anymore.  When I started throwing Stupid Tubes, I had just about every color and size imaginable.  If I wanted to throw 7" worms again, I'm set.  

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

When I started making spinnerbaits I bought all kind of blades . What a waste . I only use a few and ran out of them quickly . 

 

This is the last thing I want to hear as I have just gotten into it. I did try to stick with blades similar to what I use. I hope it doesn't get like fly tying, as I have a ton of supplies I haven't used in a while. If they had a worried like option I would go for that, so will stick with the sad as a replacement because I know where I am headed with the spinnerbait thing.

54 minutes ago, Bankc said:

Not really.  I make it a point not to invest too heavily into a new type of lure that I haven't already had a lot of success with.  So when trying out something new, I'll just buy one to see how it works before committing more.  And if it's a dud, which many wind up being, then I've got something I can throw into areas where I'm not real certain I'll get my lure back.  I do a lot of bank fishing in the reeds, so it's good to have lures I'm not afraid to lose.  

 

I am strarting to do this now. My purchases are heavy around the holidays, but I still try to be much smarter than in the past. No more ordering 5 or 6 colors of a new bait to try out, now it is mostly 2 max. Sales are my blind spot, I definetely overspend there though, especially a deeper discount.

[ATA]

For me the most money I wasted was on soft plastics, I just bought them like a mad man, imagine in last three years I have used and still have for next three years. I am still buying what I finish like paddle tails and Maxscents but everything else I have a lots of them and use them time to time,  About gear I feel bad always about combos that I bought at first and never enjoy them and sold them 20% of real pricing.(they were abu)

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I decided decades ago not to bother with regrets, especially if I made a reasoned decision at the time.

My mantra is simple: I regret no decisions made in the past, unless they were made with deliberate attempt to cause others pain and suffering. It’s so easy to Monday morning QB decisions. 
 

OP, you regret those swim jigs. Yet had you not purchased them, you would likely still be wondering if you were missing out on a (to you) great bait. One never knows. Like Yoda says, “buy or don’t buy, there is no try” lol. 

[EWREX]

megasbass dark sleepers. they hate my guts

[Deleted account]

Old fat guys find sitting cramped up low for hours in a "seat" that would make a basketball bleacher seem like a LazyBoy uncomfortable? Who would have guessed it...

I own a yak, and I don't regret it because the only reason I bought it was to goof on a friend and win a bet. It sits on my sawhorses in the garage and has never touched water, and never will, at least not with me in it, oh and a spool of Vanish...

[Trox]

Every cent of the 100 item order I just placed at tacklewarehouse a few days ago.... Everything had just been shipped, and then I get this email... I should have known better

[Cgolf]

26 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

My mantra is simple: I regret no decisions made in the past, unless they were made with deliberate attempt to cause others pain and suffering. It’s so easy to Monday morning QB decisions. 
 

OP, you regret those swim jigs. Yet had you not purchased them, you would likely still be wondering if you were missing out on a (to you) great bait. One never knows. Like Yoda says, “buy or don’t buy, there is no try” lol. 

 

I don't disagree and will be putting more effort in this year with them. I just wish I would have bought a handful, not 5 handfuls of them. I fish reeds a lot where spinnerbaits do really well, so hoping that swim jigs will too. I think in the past I tried to fish them too much like a texas rigged plastic. If I fish them like a spinnerbait I may actually do better and the mindset change while retrieving them hopefully will unlock it for me.

Just now, TroxBox said:

Every cent of the 100 item order I just placed at tacklewarehouse a few days ago.... Everything has already been shipped, and then I get this email...

 

Looks like you need a second order;) That does suck though. I ordered some reels from Scheels last week that are discontinued and they only have the size I am looking for. I was a bit happy when I saw they didn't go on sale for memorial day, unless they have another sale coming. In my case availability won out over getting a good deal.

[Bluebasser86]

5 minutes ago, TroxBox said:

Every cent of the 100 item order I just placed at tacklewarehouse a few days ago.... Everything had just been shipped, and then I get this email... I should have known better

Call them, they might honor the discount? Doesn't hurt to ask. 

 

My regret is anything made by LiveTarget. I've let myself be fooled by them too many times. 

[Jig Man]

Jerk baits and whopper ploppers

[HookInMouth]

I don't know if I regret anything I've bought. I think if I did I would stop doing it. 

 

Really don't use that much though. Honestly, if I have some 3/0 hooks, 1/4oz tungsten, and some menace grubs I'm pretty good 90% of the time on lakes. And in my shallow river it's 90% Berkley Choppo (shallow water + rock = smallie nirvana). 

[GreenPig]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

 

Whopper plopper is a waste of money and time.  So you're not the only one with that problem.

 

I've done really good on buzz baits and hollow body frogs at various times and locations over the years, but the WP just doesn't produce.  I don't necessarily regret buying one and trying it.  I'll try just about any lure at least once to give it a chance.  What I regret is buying three of them at once when DSG had their buy two/get one free sale.  So now I have three of them that don't work instead of one.

I'll just leave these here.? WP 130 bone. 100's of fish. 

[The Bassman]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

 

 

My regret is anything made by LiveTarget. I've let myself be fooled by them too many times. 

But without the hooks they make great cat toys, albeit expensive ones.