What do you base your selection of new lures you never used before

[SENKOSAM]

I thinks most of us keep a basic set of lures stocked. I have my seasonal baits that usually work and then the extra junk I own that I imagine might be an addition to my standard stock. The problem is that my lure success changes from year to year based on a number of factors - ie. I suck more this year than last year and it's really not the lure(s) at all or fish seemed to hit better this year than last.

RickZaleski (an excellent fishing writer) gave a nice seminar a few years back and showed us his lure selection from one small tackle box. The man can fish! He rarely runs out to buy the latest model of any lure he owns. His color selection is small, same for sizes. He fishes bodies of water he knows well.

More and more, I'm adopting his philosophy - KISS, though it is nice to own a few new toys that I could only guess have potential.

The more I look at the new catalogs, the less impressed I am - must be getting old.

One other thing - does a lure's higher price justify buying it?

[fishfordollars]

Occasionally i will go purchase a new lure i have never fished. Usually it comes from fishing a tournament on a lake i have never been on and i will purchase a couple of the local, hot lures reccommended by a local tackle shop. To be honest with you i don't ever remember catching a lot of fish on them either. Just usually stick with the ones i have been fishing for years. They have not let me down yet.

[Paul Roberts]

I love to experiment, and add new tricks. And these tricks can be real additions. But lures are cheap and it's easy to end up with more than you really have time for.

Rich IS one heck of an angler. But realize he's far from new to the game, dialed into some specific waters, and developed his preferences. Doesn't mean there aren't others that fish differently and do well, even have found patterns Rich doesn't hit. Rich developed his repertoire over many years and you can be sure he's done his share of testing. His KISS kit wasn't simple in the making. I specifically remember adding soft plastic jerks from Rich's writing -raving -about the Slug-Go.

Can't offer definitive advice here except to say keep experimenting within your budget and develop your own KISS kit -you'll have to earn it though. You can definitely fish from a tiny box, and I do -but this tiny kit is what hits the water and it's contents vary locationally and seasonally.

[CSimon2]

I usually base my new lure purchases off of the reviews it receives.  There are a lot of good looking lures on the market, but they all don't work as well as they look.  Price does play a part in my selection.  I refuse to pay over $20 for a cranbait that I might have a good chance of losing on a bad cast. 

[SDoolittle]

I just run out and buy whatever Roland Martin and Bill Dance are plugging.  ;D

[Ima Bass Ninja]

I love to experiment, and add new tricks. And these tricks can be real additions. But lures are cheap and it's easy to end up with more than you really have time for.

Rich IS one heck of an angler. But realize he's far from new to the game, dialed into some specific waters, and developed his preferences. Doesn't mean there aren't others that fish differently and do well, even have found patterns Rich doesn't hit. Rich developed his repertoire over many years and you can be sure he's done his share of testing. His KISS kit wasn't simple in the making. I specifically remember adding soft plastic jerks from Rich's writing -raving -about the Slug-Go.

Can't offer definitive advice here except to say keep experimenting within your budget and develop your own KISS kit -you'll have to earn it though. You can definitely fish from a tiny box, and I do -but this tiny kit is what hits the water and it's contents vary locationally and seasonally.

That is great advice. Everyone's kit will be different  and as long as you enjoy yourself while figure out what works for you, then you can't go wrong.

[Gatorbassman]

I started a KISS kit a couple of years ago when my wife and I decided it was time to get out of debt. It has saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars since then and I can easily look at my stock at the beginning of each year and know exactly what I need. I still fished over 100 days last year and I still guided about half of those and I still saved money. It's a wonderful thing if you want to keep cash in the bank.

[Fish Chris]

Well first off, I hardly ever use "new lures". But once in a blue moon, I'll start hearing stuff from my inside circle about a lure they are sticking big fish on. If I hear it enough, and I'm fishing in a time and place that it seems to me like that lure should work, I might try it. If it does work, I'll fish it some more. Eventually, it might become a normal part of my arsenal.... but I'm talking about maybe 1 new lure, every 2 years.

I don't waste a lot of time with stuff I'm not already sure about.

IMP experience, the latest, greatest lure, is almost never better than my old standby's.

Peace,

Fish

[JigMe]

I don't buy many new lures to stock my Plano boxes, because the old stuff still works. So there isn't a need to change, unless the fish stop biting then I will just use whatever I am using now.

[DeBassin619]

I like the idea of Having "One" tackle box and having more on stock of what is in there.

The less you have and the more your forced to fish it. You begin to teach yourself how to fish it with new techniques learned from trial and error from all angles. You'll know when it works/doesn't work well by the season, water clearity, conditions and based on the waters you fish (fish pop and aggressiveness).

There are people that only fish with 1-2 lures all year long but they are masters at their craft and are so familiar with the bait in all ways.

This keeps us from wanting to give up to easily on a lure and fall for the next big thing .

The Jitterbug is a lure that has stood the test of time. It is easily one/if not the best top water bass catching lure of all time.

I know once I understand all the factors that impact a lure success or choice of a lure, The less I need to buy and become a better fisherman.

If one has to pay 15-20 dollars for a Crankbait, I would hope it catches fish on almost every cast. But, I never experienced enough success with a Crankbait to put that amount of faith in it. it's not that much of a versatile bait compared to a jig or a worm which can cost considerablyless but has probably produced more fish.

I'm a patterns guy and I go by what the majority finds true. You can easily get talked into or talked out of by what you read. It's one of those things you have to find out if it's right for you by experience and putting all the facts together.

Jigs were the one bait I didn't have much faith in but once I understood better how to fish them and how most of it is a "One bite for Big fish" philosphy; They are all I want to fish now.

Things have been produce for so long and looked from all angles, That I don't think there will be much "Newness" or Difference from the lures from here on out.

[Grey Wolf]

I basically stick with proven lures but I will buy something new if it fits my style.

[Hot Rod]

I apply the KISS method too as I only have one tackle box.  It just happens that that tackle box is 18 1/2 feet long and I have to pull it around with a full size truck!   ;D

Joking aside, I probably only buy/try two new baits per year on average though I will often try different colors, sizes, or styles of a bait I already have confidence in.  I figured I either needed to keep my bait buying to a minimum or I was going to need to buy a house with more strorage    Now I only try something when I hear something good about it from fellow anglers mostly.

[farmpond1]

I love to experiment, and add new tricks. And these tricks can be real additions. But lures are cheap and it's easy to end up with more than you really have time for.

Rich IS one heck of an angler. But realize he's far from new to the game, dialed into some specific waters, and developed his preferences. Doesn't mean there aren't others that fish differently and do well, even have found patterns Rich doesn't hit. Rich developed his repertoire over many years and you can be sure he's done his share of testing. His KISS kit wasn't simple in the making. I specifically remember adding soft plastic jerks from Rich's writing -raving -about the Slug-Go.

Can't offer definitive advice here except to say keep experimenting within your budget and develop your own KISS kit -you'll have to earn it though. You can definitely fish from a tiny box, and I do -but this tiny kit is what hits the water and it's contents vary locationally and seasonally.

I couldn't have said it better myself. If I stuck with the same lake all the time, I could probably stick with a few old reliable baits too.  But I try out many different bodies of water each year and, thus, need a pretty good selection of baits to cover all those lakes and the various seasons/conditions.  It is probably true that I could downsize some but I've been out often enough with friends to know that it's the one bait I don't have that is catching all the fish.

[Paul Roberts]

I guess if I took ONE KISS kit and tried to get it to fit all the waters, locations, conditions, and seasons I fish, I'd be left wanting. Sortof like saying I'd be able to cover it all with one rod. I make good use of everything from light spinning to heavy casting rods over the course of the year. But neither rod is apt to be with me every outing.

I guess when adding a new lure I long ago dumped the idea of "magic" lures that emit some irresistible vibrations or something. Lures are tools that do two basic things: get to the fish and trigger strikes. Bass habitats vary a lot and can require different things. The waters I fish range from almost coverless "swimming pools" to brushy swamps. If I fished only one of them, my tackle choices would be far simpler and less expensive.

I've had single days where sky and water conditions required that I alternate between tackle -big spinnerbaits on a casting rig when tempests blew, jigworms on medium spinning when the sun blazed and wind died, and wakers/walkers/swimming jigs in between. On one particular day last year I was able to keep my rod bent all day while another guy with one rod sharing the pond only got bit when conditions matched what he chose to throw. It pays to recognize when things change and be equipped to do so. I guess KISS is relative.

[J Francho]

Lure selection is just problem solving to me.  You simply have to get the bait to fish to trick them into eating.  There are some exceptions - topwater, big swimbaits.  But for the most part, you use a certain bait due to what the situation dictates.  For that reason, I don't have just a few baits.

[SENKOSAM]

Great replies everyone! and I'm pretty much in agreement, but as you've seen with every new and improved gadget that comes out (tv, phones, reels), there's something to keeping an open mind.

One thing that will get me to purchase something different is seeing-is-believing. I fished with a gent last fall on a large reservoir and he used a Rage Tail as a jig trailer. He outfished me 10:1.

I've always used a craw trailer with flat claws that hang more or less straight back. The R.T. design was clearly superior, as is the Zoom Super Craw when used as a trailer. From then on, my swim jig technique produced more and far stronger hits than with the old trailer.

Is the Slugo as good as the Senko or other stick that came much later? In my opinion, no and, as mentioned above, versatility is another reason I look at a new bait design. I never use Slugos anymore or 3" FinS Fish or Mann Shadows - and I have a bunch of each cluttering up my basement. Round sticks IMHO are an improvement.

Remember how much harder it was to set the hook with Slugos before wide gap hooks came out? Something brand new made something old work better, but still not enough to switch back.

Floating Rapalas, Rebel Minnows and the Devil's Horse still have their place and time as jerkbaits, but X-Raps and other suspending baits seem to do better for me especially when I need long pauses at a fixed depth.

- a functional improvement.

Skirt materials have come a long way - great color patterns and silicone vs. living rubber. Living rubber rots in a year or so - silicone holds its color and shape.

Something that lasts longer and produces, doesn't get replaced, so I look for that quality in a new lure.

[MNGeorge]

I am a self confessed tackle junkie as anyone who has seen my garage and shed can attest.  I am retired and spend a fair amount of time looking for new (to me) baits.  If I see something that looks like it might fool an upper Mississippi River Smallmouth, I'll order it.  Needless to say, what I thought would fool the Smallies and what they actually fell for differ on a grand scale.  Seeing Glenn's post about saving significant money by reducing new tackle purchases will help me stick to a New Year's resolution to reduce my tackle purchases in 2011 and going forward.

As to the question of price for a bait, it does enter into my buying decision.  The main factor in deciding whether a potential bait is worth the cost mostly comes down to how likely it is to get bit off by the toothy critters (Northern Pike and/or Muskies) we have to deal with.  Hence, I have very few high priced crankbaits or topwater baits.  I do have some higher priced hard jerk baits because they work so well it's worth the risk of losing one every so often.

[senile1]

My decision making criteria for the selection of new lures incorporates the ideas mentioned by Paul Roberts and J Francho.  Different conditions and different lakes require different presentations.  I am not an extreme lure junkie but I'll buy a lure if I think it will fill a niche that no other lure in my tacklebox will fill.

[SENKOSAM]

My wife knows enough to keep receipts from Dicks or Gander for after-Xmas lure returns. :-*

Most of the lures she choses I either have or wouldn't stock, which allows me to buy something I would try and bank the rest.

[pitchin fool]

I mainly stick to buying what I like also, and only buy a couple new ones per year if my buddies are haulin' em in and I am not.  What I do like to do, however, is ask for lures for my birthday and not specify what I would like.  This is a fun way to get more gear and you never know what you will unwrap.  I have received some lures I have really liked and some that haven't caught a darn thing, but hey it's all fun, as long as your fishin'!!!

[slonezp]

"If I were a bass I'd eat this"  ;D

[flippin and pitchin]

There's very few lures that are new, they are just different from those already on the market. An example is the Excalibur square bill or the Rapala Thug.  I might buy one or two because of a unique color or they hit a specific depth range.  I will admit, couriosity has played a roll but my bank account has made me less curious these days. I will buy if i'm going to a new body of water and it has a history of a specific bait being the go to lure, i.e. Table Rock and Wiggle Warts.

[jdw174]

Mostly on reviews of a bait, and whether or not they fit into my fishing style.  For instance, I like to fish shakeyheads, and when I read the article on the Hag's Tornado I ordered a couple of bags.  It quickly became my favorite soft plastic for that, so this year, I ordered several more bags. 

Over the years, I've never listened to what a pro was pushing in the way of lures.....until KVD came along with his RedEye Shad and the Sexy Shad color.  I've caught a bunch of fish on that lure and it remains my favorite lipless crank.  I also listened when read about shallow running square-bills and now throw those in place of spinnerbaits most of the time.  Thanks to a gift certificate I got this year, I now have several of the new KVD 1.5 and 2.5's and have high hopes for them.

As for price, let's just say that $7+ spinnerbaits give me a pucker factor of +10, not to mention $15 cranks.  If you like 'em and can afford them, drive on, brother.  As for me, I stick with Bandits, Bombers, SK's, and a couple others.  Heck, I've done very well on BPS copies.   

[Catt]

If you do what you're always done you'll get what you always got!

I've fished the same lures using the same techniques on the same structure with above average results for years. It is very hard to get me to try new lures but when I do I'm there 100%.

When I leave the lake after struggling I don't think If I'd thrown War Eagle spinner bait instead of that Stanley Wedge.

[SirSnookalot]

I'll buy something different every once in a while for a change of pace.  In reality most are no more productive than what I'm already using.  A new lure is catches my attention, I'm not so sure a fish feels the same as I do.