Here is one of the most important tips I can give you when it comes to fishing tackle. Most fishing gear is designed to catch fishermen not fish. Read that again because it is important. Companies that produce fishing gear spend a lot of time, money, and effort to convince you that you need to buy their stuff. Ask yourself this, is there any possible way you could possibly need forty colors of plastic worms? Do you need fifteen colors of crankbaits in three different sizes?
Lets start with the biggest money maker in the United States...largemouth bass. For the purpose of this post I looked up how much is spent on largemouth bass fishing alone. The answer...1.25 BILLION. Now, that number includes things such as vacations, fishing guides, tackle shops, etc... This post is going to concentrate on fishing tackle.
We have all been to Bass Pro Shops and there are aisles and aisles of gear aimed at Largemouth Bass. I am not one to talk. I was seduced by the lure of needing all sorts of gear. One example was after watching a fishing show I went out and bought multiple sizes and shapes of purple plastic worms. My reasoning was that I could experiment and figure out which sizes worked during each "application". Maybe the curly tailed worm might be more affective in muddy water. Maybe the short straight worm would work better next to cover. You know what, I still have most of those same unopened bags of different purple worms in my storage box! I fell for the advertising.
My tackle box for bass fishing must weigh well over forty pounds. It is loaded with dozens of topwater lures, crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. I have tons of soft plastic worms, lizards, grubs, tubes, and flukes all in at least five or more colors.
When I went to New Hampshire in May and July I did really well fishing for Smallmouth Bass. I took a box of lures I thought I would actually use with me. So I selected the lures out of my forty pound box that would fit into a plastic storage box. I did very well fishing for Smallies. My worst day I caught six fish. I had two days were I caught twenty eight, and twenty respectively. The rest of the days I caught over six but less than twenty. By any standard, fishing was very good. You know how many lures I caught fish on...three. I used my Zara Puppy for topwater fishing and a jighead for bouncing off of the bottom. On the jig I used two different color grubs. They were a four inch purple grub and a four inch Kalin's green pumpkin. That's it. I caught around a hundred Smallmouth Bass on three lures. Most of the hundreds of lures I own stayed at home while I was on vacation. And even eighty percent of the stuff in the box stayed in the box!
So, the question becomes, what should you buy. If you are a bass fishermen that started out as a kid, then you probably don't need anymore gear. But for the sake of argument here is how you should break down what you need. Look at a how you would break down the pond. You need a few lures for each layer. You need topwater lures, lures for the middle layer and lures for the bottom. I love topwater fishing and by far my favorite topwater lure is a Zara Puppy. Other good ones are Jitterbugs, PopR, SkitterPops. Middle layer lures would be jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. Also very popular are Senko Worms fished like a darting/dying baitfish. Bottom lures would be crankbaits. Also needed would be plastic worms, grubs, jigheads and worm hooks. This sounds like a lot, but I assure you, you do not need the amount of gear in my box. Get yourself two or three lures for each level of the water. Get a couple grubs you feel confident in. Get a light and dark colored worm such as Tequila Sunrise and salt and pepper.
Don't get caught up in all of the combinations of blades and colors of spinnerbaits. Get a white spinnerbait and a white/chart one in either 3/8 or 1/2 ounce. A combination of a suspending jerkbait and one that floats at rest will fill your needs.
What about colors? I usually go with baitfish colors for hardbaits. I do have perch colored crankbaits and even Fire Tiger. But overall, two or three colors is plenty for each level of the lake. I am positive, you do not need purple worms of five different shapes and sizes.
I once heard a fisherman say to bring five lures with you for a day of fishing. He promised "you will catch fish". You will learn how to use them because you will concentrate harder than if you change lures every five casts. You will also build confidence in the lures. I believe this fishermen was right. If I take my favorite five lures covering the water column with me fishing, I know I'm going to catch fish. As I said, I only used three lures fishing for smallies.
On the other hand, I once heard a fisherman say "they are only hitting motor oil colored worms today". Ignore an idiot that says that. And worse, don't be the idiot that goes out and buys motor oil colored worms because someone said they work. Lets look at this logically. Bass are a fish with a simple brain. Last I checked there isn't any natural prey called "motor oil worm". So the bass will not be "keying on" that particular lure and they won't hit anything else. Sure, that color worm may be working for that guy. It is a color he feels confident in. But I promise, the bass will hit other lures/colors also. A lethargic bass may not be willing to chase a spinnerbait but if you drop a Senko in front of a bass, even if it is not hungry, it's going to suck it in.
There is probably more gear designed for bass fishing than all of the other fish species in the US. The companies that make it want you to believe you need every color of every size. Do not fall for it. The advertising is designed to catch you. You will want more, but as I said, if you go fishing with five lures you feel confident in, you will catch fish.
Part 2 of this post will be about taking lessons I've learned from buying bass gear and applying them to other species.
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