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Posts: 1188
Location: Iowa | I have this crazy obsession called "Buying Baits" and I need to stop...does anybody else have this obsession...all I think about when I look outside and see the rain/snow mix that we are having is how many more big baits (or just baits alone for that matter) I need to use during this time of the year...usually this time of year my focus turns to the CRP fields and woods to pursue pheasant and deer but something is different this year...I think the muskie bug has bitten me even harder this year that in past years...is this a bad sign...should I seek counseling/help...?
Big Perc |
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Posts: 476
Location: WI | You'll get over it.....and then you'll sell the ones that you bought but never used!
Trust me, been there-done that!
Somewhere, somebody wrote about the "stages" of a musky fisherperson. Wish I could find it.
GotOne |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Just be glad your not in college and spending money on baits when you don't have money to be spending on baits! The way I think of it, what else do you spend money on for yourself. It's not like I have any other hobbies that I do so much of like fishing. The way I look at is, if I'm spending money on something that I like and will use then fine, but if I buy something that I might use a couple times a year then to me thats a bad buy. For example, I keep thinking that I would like a set of golf clubs because wanting to be in the business aspect of the outdoor industry, you wouldn't believe how much business is done on a golf course. But I just can't ration myself to buy golf clubs that I may use a couple times a year! As long as your "bait buying" addiction doesn't cause problems financially or any other problems at that, then enjoy life now, you can't take money with you when you die! |
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| You are just fine. You are just investing your money.
Going to the PI outing? There will be a bunch for sale up there  |
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Posts: 7087
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Some day you'll realize more baits doesnt = more muskies. Bigger baits dont mean bigger muskies.
Someday you'll have ALL lures you know how to work.
Someday you'll never throw lures that are a waste of time for the depth/conditions you're fishing.
Someday you'll focus on the cast, on the retrieve, and the figure 8...while the guy you're fishing with is focusing on what to cast, because he's looking at the tackle box trying to figure out what to throw (guessing you're that guy right now).
Someday.....till then, I have a hammer you can borrow. |
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Posts: 8831
| Big Perc
Man...
You gotta just say to yourself
"I ain't buying anymore baits until I get rid of some of the ones I don't use"
Then you'll realize that you have probably 50 lures that you've thrown once, or not at all. Why did I buy that? Why don't I want it any more even though I've never even USED it? If I sell it for $5 that means I lose $15 on it. Multilply that times the 50 lures I have that I never throw and that's $750!
Man, I gotta get rid of some stuff...
Then you'll be so busy trying to figure out what to get rid of you won't even THINK of buying new baits for at least a couple weeks.
If you're like me you probably have a phantom collection even though you don't throw gliders, and a bunch of shallow bulldawgs even though you just throw the weighted ones, and a bunch of small bulldawgs even though you just throw the big ones, and ...
And yet
I keep buying lures
Next year I am selling a bunch of stuff at the swap meets, and whatever I get for it all is the ONLY money I'm letting myself spend on baits.
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Location: Contrarian Island | we all go thru that phase..i see you are on the big bait kick..how many fish do you have on all your big baits combined ? and what is the ROI? probably not so good.
I use to be a bait buying freak...still have times I buy new baits..but more often than not, they are already a bait i own maybe just a different color.
I have less and less baits I throw each trip..and fish don't seem to care..get baits you KNOW work for the waters you fish and style of your fishing and don't waste your money on baits you just think will work...my bait collection is probably getting smaller...i have been dumping gliders all year...cuz they don't work, ha ha. A good thing to do in the winter is go thru your baits, if a bait hasn't hit the water in the last year, why do you have it????
i get a kick out of the guys that bring 3 or 4 monster lakewoods on a weekend trip...then throw about 20 tops...why do they have so many baits? lack of confidence in the ones they throw probably...
i take 3-5 plano's for weekend trips up north or to MN or IN, i figure if i can't catch a fish on something I bring...having 200 more baits is not going to help me one bit...
I actually stopped at rollies last weekend and did NOT buy a bait...Dan O. could not believe I didn't walk out of there with a dawg or Draider in some fancy new color
Edited by MSKY HNR 10/18/2006 1:27 PM
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Posts: 619
Location: Verona, WI | I am going to model my bait selection after Lambeau next year. We fished all year in the Madison Musky League and I would show up with my Flambeau Maximizer full of baits plus tubes full of bucktails around the casting seat. Mike would bring ONE single Plano tray with about 8 baits in it. And he caught more fish.
This year I am going to thin down the heard, be an expert in the baits I have and when I am, then maybe buy more.
Shane |
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| I agree with Nelson here. Just a few planos is all i bring with me now. i used to lug a lakewood in the boat but soon realized having all those baits with me was useless and just takes up room. we all go through the "buying" stage...i was bitten by it a few years ago. but like nelson, i now have about 5 - 10 lure/lure styles i throw all the time. the only time i buy new baits is when i see a new color of one of those lures. i had a TON of glide baits for a while when the glide bait craze was going on and all the pretty paint jobs were coming out, but when i realized they dont catch fish or rarely do, i dumped them.
you will get over this stage.
johannes |
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| for me, buying baits like crazy used to be a sort of surrogate way to be involved in muskie fishing when i wasn't catching enough fish. i'm still inclined to run to town and go lure shopping to make myself feel better if the fish aren't moving. the "toys" of muskie fishing are very cool, and addictive!
i'm not exactly a fish-catching machine kind of guy, but i do catch more per hour invested than i used to do. and i buy a lot less lures than i used to do too.
it's easier to "do" something than to "not do" something. so instead of "not buying" baits, focus on improving your skills to catch fish...last summer i started doing things like only using one lure for a couple hours on my local pond and focusing on figure-8ing better, or working certain depth ranges better, etc.
i was enjoying myself while practicing certain skills that i need to be good at when it really matters. i find that it's become more fun for me to cast an "old" lure than to buy a new one.
when you get the urge to buy-buy-buy, pick up a magazine and read about a technique you want to get better at, or go sharpen hooks, etc. as an alternative way to get your muskie fix.
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Posts: 8831
| The only lure I can see having a bunch of is bulldawgs, and that's only because they get wrecked.
In all honesty, 50 baits would probably be enough -- 2 each in contrasting colors if 20 different lures, and 10 extras of your favorites.
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| exactly what Lambeau said....I find if I'm gonna throw a mag dawg or triple D or Draider which one do I grab 9 times out of 10? it's not the shiny new one, it's the battled tested, musky approved old beat up one with teeth marks....
buying baits can be addictive...but I find catching fish is even more addictive!
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Posts: 1188
Location: Iowa | I have sold probably 30 baits this season...about 10 big baits and 20 regular sized baits...these manufacturers just keep coming out with new stuff and it looks so good but you guys are right...I hardly ever use them...when it comes down to is and I am trying to decide what to throw for the given situation, you'd better believe I go for my beat up D-Raider before a new one, or a Cowgirl I have caught fish on vs. a new one, or my beat up plow vs. my shinny new one my gf gave me that has never seen the water...like Slamr says...someday I just may have to borrow the hammer and beat some sense into myself...but I am young and dumb now (23) and have the rest of my life to hopefully learn...the shows kill me...I am gonna have to sell a ton of stuff to even think about getting anything more and no more $100 baits...
Big Perc |
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| I am strucken with this as well. Can't take the money with you when you die. I figure if I dont' smoke cigarettes or drink thats a 2 new lures every week and it doesn't kill me. |
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Posts: 654
Location: MPLS, MN | Collecting lures is just part of the hobby. |
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Posts: 654
Location: MPLS, MN | I'm not a huge glider guy but don't get why people bash them?
Mesikhomer has made a living using Mantas and Jackpots. |
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Posts: 691
Location: nationwide | I have somewhat outgrown that phase of angling. I used to take 3 tackle boxes in the boat every trip, 2 were rather large (lakewood print but shorter) and a smaller one. One of the large held all of my topwater, the smaller one held all the bucktails and the other large one was for everything else. I would go through them over the winter and anythng that did not get thrown would get hung in the garage and sold/swapped/given away. In the last few years I have slimmed it down and this year I carried the large topwater box (I am a topwater freak) and one (1) small plano with the rest of my arsenal of about a dozen bucktails, a half dozen Crane baits and a few random jerkbaits. I had a few anxious moments at the beginning of the season but towards the end I was doing alright and think I can keep it at this for next year too.
I would like to reduce the amount of topwater lures I take along as well, I think there is probably about 50 of those. But I just have not been able to break down quite that far yet. Maybe that will come as i get older and wiser?
Corey Meyer |
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Posts: 8831
| What I've been doing is mentally categorizing them:
1. Catches fish
2. Moves fish
3. I don't like it
4. Haven't thrown it enough to know
Obviously if it catches fish I want it. If it moves fish I might want it. If I just don't like it I don't want it -- might be a great bait for someone else, but not for me. Burts are a great example of this -- I have a buddy who is a Burt FREAK, catches most of his fish on them and works them like nobody else I know. But me? I can't make them do anything that really impresses me.
The challenge is throwing an unproven bait. If they're going on what you're throwing, why switch? If they're not going on what you're throwing, and they're not going on anything else either you can't blame the lure.
Might be a great bait on a different day...
And that's my dilemna right now -- I've had a lot of days where nothing was moving and nobody caught anything. The lures I used on days like that probably won't be what I reach for first, even though lure choice had nothing to do with it.
But then there's lures like topraiders -- I have never caught a fish on a topraider. I've had one blowup in probably 50 hours of throwing them. But they work, and I know they work. I won't get rid of them.
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Posts: 5874
| I think you'll overcome this in due time, much as I did. I could not go to a Muskie Show without coming home with hundreds of dollars of baits. I'd buy anything, and everything, even if I knew I already had them. Abut 5 or 6 years ago, and probably 800 baits later, I finally got it under control. I've sold/given most of those baits off, and now have about 200, of which maybe 50 or so get to come to the lake with me. I don't think I've bought more than 10 baits in the last 5 years at shows.
And, I have been able to walk out of Smokies without using the VISA in several years! I think I have been cured. |
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Posts: 324
Location: Bloomington, Illinois | B.P.
I think it is a part of growing as a Musky Fisherman...I spent the first five years in aquisition mode...Spent a few thousand + dollars on baits...I have finally started to realize and recognize what my go to baits are and that I don't have to have every hot bait on the market...I've started selling baits that I have acquired and never used...In fact, you picked up one of those very baits...At least you paid 20% less than I did...Thats another thing I've learned and someone has already said in this thread, You rarely get back what you pay out...It really hits home when you sell a bunch of baits for a thousand dollars that you paid $1500 for...This will pass...In the meantime you will pick up some really nice baits which will help you build your "go to" arsenal and then you will unload your surplus...Its all part of the "circle of life" of an avid musky fisherman...I hope you get plenty of time on the water...I have also found that in the past I did the bait aquisition thing when I wasn't able to get on the water as much as I would like (I still have to guard against that one!!!)...Its a way to stay "connected" to musky fishing...Anyway, good luck to you and don't be too alarmed, many of us identify with and understand your "obsession".
matt
Edited by muskyme 10/18/2006 4:03 PM
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Posts: 1938
Location: Black Creek, WI | Yup.... like others have already said..... you are just experiencing part of the progression with this obsession.
Why do you think the post entitled "Top 10 Favorite Baits" is so popular? You really never need more than 10 baits.... but it takes a loooooong time before you truly believe that. Heck, you rarely need more than 5. AND... those 5 usually are different for every person.... so having "favorites" is obviously A-OK.
Sure... there are some good tools to choose from.... and some people don't always choose the best tool for the job.... but once you find your group of FAVORITES... the bait buying obsession will slow down big-time. You'll still test the waters.... but for replacements rather than additions to your SMALL bait box.
Most of my purchases lately are usually to add "depth" to my bench.... by adding back-ups or funky colors of my starting line-up. But... I can do that... and feel good about it.... cause I already purchased 5 of every musky lure known to man at one point or another (hahahaaha).
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Posts: 480
| Hey don't get the wrong idea that $100 baits don't catch fish, each of the last three years my biggest fish came on big baits and this year isn't over yet. Sometimes when you're not fishing bigger baits you are not catching fish. There is innovation each new season to make better baits and size is just one component. Many of these tackle makers put a lot of thought and time into developing improvements to the tackle part of our sport. Put those innovations into the right hands and results can be seen pretty immediately. Don't stop buying baits just make wiser decisions on the baits you do buy. |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | you might have to buy alot of the same baits to find out which ones work the best. |
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | Don't let it bother you. Think of it as a way to let off the stress of every day life. Just think of what your kids will say when you die and there trying to sort all your stuff? You'll be looking down saying "don't take that bait it isn't worth a sh!t".
My 1st year I went crazy on baits, buying everything under the sun. I even got talked into buying $200.00 of Power Probes. I must have the best selection in the world. But thats why there's bait swaps....now you'll have a great reason to get out of the house and trade, swap or sell all that useless junk you bought, because there is some sucker out there that will buy it!
Hey look what time it is Cabella's closes in 2 hours got to go. Like we said in the car business "there a a$$ for every seat" I think it relates to us musky fisherman "there's a bait for every box".
Netman |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | My name is Jed, and I'm a lure addict, lol.
I have the same problem with salmon/steelhead lures....dozens and dozens of lures, boxes even, and I end up fishing about 20 of them, lol. I have one box that probably has 50 lures still in the package and many have been there for years! I will say though that trying new lures out is part of the fun for me. And when I am not able to be on the water, shopping for lures, rods, reels, and boat gadgets helps "extend the season". So long as you aren't going "crazy" on fishing gear and periodically sell/trade what you aren't using it's part of the fun for me.
Lets face it guys, we don't need 500 lures but do we really need a 200HP motor on the back of a 30k boat? Or a 40k truck to pull that boat? Truth is you could get by with a leaky row boat, a 1970 truck, and a can of worms if you really wanted to. This could be said for virtually all Americans, not just fisherman, we are addicted to toys!!!
Moderation is the key.
Jed V.
Edited by RiverMan 10/18/2006 5:53 PM
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Posts: 556
| esoxaddict - 10/18/2006 2:50 PM
What I've been doing is mentally categorizing them:
1. Catches fish
2. Moves fish
3. I don't like it
4. Haven't thrown it enough to know
Obviously if it catches fish I want it. If it moves fish I might want it. If I just don't like it I don't want it -- might be a great bait for someone else, but not for me. Burts are a great example of this -- I have a buddy who is a Burt FREAK, catches most of his fish on them and works them like nobody else I know. But me? I can't make them do anything that really impresses me.
The challenge is throwing an unproven bait. If they're going on what you're throwing, why switch? If they're not going on what you're throwing, and they're not going on anything else either you can't blame the lure.
Might be a great bait on a different day...
And that's my dilemna right now -- I've had a lot of days where nothing was moving and nobody caught anything. The lures I used on days like that probably won't be what I reach for first, even though lure choice had nothing to do with it.
But then there's lures like topraiders -- I have never caught a fish on a topraider. I've had one blowup in probably 50 hours of throwing them. But they work, and I know they work. I won't get rid of them.
i thik alot of stuff is suddle changes that make a good bait a great bait like take the top raider and stomper for example they are the same typ of bait a plop plop style prop bait but alot of people like one over the other because of little changes. me i like the top raider but i love the stomper because it can be worked as fast as the top raider but it can also be worked faster(and by faster i mean keeping its sound at the same time) or i can work it real slow with the gentle plop plop with the head bobbing. Another example would be the weagle don't get me wrong i like the weagle and like it alot but it just got so much more press than other baits thats why its so ''famous'' but a z180 mag can be worked just as loud as the weagle or can glide like 2 feet if it wants to its just suddle change and press that gets people to buy them. Do you get what im saying?
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| I love it. Guys sell 'em off cheap on the internet after the honeymoon's over. Great deal for the rest of us! Most of the deals on the web are brand new baits that never see the water, bought on impulse and then released. Keep buying, I say! I could easily cast and troll all season with eight lures. |
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| Lure Addict has it bang on. When I quit smoking over 3 years ago I would buy an expensive lure every month as a reward. I found quickly that I really like rewards! Still buy one each month as a reminder...
On another note, for me owning a lure such as a Trueglide Undertow, Wishmaster or Parrywinkle is quite different than having say 12 Hellhounds or Depthraiders. I only use/take a couple lures when I'm fishing but having all these amazing baits at home is quite enjoyable for me.
Just my .02 |
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| I personally love glidebaits and if your not catching fish on them you are doing something wrong. As for me I have hundreds of baits but the most important thing is (HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST BAITS WINS) |
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Posts: 1188
Location: Iowa | Well then my dad would probably win that category...he now has 6 large dunwrights full of baits not to mention a lakewood monster, and lakewood spinner bait box and probably 30 plano boxes full of nothing but muskie baits...our basement could be called thorne brothers south especially since Jonesi moved to Minneapolis...
Big Perc |
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