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Posts: 65
Location: De Pere Wisconsin | As a relatively new musky fisherman I am always looking for newer/cooler/gottahavit/ and the dreaded can't live without it go to bait. However last fall I took a guide trip with Dave Dorazio and was simply blown away with the small number of baits in his boat! Not only that but between my wife and I we only got three baits wet all day. Weather conditions even changed 180 degrees after lunch from calm and rainy to blue sky and very breezy. BUT, we (o.k. my wife) put two muskies in the boat, had one explode on a figure eight, and I had one swing and a miss on a topwater. So, 4 fish seen during a obviously changing day weatherwise.
So the dilemma is this - I have a pretty good feeling for several baits in various types and have these baits in what I would call clear and stained versions. I could go out with 20 baits and really have it covered, shoot - maybe 12-15. But typically I have over 100 in the boat. I am confused because so many times the bragging is about how many baits are lugged around, not, "I am so good that I can do it with fewer because I know where, when and how to present what I have."
Can I do it? Would love to hear if others have radically downsized their bait lineup for the simplicity of it. I think I have myself convinced that if I spend more time on the basic fundamentals I could have a much better season, than continually swapping baits and wondering why the fish aren't eating. So, how many is too few?
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Posts: 502
Location: Lincoln UK | Lets face it if you have one bait that you can work at the correct level with the required action then that is enough. I have the world of baits in a miriad of colours but rarely take more than ten out with me if I know the water.
The more experience you gain the better you will know what to take for a particular purpose and situation.
It is very true that you will be a better fisherman if you throw a few baits very well than a lot of baits badly. |
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Posts: 734
| I agree if you know the water you can get away with a few. I would always like to have 30-40 just to feel safe. |
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Posts: 696
Location: Northern Illinois | Obviously it depends on what you think you "truly" need in the boat. My Dad has occasionally brought out 1 lure and used it the entire time (with success). To me thats a little extreme but b/c of boredem with certain lures you sometimes need to change them up and this can change up the fishing. Try going out with 15 baits once and see how you like it. Maybe then you can determine what you think. |
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Posts: 816
| I downsized my tackle box from say 50-60 lures to about 35 lures a couple years ago and I'll never go back. It's a lot easier to deal with a smaller group of lures and you learn them much quicker. I can see the reasoning behind say having over 100 lures if you were an avid troller, but just a small group of lures does the job for me. |
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Posts: 4266
| It depends if it's a day trip, a weekend, a week or longer.
Familiar or unfamiliar waters.
I'll take anywhere from 20 or 30, up to more than 100 if I'm going on a 2 week trip somewhere, and I'm not sure about the conditions or water color. I might take one lure....in seven different colors.
Beav |
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Posts: 921
Location: Apollo, PA | You know, the bait thing is part of the fun of Musky Fishing. I like most guys have WAY TOO many baits, but i enjoy using them and collecting others. You can always sell a quality lure and not take a killing, unless you are desparate for the cash.
We all have our particular lures that trip our triggers. I love custom gliders and custom trolling baits with wire through flavor. If you saw my basement office you would laugh, but its something that i enjoy. I always picture a lure that i get with a 40#er engulfing it..
I will keep a Lakewood Monster crammed with goodies in my boat, and stash a couple really large lures for those magical times.... on big fish spots..
Hey i told my wife, it i croak, to put them all on ebay and buy a new car!!! LOL
tight lines, PS  |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | I have quite a few baits but I really dont take all that many in the boat anymore. I used to take both Lakewoods out with me at all times but I found that Id start changing baits way too often when I should just be sticking with a few. Now I take 2 Plano boxes with me and that seems to cover most of what I will need for the day. If I am taking a trip for a week Ill take both big boxes with me just because it puts my mind at ease that I will have all the bases covered. Those boxes stay in the cabin and I just load up the Planos for the day. I have way more lures than Ill need but I keep buying more and more every year....thats one of the fun parts of this sport. |
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Posts: 1438
| I used to do the same thing. Lakewoods full up plus a Maximizer that I hauled about 1/2 full of baits. The rest of it carried all my "crap".
I've downsized to 4 Plano boxes now. 1 is my jig box that I ALWAYS have along. 2nd is my HawgSeekers box that after last weekend I will ALWAYS have along (every one I saw, moved, lost or caught was on a HawgSeeker of one type or another). Then I have 2 boxes that I mix and match in for the particular lake/conditions.
Total, for the two mix and match boxes is maybe 20 baits or so.
Scott
Edited by theedz155 5/30/2006 5:08 AM
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | If it makes you feel any better, I have around 1200 lures, and usually only carry about 400 with me....... |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I have dumped a couple of hundred baits in the last couple of years. I usually take only 50 baits or so max with me now. I leave the hundreds of others at home, I have a lot of confidence in certain baits that have been productive that I stick with. Of course I still do buy some of the newest baits and use them. I have been known to throw the same Topraider ALL day!!
Edited by MuskieMedic 5/30/2006 8:18 AM
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Posts: 4266
| This one goes with me wherever my boat goes, because my dad made it.
All of those panels slide out, and it has air gaps so I don't have to worry about rust.
All of this, except the cover art, made 15 years after his stroke took away the use of his "good arm".
He made this with something that they don't teach in woodshop.
Beav
(Open Treasure Chest.jpg)
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 Treasure Chest.jpg (176KB - 87 downloads)
Open Treasure Chest.jpg (177KB - 91 downloads)
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Posts: 425
Location: Elkhart, IN | Beaver that box is absolutely awesome, and the sentimental value really adds to it.
As for the question, its really fun to have all different varieties of each kind of lure. The problem is if your not careful you end up spending too much time switching lures instead of keeping a lure wet for when they decide to feed. There was an article in In-Fisherman not too long ago about spinnerbaits, and Doug Stange stated that if you would throw a spinnerbait all year long and nothing else you would catch more fish because your lure would be wet longer because your not losing time looking in the tackle box and not casting. Lets face it, that would be BORING, but there's something to be learned from that point. |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | if you are going on a trip somewhere, and do not know exactly what lakes you will fish, bring along every stinking bait you own.
oh yeah, my wife is looking to meet more women that fish muskys. drop us a pm.
Rob and Lori
Edited by muskynightmare 5/30/2006 11:07 PM
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | If I'm in the boat I always have 60 or so baits. But I usually end up throwing 1-5 in a day. I could probobly get by with 10, but you never know what you might need to throw. |
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