Speaking Of Which... (Smallmouth Bass)

[joeD]

Why are we always "simplifying" things?

Why is "simpler" perceived as "better?" That, for example, if we somehow pare down our fishing lures to a few basics and favorites, that our fishing experience will not only improve, but make us the successful anglers we are (were) meant to be.

Most of us know, in our heart of hearts, that we generally throw the same lures and flies 95% of the time. The rest is for show and tell. I, for example, throw a white super fluke almost all the time for smallies. Just recently, I've started throwing topwater all the time. But that's it. I'm cutting myself off.

Yet, I still carry a bunch of everything else. In case.

In case what?

They're hitting crankbaits. Red. 2 to 3 feet down. Or.

The stream is up. The stream is down. The stream is clear. The stream is murky.

White 3/16th spinnerbaits with gold willow leaf blades and a grub trailer (knocked 'em out on the Piney last week).

Ned rigs. OH MY GAWD! Ned rigs!

Homemade jigs with enticing orange and brown silicone thingies.

Don't forget jerkbaits. They haven't forgotten you.

Chompers. Craw worms. Sliders. Marabou. Rabbit. Morning. Noon. Night. Deep water. Shallow water. Sunny. Cloudy.

Spinning reel. Baitcaster. 6 or 8 0r 10 or 4 pound test. Fast. Sloooww retrieve.

Wade fish. Canoe. Kayak. Jon boat. Jet boat. Drift boat.

Nah, no drift boat.

Meramec. Huzzah. Piney. Gascondade. Bourbeuse. Current. Crooked Creek. White River.

Today. Tomorrow. Next week. One day two days three days one week.

With friends. Alone.

Nevermind.

Simplifying would be too complicated for me.

[fishinwrench]

As long as you can physically carry it all at once your fine. When it takes 2+ trips to haul your tackle to the boat then you're a candidate for simplification.

[Al Agnew]

Biggest problem with having a lot of different lures is, even if you're catching some fish on one thing, you might be thinking that you could be catching MORE on something else. Or you get home that evening and THEN you think, why didn't I try that creature bait that was pumpkin with red flakes...the pumpkin with black flakes was catching some fish...

It's worse when you're fishing with somebody else and they are catching fish on something you don't have. Then you gotta have it for the next time.

I'm limited simplly by my tackle system. I used to carry a bigger auto battery box that held 5 3701 Plano boxes full of lures, and a smaller battery box holding 4 3600 Planos. The bigger one straps under my canoe seat, the smaller one strapped onto the thwart in front of me. But I got tired of carrying both, and now just carry the bigger one. So I have to keep my lure selection down to what will fit in it. And I always want to have at least two of every lure in whatever size and colors I like. So that does limit the number of different lures I can tote along.

[Norm M]

If a lure doesn't get wet, why carry it ? I wade fish so whatever I use , I have to carry . The older I get the more my body objects to heavy loads . I carry a selection of lures that have proved themselves over 5 decades on my river. Any other lures that I want to experiment with or that I use for certain conditions stay in the vehicle and can be swapped out as needed.

I worry less about lure color than most folks , I tend to select lures for how they function . I try to carry lures that I can use in multiple conditions and that will cover as much of the water column as possible. Obviously lures like topwaters are an exception to the water column idea but I carry a couple of different types.

It works for me but maybe not for you. Do what makes you happy, that's what it's all about. No right , no wrong, just individual preference .

[Seth]

I match my baits to the water conditions. Stained leaves the door wide open and makes it tougher to dial in on what they want. If it's really clear or really dirty, then lure selection gets simpler. Clear means green pumpkin/brown bottom baits, soft jerkbaits, white topwater and white/crawfish crankbaits. Dirty means upsized bottom baits in black something, black or chartreuse chatterbait/spinnerbait and chartreuse crankbaits. It's all about what I have confidence in for me.

After fishing tournaments for a couple of years, I've come to realize that guys rarely catch fish on the same type of baits. I fished a high muddy water tournament last year and did well on a blue/black chatterbait. I'd never had luck with that bait before, but I decided to tie it on and not put it down all day due to the conditions. There were other anglers who threw the exact same bait (some with WAY more years of experience than me) who never caught a fish on it. The only difference was I was fishing mine a lot slower. I think presentation has as much or more of an impact on putting fish in the boat than color.

[Smallieguy87]

I started as a wade fisherman so i carry what i take a long. My pack weighs some where along the lines of 20lbs which i have no problem with in my current age and health condition. Over the years I've trimmed the fat a great deal when it comes to what i carry with me starting with colors. I used to take several different colors of the same lure now i have my colors down to a few basic colors sticking mostly with greens, browns, black etc. Just doing that has freed up a lot of space for me to either add in or simply enjoy loosing the extra carry weight. My pack currently has 2 plano 3600 boxes. One of them has all my Terminal tackle (jig heads, tube jigs, hooks, ect) the other contains my football jigs and the small assortment of crankbaits. My plastics which are what i seem to fish 98% of time are stored in there original bag put inside of a larger freezer bag and are then labeled. I have 1 freezer bag for 4-6inch finesse worms, 1 freezer bag for grubs, and 1 for tubes and craws. I don't shop much for anything outside of what i already carry since i feel i've developed a working system but i did recently add some buzzbaits and keitech impacts.

[Terrierman]

Why are we always "simplifying" things?

Why is "simpler" perceived as "better?" That, for example, if we somehow pare down our fishing lures to a few basics and favorites, that our fishing experience will not only improve, but make us the successful anglers we are (were) meant to be.

Most of us know, in our heart of hearts, that we generally throw the same lures and flies 95% of the time. The rest is for show and tell. I, for example, throw a white super fluke almost all the time for smallies. Just recently, I've started throwing topwater all the time. But that's it. I'm cutting myself off.

Yet, I still carry a bunch of everything else. In case.

In case what?

They're hitting crankbaits. Red. 2 to 3 feet down. Or.

The stream is up. The stream is down. The stream is clear. The stream is murky.

White 3/16th spinnerbaits with gold willow leaf blades and a grub trailer (knocked 'em out on the Piney last week).

Ned rigs. OH MY GAWD! Ned rigs!

Homemade jigs with enticing orange and brown silicone thingies.

Don't forget jerkbaits. They haven't forgotten you.

Chompers. Craw worms. Sliders. Marabou. Rabbit. Morning. Noon. Night. Deep water. Shallow water. Sunny. Cloudy.

Spinning reel. Baitcaster. 6 or 8 0r 10 or 4 pound test. Fast. Sloooww retrieve.

Wade fish. Canoe. Kayak. Jon boat. Jet boat. Drift boat.

Nah, no drift boat.

Meramec. Huzzah. Piney. Gascondade. Bourbeuse. Current. Crooked Creek. White River.

Today. Tomorrow. Next week. One day two days three days one week.

With friends. Alone.

Nevermind.

Simplifying would be too complicated for me.

Less can indeed be more. I learned that from Thoreau, when I was maybe sixteen and did not know what more even looked like.

[Guest]

Ned rigs. OH MY GAWD! Ned rigs!

That just about sums it up, no need for other lures only different weights & colors.

[grizzly]

Joe, I am copying and pasting your last reply to me on my topic of simplicity:

"I know I'm a crab, but I just can't leave this simplicity thing alone. I go to the White every year in January or February, so, I just like being prepared for any water condition. Too much time and effort go into these trips, so I'd rather not limit myself for simplicity's sake. I don't think this approach makes me a better or worse fisherman.

But, obviously, I should get over MY fishing ideals, such as they are.

I am a deluxe wanker."

And now you are here posting about becoming a more simplistic fisherman? I find that funny, but I'll amuse your humor. I think that at all of our lives as anglers we become aware that we catch 90 percent of our fish on 10 percent of our flies/lures. Once you get over that, we then wonder why we carry the excess of "ammunition" when we are obviously doing something right. Why carry 10 types of crank baits whet 2 really work? Marketing? Who knows, but the real thing is coming back to fishing and getting away from catching. You can go to the best streams, rivers and lakes, but what are you fishing for? Catching fish, or tranquility? There are very few of us who pay the mortgage from the proceeds of fishing. Most of us find fishing as a way from escaping the corporate world and the stresses thereof. It seems that, for most, work is becoming more complicated, thus why should we make our 48 hour vacation into a complicated vocation? Find yourself and you may find the attraction of simplicity.

[dtrs5kprs]

That just about sums it up, no need for other lures only different weights & colors.

Amen. Maybe a topwater or two for kicks.