FS Digest

As someone who wants to expand his interest in recreational fishing as a pastime, and a lifelong hobby & recreational activity I am in need of advice of how to avoid having too much equipment that you don't use it.

I understand that a variety of equipment is needed for fishing besides the fishing rod, lures & bait. You need a wide variety of various lures to attract certain fish, additional fishing line, pliers for cutting line, pliers for getting a hook out of your catches mouth if its stuck etc.

I just don't want to get to the point of having so much I end up not using all of the equipment I buy. I want to keep everything in one tackle box (I like the look of those Plano made ones) have have a fishing rod for light, medium, heavy and sea fishing (the long rotes you stick on the beach and wait for a catch), and a fly fishing rod. I want to make sure I have a use for each and use each rod ocaccsionally.

What do you think and what would your advice be?

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by HypridElastiAccord27

FS Digest

The 20 rods and reels, stack of tackle boxes, peg board of yet to be used lures and spares bags of plastics, and random cardboard boxes full of stuff in my garage and basement tells me I’m not the right person to help you at all.

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by GrayCustomKnives

FS Digest

Some rules that might (won't) help you:

- You never have enough tackle.

- You never have enough rods.

- You never have enough reels.

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by monstblitz

FS Digest

Number rule of fishing is you can never have enough gear.

But the second rule of fishing is that you can definitely take too much gear to the water.

You are going about things the right way by having light, heavy, sea rods. To add to that I would make a bag/box for each rod specification/species/method that you most commonly do and then have a fanny pack or an extra box with stuff that you take every time. Also you can add and remove things season to season and plan for specific trips but it can also be good to have a plan B. It can turn a skunk day into some glorious fishing just by changing species or method.

I have a bag for light lures, heavy lures and a bag for bait fishing but I also have a fanny pack that has essentials and other terminal tackle and small lures that I can use to change things up. The fanny pack goes with me everywhere but I’ll only take one bag.

Sometimes I’ll just take light lures and have a multi species river session but if I’m not feeling it I tie on a hook and sight fish with worm or bread etc. It’s good to have back ups but streamlining your gear is a good idea.

Also it can force you to learn new methods if you only take that method.

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by bushcrapping

FS Digest

I have 3 rods and a tackle box, and I catch plenty. Know your targets preferred baits and lures, and have a couple rods that are flexible in use.

I use all spinning gear and change line and hooks or lures depending on the species I'm looking for.

I like to put a bottom rig and a float rig out and fish for bass while I'm waiting for catfish or gar or carp, and a three tray plano box holds everything I could want.

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by hereforthepron

FS Digest

Jokes aside -- start with just a couple of different baits and see what you like to fish. I do own a lot of tackle and it is useful tonfish the conditions at the moment but the truth is I like to fish certain techniques more than others and have confidence in those techniques so I use those baits a lot more and some baits I hardly ever use because I don't have as much confidence.

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by Dreadbane

FS Digest

It's hard to not collect lures because they're very beautiful and interesting. That being said; there is an easy way to ensure you don't end up with too many.

Always bring terminal tackle. Hooks, line, bobbers, etc. Then include 5-10 lures of your choice. Don't buy any more lures until you lose some of those to snags. It will allow you to test different types of lures over time without overwhelming yourself with the false promise of too much variety.

It doesn't honestly help to have every color of every lure; it's just fun.

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by Yoda2000675

FS Digest

Start with your basic stuff and a small selection of lures. Learn over time what you need through trial and error.

As you get experience you'll start to more keenly feel why you're getting, or not getting, the fish you are, as well as what equipment you feel you need to make your experience better. Make adjustments based on those realisations. Focus on needs over wants, or at least work towards knowing what gear is which.

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by 4dots2dots

FS Digest

I put everything into a swiss gear backpack and carry the bag + 2 rods with me. Thats it. In the bag i have two lure boxes, one with soft plastics the other with crank baits and other lures and weights (split shots, etc). I also put in some powerbait and salmon eggs in the small pocket as well as a flashlight and other emergency things.

In the side pocket for the waterbottle I have a plier and a couple floats.

So prepping to go fishing now takes 2 minutes. Grab the bag, grab two poles, put in trunk, ride on

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by magic_monkey_

FS Digest

Just buy only what you need.

Just like any hobby, it's easy to go ham and go way overboard on equipment, but what helps me with just about any purchase is really thinking about whether it's a want or a need and not being impulsive and giving it some time. Do I need another rod or reel when I already have two and haven't really even mastered catching fish consistently with the second one yet or do I just want another rod just because? Can it wait?

Sometimes it is a need. Realistically, I'm gonna be an idiot and lose a couple of foxtails on branches or roots this spring, so I probably need to get a few more because they're effective this time of year on a lot of things around here. That makes sense and isn't expensive.

It's not rocket surgery. Just have some restraint and consider if you actually need what you're about to buy or not.

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by ThymeJalopy

FS Digest

You'll probably want to sort your equipment out by what you're actually going to use it for. Ie: Keep your fly fishing stuff in one box, your bass stuff in another, your light tackle in another and a last one for the sea fishing.

Only take out what you think you may use or want to try out. Don't take out your whole tackle box.

Have a small day box just for only what you will actually use.

Now all I take out is a tiny plano 7 compartment "stowaway". I take everything I know is tried and true, extra bits of tacle and a couple things I may just want to try out.

I also don't mess with pliers. I use fingernail clippers for cutting the line and have a multitool that sits in my vehicle.

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by wertyuip

Rj pike Loc: Wisconsin

All I can say is "GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ".

bozokarl Loc: south central Pa

I have one big tackle box that has my bass and catfish gear, a vest that has my trout gear, and several 5 gallon buckets with lids that have other miscellaneous gear like my Coleman lantern, rod holders, towels, fillet knives ect.. The buckets also serve as a seat when I'm bank fishing. My big box is getting full so I may have to buy another one and separate the bass and catfish gear.

Bcmech1 Loc: Clinton Wisconsin

There's such a thing as too much fishing equipment????
Never heard of that!

Catfish hunter Loc: Riggins idaho (Paradise)

Bad question. Lol you never have enough fishing gear if you want advice on here😂