Following up on last week's post about tackle selection, I wanted to mention how this thought process also applies to baits. You might only have half a dozen, maybe two, rods and reels. Chances are, you probabaly have hundreds of baits, and are always buying more. Nothing wrong with that - some would argue that that's half the fun. But on any given trip, especially in a tournament where you are limited on time, it's hard to carry everything, you certainly won't use it all, and it might even hinder you by having so much stuff on board.
This line of thinking is kind of based around an economics principle called the law of diminishing marginal utility. Basically, the first 'unit' (think 'lure') of anything will probably give you the "most bang for the buck" so to speak. Every similar one after that, while it might increase your total utility to a point, will not give you the same benefit as the first. The more you have of one thing, the less important each subsequent one becomes. Total utility might continue to increase to a point, but even it eventually starts trending back down as too many lures become a problem, actually hindering you in some cases.
For example, lets take squarebill cranks. If you're fishing shallow wood flats in the fall, and you don't have a squarebill, you could be in trouble. Have a second one in the box? That's fine, but having that first one is more important than having none, so the second one doesn't add quite as much value. Still, it does have benefits; for instance, it gives you a backup bait in case you break the first one off; it also might be in a different color, so it adds an extra option there. You buy a third, and the same thinking applies - Maybe that one adds a different color, or a different size - more options.
At some point though, say perhaps after you own 75 squarebills, things start heading downhill. You certainly won't throw even a modest portion of them during a given day, yet you have to store them all and probably carry them with you, too. That's room that could have been alotted for some other type bait. You also start adding complexity to your decision making. Which exact bait do I start with? What color and size? Tight wobble or wide wobble? Wood or plastic? Rattle or non-rattling? If you don't get bit good on the first one you tie on, how much time are you going to devote to swapping through all your options available trying to figure out which one the bass might hit? Would you be better off just throwing a completely different type of bait?
You could run this scenario out on about every bait type out there. Each time your options and complexity get greater and greater, as does your decisions of which baits to rotate through during the day. Plus there is the expense, the tackle management, the extra weight in the boat, etc. You end up with a boat that functions as a tackle box, because you have so much stuff, and you're afraid to leave any of it at home, lest you be caught without the "hot" bait for the day. It could become a situation of the tail wagging the dog.
How do controls and standards play into all this? Think of most any bait, and chances are you can name one particular brand that most would agree is universally accepted.
- Jerkbaits - LC Pointers
- Squarebills - LC RC
- Frog - Spro Bronzeye
- Creature Bait - Brush Hog
- Deep crank - DT's or SK Series 5/6
- Plastic worm - Zoom
I could go on, but you probably get the point. As long as you have a small selection of these "standards" (or whatever is your favorite) of varying types of baits at your ready, you're probably going to be fine out on the water for the day. Instead of dragging everything you own with you on every trip, you instead have all the basics covered in a much smaller package. You find some weed mats late in the day unexpectedly, if bass are going to eat a frog, you'll most likely get bit on a Bronzeye. You don't have to have 7 brands in 8 different colors and 3 different sizes to cover every possible situation you could imagine out on the water. You just have to have that critical first "one" of anything to get by. You end up spending a lot less time focusing on all the little details that marketers and Internet sites make you think you have to have and do, and more time actually fishing and paying attention to the few critical things you should be focusing on. You become more efficient, and will probabaly catch more fish as a result.
That's not to say (or preclude) you having a specialty, like topwaters. If that's your thing, then you probably will want all the different options in all the different colors, etc., but that becomes "THE BITE" you look for first and foremost on any given day. The rest of your tackle could then follow the theory. It also becomes a different ball game if you're a Touring pro. Can't afford to be without any possible advantage there - but even that's not a fair comarison, because 75% of what they carry is back in the truck in case they need it the next day, or later in the tourney - just in case. Most of us aren't in that category though.
Anyway, take home message is that despite all the advertising, you simply don't need every new thing you read about online. In most cases, you'll catch as many if not more fish by having a well rounded, but not overly complicated or extensive selection of tackle with you in the boat. Specialize in something as your "go-to", but carry the "standards" in everything else, and you'll always catch your share of fish.
Tackle Selection: Standards and Controls, Part II
Following up on last week's post about tackle selection, I wanted to mention how this thought process also applies to baits. You might only have half a dozen, maybe two, rods and reels. Chances are, you probabaly have hundreds of baits, and are always buying more. Nothing wrong with that - some would argue that that's half the fun. But on any given trip, especially in a tournament where you are limited on time, it's hard to carry everything, you certainly won't use it all, and it might even hinder you by having so much stuff on board.
This line of thinking is kind of based around an economics principle called the law of diminishing marginal utility. Basically, the first 'unit' (think 'lure') of anything will probably give you the "most bang for the buck" so to speak. Every similar one after that, while it might increase your total utility to a point, will not give you the same benefit as the first. The more you have of one thing, the less important each subsequent one becomes. Total utility might continue to increase to a point, but even it eventually starts trending back down as too many lures become a problem, actually hindering you in some cases.
For example, lets take squarebill cranks. If you're fishing shallow wood flats in the fall, and you don't have a squarebill, you could be in trouble. Have a second one in the box? That's fine, but having that first one is more important than having none, so the second one doesn't add quite as much value. Still, it does have benefits; for instance, it gives you a backup bait in case you break the first one off; it also might be in a different color, so it adds an extra option there. You buy a third, and the same thinking applies - Maybe that one adds a different color, or a different size - more options.
At some point though, say perhaps after you own 75 squarebills, things start heading downhill. You certainly won't throw even a modest portion of them during a given day, yet you have to store them all and probably carry them with you, too. That's room that could have been alotted for some other type bait. You also start adding complexity to your decision making. Which exact bait do I start with? What color and size? Tight wobble or wide wobble? Wood or plastic? Rattle or non-rattling? If you don't get bit good on the first one you tie on, how much time are you going to devote to swapping through all your options available trying to figure out which one the bass might hit? Would you be better off just throwing a completely different type of bait?
You could run this scenario out on about every bait type out there. Each time your options and complexity get greater and greater, as does your decisions of which baits to rotate through during the day. Plus there is the expense, the tackle management, the extra weight in the boat, etc. You end up with a boat that functions as a tackle box, because you have so much stuff, and you're afraid to leave any of it at home, lest you be caught without the "hot" bait for the day. It could become a situation of the tail wagging the dog.
How do controls and standards play into all this? Think of most any bait, and chances are you can name one particular brand that most would agree is universally accepted.
I could go on, but you probably get the point. As long as you have a small selection of these "standards" (or whatever is your favorite) of varying types of baits at your ready, you're probably going to be fine out on the water for the day. Instead of dragging everything you own with you on every trip, you instead have all the basics covered in a much smaller package. You find some weed mats late in the day unexpectedly, if bass are going to eat a frog, you'll most likely get bit on a Bronzeye. You don't have to have 7 brands in 8 different colors and 3 different sizes to cover every possible situation you could imagine out on the water. You just have to have that critical first "one" of anything to get by. You end up spending a lot less time focusing on all the little details that marketers and Internet sites make you think you have to have and do, and more time actually fishing and paying attention to the few critical things you should be focusing on. You become more efficient, and will probabaly catch more fish as a result.
That's not to say (or preclude) you having a specialty, like topwaters. If that's your thing, then you probably will want all the different options in all the different colors, etc., but that becomes "THE BITE" you look for first and foremost on any given day. The rest of your tackle could then follow the theory. It also becomes a different ball game if you're a Touring pro. Can't afford to be without any possible advantage there - but even that's not a fair comarison, because 75% of what they carry is back in the truck in case they need it the next day, or later in the tourney - just in case. Most of us aren't in that category though.
Anyway, take home message is that despite all the advertising, you simply don't need every new thing you read about online. In most cases, you'll catch as many if not more fish by having a well rounded, but not overly complicated or extensive selection of tackle with you in the boat. Specialize in something as your "go-to", but carry the "standards" in everything else, and you'll always catch your share of fish.
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