Are you a frugal fisherman? 2024
Mobasser reply :
The midwest finesse style of fishing is built around being frugal. Hardcore finesse guys will tell you not to spend huge amounts of money on your fishing. I agree with this.I think I became this way when I was younger and had a big family at home. I simply couldn't afford all the best tackle so I made what I had work. Over the years, I learned how to do some repairs on rods and reels, replace worn hooks, and have started tying up jigs. Most of my spinning reels hold way more line than Ill need for bass, so I pull off about half the line, tape it down then spool on new line. On a 330 ad spool, I could spool up 3 times. Now I reverse braided line from 1 spool to the next. Its not that Im cheap, having bought WAY more tackle than I could ever use over the years. I enjoy fishing more this way. Any frugal bassmen out there?
CroakHunter reply :
Frugal? Not sure I'd call it that. Simple and know what works for me? Yes.
lmbfisherman reply :
I try not to buy things for full retail, I buy used (rods and reels), do the same with braid and I use leaders to save money on line...I try and be smart with my money.
cgolf reply :
Yes here. Shop only sales now, and have been trying to only purchase gear with gift cards received as gifts. Part of this is because of a kid in college, and over the years mid level rod and reel combos were my high end when she was growing up. When she gets out of school, when I could spend more, I will put more into retirement and getting the house paid off, so we can get a vacation/eventual retirement home on a lake somewhere. Long winded version lol.
So I will continue to fish with what I have and shop smartly. Retailers probably hate me, because I apply this theory to pretty much everything I get other than food and some essentials.
Mobasser reply :
Nothing wrong with that golf. You can still catch plenty of fish and getting your kid thru college is a great thing to do. Good luck on your fishing
Bluebasser86 reply :
I try to save money where I can, but I also enjoy fishing swimbaits that cost more than a lot of people will spend on their rod and reel combos, so there's that.
Mike L reply :
There was a time that if I wanted it, I bought it..Never had the desire for a 600.00 rod or 300.00 reel but if I did it didn't matter.
Now, If I need it..really need it, I'll buy it but I won't "cheap out" either.
Quality equipment is available in almost all price points so I don't think it's always necessary to look for the best deal on a lesser quality product.
But that's me.
Mike
NYWayfarer reply :
Yes and no.
I try and find the best values I can on the tackle I use the most. For example I will buy my EWG 3/0 and 4/0 hooks when they are on clearance in bulk to save money.
I would call that frugal. My wife on the other hand says I spend A LOT of money on fishing and she is right. I am like those people you see on extreme coupon shows that have bought more peanut butter than they can use in a lifetime because they got it so cheap.
fishwizzard reply :
On 3/14/2018 at 8:27 PM, NYWayfarer said:I am like those people you see on extreme coupon shows that have bought more peanut butter than they can use in a lifetime because they got it so cheap.
Yep, me too. I now chant “It’s not a good deal if I dont need it” to mysef over and over again whenever I am in a tackle shop or looking around online.
I still buy too much stuff, but I am getting bettet!
Troy85 reply :
I used to be bad about buying soft plastics, I'd get a worm in like 8 different colors. About 3 months I realized I had all these random colors of worms that I NEVER used. I looked thru all soft plastics and picked the 3 main colors I use, gave the rest to my brother because he loves throwing all those random crazy colors.
cgolf reply :
On 3/14/2018 at 8:27 PM, NYWayfarer said:Yes and no.
I try and find the best values I can on the tackle I use the most. For example I will buy my EWG 3/0 and 4/0 hooks when they are on clearance in bulk to save money.
I would call that frugal. My wife on the other hand says I spend A LOT of money on fishing and she is right. I am like those people you see on extreme coupon shows that have bought more peanut butter than they can use in a lifetime because they got it so cheap.
I used to do this too, but have tried to cut back. I once got a great deal on Rapala DT16s, and still have a bunch because it is really hard to lose a deep diver. Only lure I will keep a large backstock on and buy up what I find on sale is Bandit 100s. Great baits and the spots I fish them I lose a decent amount of baits each year.
kbeeb374 reply :
Oh yeah. Field and Stream and DSG both lose money whenever I walk out the door. when they were doing buy 5 get 5 and were clearancing stuff I used, I cleared the rack. I also never pay more than like 60% of retail on rods and reels. I have 23 combos in the rotation now.. so while I save a lot of money this way I have also spent a lot.
I do backing on all my reels and use braid as a mainline for all but a couple combos which saves a lot compared to using flouro and having to respool all the time. I also service my own baitcasters and pour my own drop shot weights and tube jig heads as I lose them alllllll the time.
starting to tie my own jigs and I am even dabbling in pouring my own soft plastics but that is mostly for fun..
roadwarrior reply :
Any frugal bass men out there?
Not me...
scaleface reply :
I'm always searching for deals. But just because something is super cheap doesnt mean I'll buy it . There were some Strike King spinnerbaits marked way down a few weeks ago . I didnt need them I already have to much , so left them for the next guy .
WI_Angler1989 reply :
I don't always feel like it, but I know what I want, what works for me. From time to time I'll splurge on things I've never tried or don't really "need", but I gravitate to the tried and true. Whether that's frugality or a byproduct of my income... Who knows.
TOXIC reply :
If you want the latest and greatest, you're gonna have to pay for the privilege. I too will buy what I want but I consider myself more smart than frugal. 
RPreeb reply :
Yes, and my wife sees to it that I remain that way. Actually she doesn't pay much attention to specifics, but she is the household Quicken manager, and when I put too many receipts on her desk from tackle purchases, I get a few caustic remarks about it. That keeps me at least somewhat under control. 
Since I'm still learning the game of bass fishing, I really don't need everything I read about here anyway. What I need to do, and she would agree, is to learn where and how to fish with what I've already acquired. I shouldn't need to buy anything this season unless I run out of a particular type or color of soft plastic. If I use a particular bait enough to lose a full pack of them, that would finally start to tell me what the fish are looking for around here and help me make more focused purchases in the future. I'm still in that mode of sometimes buying what I think looks good, without a clue whether the fish are going to agree with me. 
lo n slo reply :
frugal by nature
the reel ess reply :
I did forgo the $50K bassboat. I guess so.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Frugal and fishing sport? These two shouldnt be together. You already wasted money when you start this kind of sport. Think about all the lures, hook and plastic you lost, fishing line, tackle boxs, many rods many reels, boat, kayak etc.....
This is very expensive hobby.
My wife said with all the money I spent on fishing gear, she can buy all fish at market to eat for life and maybe next life as well.
mattkenzer reply :
I believe my wife would say ..... NOPE! 
HoosierFisher reply :
I consider myself frugal in general. But that doesn't mean cheap. I will spend the extra money for quality equipment if I feel it's worth it. I keep an eye out for deals but try not to go overboard. I'be been getting some of my gear organized and realized that I need to not buy any plastics for a while. I have a pile of Gambler and Biospawn plastics that I bought last year during sales they had around Christmas. My goal is to try to use up as many of my plastics as I can and only restock the ones that I use regularly.
Ratherbfishing reply :
If there hadn't been any responses yet, I probably would have responded with ( "crickets chirping." )
RB 77 reply :
Yes and no. It is completely situational. Some of the things you mentioned like working on reels and rods, reversing braid and top shotting isn't to be frugal, its because rod and reel repair (along with custom builds and super tuning) is something I WANT to know how to do, not need to. Using and reversing braid is just a no brainier. There is no reason not to do it even with money not being an object. So the frugality comes as a by product. With that being said, I have been plenty guilty in the past of buying stuff I don't need, I just want it. I have been curbing that back substantially more recently.
boostr reply :
Yup, if i can get a discount or find it cheaper somewhere else I'm buying it.
jbmaine reply :
I guess you could call me a frugal Yankee.
Buying everything on sale is a given.
Buying plastics in only 3 or 4 colors is normal for me.
Buying only lower to mid range rods/reels works fine for me.
We did splurge and buy a new boat but only because we looked used for months and could not find anything that worked for us. Even then I got it on sale.
Fishing and being on the water is our passion, but we don't spend so much that we feel bad about it.
Riazuli reply :
On 3/14/2018 at 8:27 PM, NYWayfarer said:Yes and no.
I try and find the best values I can on the tackle I use the most. For example I will buy my EWG 3/0 and 4/0 hooks when they are on clearance in bulk to save money.
I would call that frugal. My wife on the other hand says I spend A LOT of money on fishing and she is right. I am like those people you see on extreme coupon shows that have bought more peanut butter than they can use in a lifetime because they got it so cheap.
I can relate to this... Yes, I try to find the best deals and I always try to use coupons, but between black Friday this year and winter/spring sales when I knew I was getting the lowest price for something, I would buy in bulk. Got a great deal on fish finder during that time, a hundred dollars less than it usually (and currently) is. Now, apart from replacing one particular lure that I use a lot and lose a lot, I probably have a lifetime's worth of tackle stored up. I bought a few setups during the bps spring sale, along with lots of lures that I use (and lose) a lot that were on sale, and easily saved hundreds of dollars after all was said and done. I just call that smart buying.
Jmp_37 reply :
I’d say so, if I have a few yards left on a spool I’m respooling I’ll tape it onto a empty spool for leader or something like that
thinkingredneck reply :
I seldom pay retail. But I buy a bunch on sale. Gonna save my way to the poorhouse
Boomstick reply :
Compared to many people on these forums and elsewhere, I definitely am frugal. For example, I won't buy another squarebill when my box is full. When my supply gets low as I lose or break them, then I'll buy a lot to replace them, some of the same ones if I really liked them and maybe some new brands and models to try out. It's like a rotating door. But I never buy anything I don't need or am not going to use. But if I plan on throwing a certain bait, I will also make sure I have it too.
Raul reply :
Are you a frugal fisherman?
HELL NO ! nor do I want/care to.
J.Vincent reply :
On 3/17/2018 at 9:25 AM, thinkingredneck said:I seldom pay retail. But I buy a bunch on sale. Gonna save my way to the poorhouse
Ok, i can't stop laughing, because this is so true !
Gundog reply :
Frugal to a point. If I need something, I will buy it for retail price but if I buy it in the preseason I will try to save a few bucks.
Log Catcher reply :
I try to be a frugal fisherman. I already have too much stuff. Too many colors of soft plastics. I save money by knowing if it has the name G Loomis or Megabass I will not be buying them as they are well out of my price range.
MN Fisher reply :
Being on a fixed income, I have to be. My reels/rods are basic and I only buy the lures that I have spare change for.
Three of my rod/reel combos are over 30 years old but still functional, so I use them.
whitwolf reply :
I probably would not consider myself frugal. I once was when it was necessary. The one thing about getting older and nearing retirement is my expendible income is greater but through the years I have found what works for me and I rarely buy the latest and greatest. Tresa(wife) and myself are a few short months away from being anything but frugal in that we are buying the boat that will take us into retirement. I'm not the least bit bothered by that.lol
The above said, being smart with money is what everyone's goal should be and I implore anyone to never overspend on anything, especially tackle and baits.
Lastly, I have always liked to collect tackle and I always will. I suspect my grandchildren will never have to buy tackle and baits for quite some time and that's just fine with me. 
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
I'm a frugal, alright? Headed to TW since they have some on sale, who pay for full retail, correct? Oh and that free shipping, why not?
End up with 60 dollars spent for really a few things that I really want, the rest I will figure it out later Lol.
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