Do You Ever Retire A Lure? 2024

BooyahMan reply :

Have you ever had that one SPECIFIC lure that just produces for you day in and day out, and one day you just decide to retire it because you don't want to destroy or lose it? If you do, how long does it usually take until a lure has reached its "retirement" stage for you?

wytstang reply :

Only time I would consider retiring a lure is when it chatches me a (personal) record fish and the lure will get mounted with the fish.

WRB reply :

Why retire a lure that catchs bass consistantly?

What you will learn is every good lure has it's "time" and you will retire the lure when it stops working. If you loose the lure you will be trying to find another. After a few decades you will have retired several old lures full of memories.

Tom

SirSnookalot reply :

I don't retire lures, use them until they are no longer usable, I like them a little banged up it adds character. I hang a 1/4 oz jig head on a hat that I caught my first tarpon on, haven't worn that hat in years, lol.

Senko lover reply :

I think that's ridiculous. Even if I retired. I would them away. Lures are meant to catch fish, not be hoarded.

I guess the only time I would ever do that is if I caught a world record on it or won a Classic with it, and I doubt that will ever happen to me.

whitwolf reply :

On 5/4/2015 at 2:38 PM, WRB said:

After a few decades you will have retired several old lures full of memories.

Tom

I retired a certain crankbait several years ago when It dawned on me that It was the bait that caught the first 7 largemouth I ever caught.

Bankbeater reply :

I have gotten new baits and backed off on using the older baits, but never actually retired one before.

Topwaterspook reply :

I retired a chrome and black 3/4 oz. rattletrap that I used on my first trip to Mexico. It is the very next thing to being destroyed. I have it mounted in a small frame. Each time I see it, It brings back great memories.

scaleface reply :

Ive retired a couple that started leaking. I also have some bagleys that the paint chipped away and I quit using them .

*Hank reply :

Maybe,if I catch a hog and there discontinued. But other wise I agree if it's catching fish catch some more with it-

Cuaght my Pb on a SK squarebill and it's retired........................... on a stump at the bottom of the lake.

ColdSVT reply :

Only when i break them off lol

Catt reply :

I have a couple dozen retired lures including a Huddleston prototype that has never been wet.

cgolf reply :

I have a few that have either caught memorable fish, like my first bass on a crankbait, or just caught numbers of fish without being lost, most don't make it past a handfull. That said I think I have six that are retired, don't want to keep a ton just the special ones.

CRANKENSTIEN reply :

Why stop a good thing. Sooner or later, it will break or you will lose it. Seems like every year I lose a long time productive lure.

basshole8190 reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 2:22 AM, Catt said:
I have a couple dozen retired lures including a Huddleston prototype that has never been wet.

Would be interested in seeing that hudd proto. Possible some type of craw or jig maybe?

fisherrw reply :

I had a strike king 2.5 sexy shad that I caught over 100 bass on over the summer a couple of weeks ago I broke it off. Yea you could hardly tell what color it was any more but I was still heart broken....

Catt reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 4:52 AM, basshole8190 said:
Would be interested in seeing that hudd proto. Possible some type of craw or jig maybe?

I also have a first production run Mattlures male bluegill that'll never get wet.

I have a Bagley Small Fry Bream that was carved by Jim Bagley, won a tournament with it.

I have a Stanley Vibra Shaft made by Lonnie Stanley for me, won a tournament with it to.

I have River Runts, Skipjacks, & flies that were my dad's

So yea I retire lures that have earned it

Big C reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 10:55 AM, Catt said:

I also have a first production run Mattlures male bluegill that'll never get wet.

I have a Bagley Small Fry Bream that was carved by Jim Bagley, won a tournament with it.

I have a Stanley Vibra Shaft made by Lonnie Stanley for me, won a tournament with it to.

I have River Runts, Skipjacks, & flies that were my dad's

So yea I retire lures that have earned it

There is a difference between one of a kind collector items and lures that are beat up and have a few memories.

I would rather have the prototype Hudd and hand carved Bagley, than a frog that caught my biggest fish. (by the way pics of the Hudd?)

primetime reply :

The only lures I retire are the one's that sit in my box and rarely get wet....I usually sell them off, and buy more of what I am doing well on...Some of my best lures that I tie on first are beat up and have all new rings, hooks, missing paint, patched up and I try to keep them going for as long as possible. Every once in a while a certain lure just has the perfect action or maybe you just believe in it, so it always produces. I have about a dozen lures that are alway's tied on or easily accessible, and about half dozen of the exact same lure as backups in case I lose it. I am not a color guy, I am starting to realize that my boxes of hardbaits are all chrome, gold, chart, or red/craw colors with a few flashy patterns. I used to buy every color and every size, now I carry less so I don't get urges to change lures to much, usually it is not color from my experience but more size or style.

I do have lures I am scared to use because they have memories and have been favorites for years, but the same lures go on first no matter what in each category, I only try new lures once I know we are on fish to see how I like them. Too many people give up on lures because they only use them when nothing is working, so if you only try a wake bait when nothing else is working, and you do not get anything after 3-4 trips, you may have a great lure but not giving it a fair shake. Preconceived notions are a killer, I love fishing with people who are new at Bass Fishing and are open to trying anything, I learn more from them usually than anyone else...I realize that I am too stubborn many times and that lures I hated are actually good.....Inline Spinners would be an example, I stopped using them after I found the spinnerbait when I was about 10, but now I have a box loaded with linline spinners from 1/32 ounce road runners and rooster tails, to big Hildebrandt snagless sally's, and the mepps black fury is one of my favorites with either yellow or orange dots in size 1 or 2. Spinners are awesome when fry are small and all over a lake. So are tiny floating minnows like the Pin's and 2" Rapala or rebel.

flyingmonkie reply :

I accidentally retired the Smithwick Roque that had caught every one of my fish during a recent weekend camping trip. I overlooked some wear on my line, and just as I let loose a Flutie-quality Hail Mary of a cast, SNAP! I've never seen a lure fly soooo far.

I likened it to the Viking burial ritual where deceased warriors are sent out into the ocean on pyres.

Goodbye and God bless, dear Roque.

WolfyBrandon reply :

Currently I have retired the Bladed California Swim Jig (Strike King Pure Poison + 4.8'' Keitech) that caught my personal best. (It hangs from the ceiling in my bedroom)

I have others rigged up that I'm currently using, but I find it nice preserving the actual bait that caught my best fish.

WolfyBrandon

Catt reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 11:19 AM, Big C said:

There is a difference between one of a kind collector items and lures that are beat up and have a few memories.

I would rather have the prototype Hudd and hand carved Bagley, than a frog that caught my biggest fish. (by the way pics of the Hudd?)

Lures of that caliber are worth more in their original packaging, the package this lure is in is not the same package it would eventually be sold in and does not show the lure very well. I will not open the package just to do a photo shoot, now if you were at my house I might open the lock box it is in and give you a peek inside.

There is a photo of it somewhere in bassresource's archives!

papajoe222 reply :

None of my baits are old enough to retire yet, though I do have a couple that will be eligible for early retirement in a year or two.

Catch 22 reply :

On 5/4/2015 at 7:03 PM, Topwaterspook said:
. I have it mounted in a small frame. Each time I see it, It brings back great memories.

Memories, its about the memories. Ya`ll take pictures,right. Why? memories and bragging rights.

BTW,I usually don`t retire them voluntarily

I did have a bomber 7a light colored baby bass crank that was the Mike Tyson of lures yrs ago. I would retire it had I not lost it to "something"

C22

scaleface reply :

Ive retired lots of Lunker Lures because the blade wore down to nothing . I also had a couple of Blakemore C.C. spinnerbaits that I wore the blade out. LOL

scaleface reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 9:07 PM, Catch 22 said:

I did have a bomber 7a light colored baby bass crank that was the Mike Tyson of lures yrs ago. I would retire it had I not lost it to "something"

C22

I had a Bomber Model A in Baby bass that had "it" . Whatever "It" is . It's also long gone .

flyfisher reply :

I don't retire any lure. The only one I wish i did keep was the first fly i tied that i caught a fish on but it is in a bush somewhere in the Shenandoah national park due to my poor casting skills at the time. Other than that, I have memories and pictures and that is all I need.

Now if i caught a state record bass or something i might retire it but at the same time, there is a good chance that it wouldn't even be hard bait anyways and not sure retiring a worm or a fluke really matters.

C0lt reply :

I retire them to the bottom of the pond or to the tops of the trees sometimes. not willingly.

Felixone reply :

I haven't been bass fishing for very long. However, when I first started I used a lot of gear that I inherited from my father. These are the same lures I used to love digging through and "playing" with when I was just a kid. Most of them are probably 30+ years old. I loved catching fish with them as I felt it was a great way to honor his memory, and for getting me "hooked" on fishing at a very young age. When I thought I lost one of them by being stupid (I thought I dropped it out of the kayak) I decided it was time to replace them. Now that I have either replaced them with exact duplicates or similar designs I have packed them all away. As much as I loved catching fish on them I felt it wasn't worth the risk of losing one of my favorite things.

Now in regards to lures I have purchased those I don't care one bit. I will throw them anyplace I think will catch a fish. The only time I care about losing them is if I am bank fishing. Even then it is more about the littering of lots of line, plastic, and metal. What I do now though is cut the line as close to the water as I can, and then attach a cheap float. I do this with the intention of going back with the kayak and at least fish out most of the line if not the lure too. I have about a 50% success rate with this, but it does make me feel better. When in the kayak I rarely lose lures except to tree fish.

Since I don't have anything you can't buy online or at a big box store I don't have to worry about discontinued models yet. If I even run into that I might change my mind, but until then it is guns out. Even the lure I caught my PB on still gets used. If it was good enough for the last PB, it might just be good enough for the next.

J Francho reply :

I retire swimmers that don't become players.

Catt reply :

On 5/5/2015 at 11:37 PM, J Francho said:
I retire swimmers that don't become players.

Uhh! No one wants to hear about your personal life!

cgolf reply :

Here is one of my retired bandits, smacked on a railing during the cast while shore fishing. The reason it didn't get trashed is it managed to still catch 4 fish all cracked. Bandits are tough as nails.

And for me it is a numbers thing, if I get a bait that lasts say 50 plus fish it may get benched, not sure. The usual lifespan for a crank on the river is on average 7-10 fish before it gets lost. Now that bandit got bought out, I am going to have wade in to get them. With Bandits I don't think I have had one that doesn't catch fish, some may just get through snags better.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 5/6/2015 at 12:53 AM, cgolf said:

Here is one of my retired bandits, smacked on a railing during the cast while shore fishing. The reason it didn't get trashed is it managed to still catch 4 fish all cracked. Bandits are tough as nails.

And for me it is a numbers thing, if I get a bait that lasts say 50 plus fish it may get benched, not sure. The usual lifespan for a crank on the river is on average 7-10 fish before it gets lost. Now that bandit got bought out, I am going to have wade in to get them. With Bandits I don't think I have had one that doesn't catch fish, some may just get through snags better.

Put some fingernail polish sealer on that crack and it should keep the water out and you can go back to fishing it.

C0lt reply :

I just retired the storm jerk bait I caught my pb on.

Blues19 reply :

My dyslexia is getting me, lol. I thought it said Retie. I would have looked like a goof if I responded to that. I would only retire a lure if it had a strong specific memory tied to it, like a BIG bass, a kids first fish, stuff like that.

RSM789 reply :

On 5/4/2015 at 6:17 PM, Senko lover said:
...I guess the only time I would ever do that is if I caught a world record on it or won a Classic with it, and I doubt that will ever happen to me.

Don't sell yourself short. I envision you winning the 2026 Classic by catching a world record bass out of the Sabine River system of all places. On a Senko, of course .

I keep a collection of retired lures in a brushpile in 10 feet of water about 20 yards off my brothers dock (That is a knock off of the Steven Wright joke "I have a large seashell collection which I keep scattered on the beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen it.")

cgolf reply :

Today is a perfect example of why I retire a lure. In this case good fishing karma, I will take all I can get. I have been using some questionable power pro line and broke off a crankbait yesterday on a snag. It floated loose and I was able to wade in downstream and grab it.

Then tonight I snagged a large carp with the same lure and when lifting it out the line snapped leaving the lure in the carps back. The carp were thick tonight swimming in schools of 30 fish or more and I saw multiple schools. About 15 minutes later I snagged a carp with a softbait and as I was reeling it in I saw the Crankbait in the carps back. I was able to land it and get my Crankbait back. The odds of this happening were crazy low that I would re snag the same carp and land it, first carp I have landed on a soft plastic snag.

7395

Do You Ever Retire A Lure? 2024

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