When is Enough, Enough? 2024
Brett's_daddy reply :
Okay, I have gotten into bass fishing about 4 years ago and really enjoy it! I've had my successes as well as my fair share of failures but it's always been fun regardless. I have scraped every loose nickle and dime I could find whenever I had the opportunity and purchased a fair amount of tackle over the past 4 years...everything from top water (my favorite) to plastics, to jigs to spinnerbaits to cranks to jerks. My wife has been after me lately for the amount of tackle I have and asked me when is enough enough? I have always dismissed it as she does the same thing with shoes, watches and purses so I have always viewed her complaints as just a tad hypocritical but the other day I was looking over my tackle and said to myself...darn, there's a ton of lures here and then a little tickle in the back of my mind was saying maybe the wife is right...when is enough enough? I mean if I can't catch bass with the amount of tackle I have there's got to be something wrong.... . I honestly have about maybe a half dozen more lures on my mental wish list but the Bait Monkey seems to be always rattling his cage to be let out but I know if I do the lil' bugger will bite me and I'll end up with another new lure. I must admit that I give in to some "revenge" buying too, when the wife is being a real witch or she has just treated herself to a new purse or some new shoes etc. I have been guilty of using that as an excuse to procure some new tackle . Seriously though, have any of you hit that point where you take an inventory of all your tackle and say...DARN, I have too much tackle but...you say it quietly so that the wife doesn't hear you?
dman reply :
I'm at the point where i know what works for me in my waters. Its just maintaining/replacements now. Not to say I wont try new baits but i'll know if they fit into what I do. i used to just get everything - the monkey had me tight in his grips. And yea, I now say it all the time - I have too much tackle 
Rudy523 reply :
Nope
12poundbass reply :
Well gentleman it sounds like the OP's wife's Jeti mindtricks are taking hold and he's given up on himself. Unfortunately we must let go. Her forces are too strong and there's nothing more we can do. Let us remember him for the good times.
Let us now focus on the introduction thread and welcome the new batch coming in.
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Brett's_daddy reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 1:58 AM, 12poundbass said:Well gentleman it sounds like the OP's wife's Jeti mindtricks are taking hold and he's given up on himself. Unfortunately we must let go. Her forces are too strong and there's nothing more we can do. Let us remember him for the good times.
Let us now focus on the introduction thread and welcome the new batch coming in.
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Don't give up on me yet Obi-wan...
...I said that I think about it sometimes but there's always a video on YouTube of a new lure and some guy catching a 10lb. bass on it that snaps me out of it and releases the Bait Monkey once again!!!
WIGuide reply :
There are days I wonder the same thing. Those are usually the days I'm chucking the same bait all day and it's working, but then there are the days you think to try something new and you have a great day. I guess enough is enough when you think it's enough and can somehow keep that darn bait monkey off your back.
Choporoz reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 1:58 AM, 12poundbass said:Well gentleman it sounds like the OP's wife's mindtricks are taking hold and he's given up on himself. Unfortunately he must let her go.
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FIFY
CTBassin860 reply :
I don't have an absurd amount of tackle.I too have what works in every color I need.I just gave a kid at work a ton of stuff I'll never use or didn't like.Even sold him one of my rods.Im in downsize mode.I can only carry so much and can only throw one at a time.
12poundbass reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 2:06 AM, Choporoz said:FIFY
Lol. You scared me! With the stupid auto correct mistakes these days I had to double check to make sure that's not how it came out.
Pro Logcatcher reply :
I don't have enough money to get everything I need!
FreddoB reply :
OK - I'll add that I'm a self-proclaimed "gear head"! There - I said it. Enough is enough when stuff isn't being used and we're still holding onto it for "some" reason. Learning to fish for bass now (as a newb to targeting them specifically), I've started the collecting new baits as I'm learning new techniques. I've see a post telling a reader to but every color worm you can get and other posts stating one or two colors are "enough" (well maybe three). I also believe "less is more" but I'm no minimalist by any stretch. So "enough is enough" is when we've learned what works best in the situations we come upon. This spring, on my 5' UL, I was using an Arkie Sexee Tail Shad, a little 2" plastic on a jig head. I could do nothing wrong and I was almost catching fish accidentally. I suppose I could have quit buying other baits and learning new techniques right there. That setup caught me LM, crappie, bluegill, pumpkin seed, and even pickerel and all inside of a few hours. But we're fisherman! I'm a gear junkie! But then about a week ago I was on a familiar lake and my chatterbait wasn't getting bit so I switched to a wacky rigged worm and started catching bass like it was a different day on the water. So after all this typing I'll suggest that "enough is enough" is quite a personal thing (and spouse input does NOT count). But guys and gals.... PLEASE by all means, spend within your budget... Catchin' fish can be challenging enough!!
onetime reply :
It happens, we buy stuff because "it's the next big thing" most of us are guilty of it. I have purged my tackle a few times, about due again. Try to figure out what baits/colors work best for you, and go with that. Having too many choices of baits/colors may actually hurt you more than help you. I'm not one to talk, as me and the Bait Monkey are best buds, do as I say, not as I do 
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
I thought of that too when I have close to 100 bags of different type of plastic, you know what I did? buy even more bags.
My wife just caught me bought another casting rod, so I told her I NEED this for my kayak setup so I don't loose other.
Jar11591 reply :
For me, collecting tackle, rods, reels and other fishing equipment is all part of the sport that I'm so passionate about and obsessed with. So I guess enough is never enough.
BuzzHudson19c reply :
No such thing as too much tackle or too many guns.
Columbia Craw reply :
Never is an absolute. Stay away from absolutes.
Team9nine reply :
If you're entertaining the question, then "enough" is probably within sight 
david in va reply :
As long as you have the spare cash, no problem. If you are buying and don't have the spare change it is too much.
Like I have said before , if you see something you want and have the extra $$ to get it, you may as well have a pocket full of rocks
David
fishwizzard reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 3:45 AM, BuzzHudson19c said:No such thing as too much tackle or too many guns.
Lately I have been selling the guns to buy tackle.
I hit a similar point a month or so ago. I went through all my gear and anything that I had never fished or caught on got moved to a box. Every quarter I am gonna do the same thing, cull out what I have not used or caught on and put it in the box.
I have grand plans to donate the entire box next December, but we shall see. But even just having my tackle area less cluttered has been great and really helps me focus on fishing what I already have. I still buy new stuff, but it only a little here or there. I have managed to resist the last two sale holidays, so it must be working at least a little.
contium reply :
I mainly just maintain now. My boat is my tackle box and it is at capacity. Anything new means something goes to make room.
CroakHunter reply :
I have hit the point of "enough is enough" for me. I know what I like to throw and what works in the water I fish. I dont get out as much as I would like with working 60hrs a week and with a baby on the way. I de-cluttered earlier in the year and stocked my stepdaughter and wife's tacklebox and they were tickled pink...til a box came in the mail from tackle warehouse. Lol. I'm done buying until I run low on something.
IndianaFinesse reply :
Sounds like you probably shouldn't be reading this thread https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/147176-latest-tackle-purchase-thread-bait-monkey-victim-support-group/?page=215#comment-2171157 or worse yet, this thread https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/175280-the-latest-sale-thread/?page=53 
beardown34 reply :
While you are far from the first husband to try to figure out their wives on an internet forum, you would be the first to succeed in doing so 
I am in my 3rd year of bass fishing, limited to residential ponds for very short periods of time (90 minutes at most). Because I don't have anyone around me to share lures and tips with me, the only path to learning has been by buying for myself. The combination of plastics coming in 8-10+ packs, as well as the need to get to $50+ on most sites to get to free shipping, has led to an accumulation of tackle well beyond my ability to consume them in the foreseeable future.
I am coming to accept that I don't need to catch every fish, every day. I am not and never will be a tournament angler -- ie there is zero financial impetus for me to be able to cover every single fishing scenario on any given day. That is allowing me to highly de-prioritize trying to collect every single lure for every single presentation. However, I don't think I could have reasonably come around to this conclusion without having purchased a fair amount of tackle to begin with (again, unless I happened to have someone near me who could share lures with me and teach me, without spending my own dime).
Let's be honest -- most days a hook + stick bait will get you bit. At the same time, I acknowledge that I get much more satisfaction out of a texas rig or jig bite, as compared to a ned rig bite, and I definitely don't get any gratification at all out of a live bait bite (except for catching bluegills with worms I dug up with my kids). As such I do find it gratifying to have some variation in my tackle box.
I have no idea what winter is like in Vermont, but here in the Midwest mother nature allows for a built in 3-4 months of tackle reflection. I find that a good time to re-assess what if anything I need, or what new things I want to try in the upcoming season. Also as the years go by, I have a better understanding of when BPS and TW will have their sales, and what they will have on sale -- and this allows me to not be so trigger happy because now I know if I don't need it this year, it will be probably just be on sale again next year.
I also made a (in my mind, wise) decision to invest in a couple hundred bucks worth of TW gift cards over winter (December I believe), when they were 10% off.
As for being motivated in any way by what your wife buys in terms of making your own purchases ...
A-Jay reply :
Two possible solutions to the perception of 'too much tackle'.
1. Buy a bigger boat.
2. Sell some tackle and use the money . . . . . to buy more tackle.
There ya go.
A-Jay
Raul reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 10:55 AM, A-Jay said:Two possible solutions to the perception of 'too much tackle'.
1. Buy a bigger boat.
2. Sell some tackle and use the money . . . . . to buy more tackle.
There ya go.
A-Jay
I don't purchase tackle to fish, I've fished with pretty much the same handful of lures that work for me almost all the time everywhere I've been to for the past 3 decades, yes, beolieve it or not, there's tackle that works practically everywhere, it ain't the arrow; I purchase tackle because I like it, hunting for lures is fun ! And hobbies are supposed to be fun, holes into which you sink your money, some people like bikes, others like to excercise and so on, one of my hobbies is purchasing tackle.
GrumpyOlPhartte reply :
I've got a system that seems to be working. I've been back to fishing after a long, long break and am fighting in vain the urge to buy all the new toys that have been developed. I found my wife is quite amenable to my new tackle purchases if I've done something productive around the house first. For example, today I am power washing my privacy fence (Heaven knows it needs it!) and I know when I'm done she's gonna say, "Honey, it looks great! You worked hard - don't you want to take some time to go fishing?" The door is now open and I tell her I need to pick up a few things first. I see the tackle monkey grinning from ear to ear as I head for Dick's or make up an online order. I figure that "enough" will only be attained when her Honey-Do List is complete. Like THAT will ever happen! And everybody is happy.
roadwarrior reply :
Once you have "everything you need", focus your spending on something new that is winning tournaments or
is being widely used by tournament professionals. For example, I have at least one of everything that has
supposedly "won" the Classic for the last 20 years or so. On the other hand, 99% of the time I'm fishing a
soft plastic, jig or square bill this time of year.
thomas15 reply :
When you buy something and then discover that you already have it but forgot, then you are close, but not quite to the threshold. At that point you need to create a system for tracking your tackle.
When you consult your tracking system and then still purchase a duplicate, threshold crossed, monkey in control.
John Loughlin reply :
I once tried to justify needing multiple fishing rods being similar to having multiple golf clubs. Different situations call for different tools and applications.... I was then told I golf too much lol. . I've scaled back my collection of fishing gear over the years, donated some and lost more than I'd like to admit in the water. I think as long as you are not putting a financial strain on yourself and you have the room to keep your equipment you'll be fine.
Ratherbfishing reply :
If you are asking this question, you are probably pretty close to begrudgingly answering it yourself. The conflict may lie in that if you admit you've got enough gear, it might feel like you are capitulating to your wife. MANY couples struggle over money and power issues. Your wife may, in part, buy shoes and stuff in "retaliation" for some of your purchases (like you've admitted to doing after some of hers). I'm not a marriage or couples counselor (though I do play one on TV) so I'll stay away from that BUT it might be something worth thinking about. Anyway, if you feel like you need to slow down, at least, you can always do so.
Fishin' Fool reply :
Is your wife going to quit shopping for shoes? Of course not, you keep on buying
Munkin reply :
On 6/22/2017 at 3:43 AM, Jar11591 said:For me, collecting tackle, rods, reels and other fishing equipment is all part of the sport that I'm so passionate about and obsessed with. So I guess enough is never enough.
I really like this answer! The problem I have now is you cannot walk around either the basement or garage without tripping over tackle.
Allen
RoLo reply :
Wouldn't be so bad if I collected one or two of every lure.
But Oh No, I've got to have a dozen of every spoon, plug and spinner that I use,
and several pounds of each soft-plastic I use (as if they're going to become extinct).
I have enough retired fishing rods to erect a picket-fence around my property 
My wife is my saving grace. Believe it or not, her bait monkey addiction
is even worse than mine, which keeps my guilt complex at bay
Roger
bh91 reply :
Too long to read , so never enough
spokey9 reply :
If Bill dance guest hosts an episode of hoarders and knocks on my door...that's when I'll begin to ponder if I got too much gear
MassYak85 reply :
On 6/23/2017 at 2:03 AM, John Loughlin said:I think as long as you are not putting a financial strain on yourself and you have the room to keep your equipment you'll be fine.
Well said. If you are spending so much it's affecting budgeting for necessities between you and your wife then obviously it's a problem. But everyone I think should have at least one hobby they are passionate about, I think that's healthy. If she has hers and you have yours, I don't think it should be a big deal. But at the same time if she thinks you have too much, it wouldn't hurt to analyze whether you actually do. If the quantity is the thing, you could always just replace and sell old stuff and get nicer stuff over time instead of expanding how much you have.
whitwolf reply :
I'm of this opinion; I am at a point in my life where If I want/need it I get it. I rarely buy something because It's the latest and greatest but I do like to collect vintage Rebels for display and buy what I want. As for baits I fish with I will buy what I need and sometimes buy what I don't need. It's not a problem unless you make it a problem. I, like others on this thread, enjoy collecting baits and consider It a part of fishing.
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