how often do you lose baits 2024

zach t reply :

This last spring, I threw alot of XR75s in Rayburn or Royal. In the last month, I have been killing them on XR75 1KR in Sexy. But I seem to lose them faster than I could buy more. Literally, I could go through them 2 a day. It is a rare day when I can bring the same lure home.

Sure, I hang up alot. it's a rattle bait. I have learned that you either go big or go home, and so I throw them anywhere. I am fishing in guntersville and between the grass, lily pads, submerged logs, fallen trees, whereever the fish are.

However, It isn't from getting stuck, per se. I retrieve them whenever I can. I get in after my lures. I seem to lose them to random reasons.

Take the other day, got caught in a tree, pulled up on it, broke the line getting it out and the lure fell in the water. Or yesterday, random nick in the line....there it goes.

I'm certainly not hard up for money, but 20 bucks a day in just one lure is getting ridiculous. I quit buying Lucky Craft stuff for that reason. But, I can't do without my XRs.

How often do you lose lures?

MattinOK reply :

Just be glad you are not fishing from the shore. If I am not careful I can lose up to 4-5 lures a trip.

Matt Fly reply :

I used to lose a ton of cranks during tournaments, I never tried to retrieve half of them not wanting to spook the area, just break it off if the area had produced.

I'm not afraid to put a crank in the middle of a brush pile either, rules of thumb generally tell ya where you need to be on certain conditions, ie.....blue bird skys, fish tend to be tight to cover, thus I'll throw into cover more than other times.

Pleasure fishing, a very good lure knocker will save a crankbait fishermen 100's of dollars over the year.

Invest in one, its worth it.

To answer your question, it depends on the lake and cover I'm fishing. if you fish a lake with tons of snags, its gonna happen,

specially if your putting your bait into tight cover where bass live.

Raul reply :

After a while and being a few baits under ( a "few" .... yeah, right : ) following some simple steps you seldomly loose baits anymore, most importantly, you loose cranks:

1.- Get a lure retriever ( plug knocker or telescopic pole ), best 8-12 dollars you 'll ever spend.

2.- Check the condition of your line regularily while you are fishing, cut and retie as needed, which means that depending upon the conditions of cover and bottom composition can be many times in a day. Don 't be lazy.

3.- Tie good knots, the weakest spot in a line without abrassion is the knot.

With those three you seldomly loose a lure.

Other baits can be a little bit more difficult not to loose, spinnerbaits are almost unloosable, but the same doesn 't apply to other baits like jigs or worms, I think of them as a toll I 'm going to pay for fishing, a jig I pull from my T-box is a jig that very seldomly returns to the T-box, a sacrifial lamb for the Gods of fishing . Soft plastics ? oh well, I have a hate/love realatioship with certain baits, for example GYCB Senkos, yes, there are other similar baits like Dingers, but there are days that they don 't cut it, when I 'm not having the results I expect with them then it 's senkos and I know that I 'm not going too many fish out every bait but you gotta do what you gotta do.

zach t reply :

Like i said...its not getting hung up that is losing me lures. Its random breaks when working through grass, etc. Nothing I can help. I respool my crankin' rod once every 2 weeks, worst case.

I have to admit, though, that I fish 3 days a week and use that rod about 40% of the time. I've been averaging about 25 fish a day with about 15 of them on cranks. My average fish is about 3.5lb. Yesterday I caught 10 fish over 4 pounds. I wonder if I should just accept it under "wear and tear". I do with my rod and line. Rod is on the jig now, ready for new guides.

But I admit that I don't rety as often as I should. I can certainly do that. I'd say that 75% of my breaks are at the spool.

Bass_Akwards reply :

Don't get me started. I fish from shore 75% of the time and depending what lures I'm fishing, i can lose between 0-6 lures in a 4 hour trip. If I'm throwing cranckbaits my ratio might even be higher. The old saying "If your not losing them, you aint fishing them right" is so true, and because of that fact, I have a tendancy to lose more luresthen most people I fish with. It SUCKS! If you include how many creature baits and plastics I lose, including the gammy hooks as well, we're talking at least a couple or more every few hours. 50 cents for a worm plus 50 cents a hook and were talking about $1.00 every time I lose a worm and hook. if I lose two or three a day x 5 days a week were talking $10.00 a week just in worms and hooks not to mention some cranks, jerks, and God knows what else. If I fished the Huds and Lucky Craft etc. etc. I'd be living under a bridge in a cardboard box, after two months.

I Lost a nice X-rap last night because I'm so darn stubborn that I threw it where I knew there was a lot of brush. Water was lower than I thought and got snagged. Couldn't get that darn lure unstuck to save my life, and because I was fishing from shore, I just couldn't save it. So what do i do after that? Yep, you got it. Put on another jerkbait, this time a floater and throw it to the same spot. "I can just jerk it to the brush pile and then slowly float it over the brush pile, then jerk it back to me after that" is what I'm thinking as I cast, but WRONG! Lost that lure too. Really ticked me off.

Gangley reply :

I lose a lot of Lake Fork Live Magic Shads, but never to structure. Its almost a garuntee that if i hook a fish with one, the fish will be of decent size, but the bait will always be missing. A majority of the time I will see the lure fly off the line during the bass' first jump. Its ridiculous, but the bass love them here and so I continue to buy them. Not sure how many Lake Fork jig heads are lying in my terminal box that came from Magic Shad combos, but I know I dont have to by any small jig heads for my creature baits for A LONG time. Like mentioned above, its the toll you pay to play.

I seem to snag a lot of jigs as well, but the LFMS takes the cake.

Gangley reply :

Quote

I Lost a nice X-rap last night because I'm so darn stubborn that I threw it where I knew there was a lot of brush. Water was lower than I thought and got snagged. Put on another jerkbait, this time a floater and throw it to the same spot. Lost that lure too.

Time to go swimming in my book

Odds are you would probably find a few more lures on that tree

Paul Roberts reply :

I rarely lose a lure. I like my lures and spend time to get them tweaked just so. They're worth more to me alive then dead lol.

All my lost lures I can attribute to wood, and almost always when fishing from shore. I fish weedy ponds a lot, with little wood worth bothering with most of the time. If I am fishing wood, and some of my waters require this, I do so with appropriate tackle, and fish deftly. I tend to know what lures to throw, where they are in the water column, when they are at risk, and how to negotiate risky spots. I know wood when I feel it, and when my line is contacting wood so I don't set the hook into it. Wood, being hard, can feel like a strike if I'm not paying attention.

That said, I managed to lose a $15 lipless the other day. I know my waters pretty well but found a lone tree I didn't know was there. Happy to fish wood with a lipped bait, or many other baits, but not a lipless. >

Matt Fly reply :

Sorry, missed that part some how.

When your line breaks, can you tell if it was at the knot? or way above your tie? if at the knot, what kinda knot do you tie with?

First off, what type of line and LB test are ya throwing to have all these break offs due to your line.

We need some data to help you out.

D4u2s0t reply :

your line constantly breaks at the spool??? weird... what kind of line, and what strength do you use? Do you have a knick in your spool or something? or have the drag set wrong?

dday07 reply :

wow!i don't feel so bad.i got back from visiting a friend on the coosa river and the fish were mainly hitting off the bottom.i was losing 5 lures a day and thought i had to be the worst fisherman alive.(mainly cranks reg. and lipless)now i'm back in cal. and back to my 1 lure every other trip. fallen timber can really suck!

basskatcher() reply :

I used to lose a lot of lures when I first started fishing but now I don't seem to lose as many. Maybe it's because I'm more accurate, or maybe it's because I use 50 lb Power Pro on most of my setups.

shimmy reply :

Quote
I used to lose a lot of lures when I first started fishing but now I don't seem to lose as many. Maybe it's because I'm more accurate, or maybe it's because I use 50 lb Power Pro on most of my setups.

More accurate...well, not sure that is the case. If you want to catch big fish, it's common sense you need to be fishing in the cover. I usually lose 1 lure a day. However when i fish in Minnesota, i use will lose about 4 a day. They have northern pike and they have no decency. I use Triline 20 lb test but it just doesn't stop all the northern.

If your not losing lures, you probably aren't the type of person that catches a lot of big bass. Am i wrong??? (im not talking about catching just one big bass, anyone can do that by shear luck, i'm talking about many big bass)

islandbass reply :

Quote
Like i said...its not getting hung up that is losing me lures. Its random breaks when working through grass, etc. Nothing I can help. I respool my crankin' rod once every 2 weeks, worst case.
But I admit that I don't rety as often as I should. I can certainly do that. I'd say that 75% of my breaks are at the spool.

Therein lies your problem. I know, it's tough in that it takes time from fishing, but checking line condition, say the last 3-4' takes less than 2 seconds to do to determine if a retie is in order.

I hate checking my line, but I do it frequently because I know that if I don't, I could pay a greater price than losing a lure, and that is losing that fish of a lifetime. Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky that you've only been losing lures. I'd shudder at the thought of having lost a hawg because I didn't want to retie a bait. Couldn't live it down and kick myself in the phanny for the rest of my life.

I can definitely relate to the shorebound crowd. Many times we lose lures that are so close but too far to recover even if we had a lure retriever. When I drop shot rip rap, I can lose 4 baits and weights in ten minutes. Thenk goodness the loss of soft plastics is somewhat more bearable.

RoLo reply :

I lose more bass than I lose lures,

and wish it were the other way around :

Roger

J. M. Richardson reply :

I lose one lure almost every time I go out.

Sam reply :

I lose baits all the time.

I make a list and reload my tackle box.

No problem.

Baits are expected to be lost sooner or later.

Beastie Bass reply :

I lost two LC Pointers within 12 hours of each other and on different lakes! > I had been fishing LC's for better than a year without losing one! I guess it was time to pay my dues! ;D I just HAD to throw them while bank fishing.

Hammer 4 reply :

I've lost over 120.00 in swimbaits in the last 2 months...cry me a river.. ;D it's part of fishing..

thrawn67 reply :

Was up to my waist in some mighty cold water the other day with a six foot lacrosse stick i had in my truck getting back my skitter pop that broke off also found a kast master in the same weeds pretty sweet.

mikeeyyd reply :

from reading your response that your line is often times breaking at the spool i would have to say your problem lies in the reel, most likely you have something that the line is catching on and breaking first thing i would do is give the reel spool a good look over

if it isn't your reel i would suggest changing lines, i know throwing light mono through cover it will develop nicks in the line which eventually break under pressure. make sure you are checking your line from time to time if that might be the case. i personally got tired of doing this and switched to braid with a mono leader which is much easier to check.

nothing ruins my day more then loosing a nice fish due to equipment malfunctions which seems to be your problem

ky_nikki reply :

I lose around 2 a day when I am fishing from getting hung up :-/

But CJ reminds me that you are not bass fishing right and in the right spots if you don't get hung up, so I guess it is the price I pay for the PB search

Catt reply :

With the exception of jigs or bullet weights/hooks I rarely lose a lure, I have spinner baits, cranks & traps that are several years old.

Quinte bass reply :

Rarely loose baits/lures but it happens from time to time. Main culprit is pike, particularly with top-waters, crankbaits and spinner baits. Goes with the territory I guess. Tackle industry just LOVE pike....

JigMe reply :

I have good days and bad days. Probably average out at 1 lure per trip.

fishfordollars reply :

Seldom, use a plug knocker with the chains on it. you can retrieve most if you take the time to try.

D4u2s0t reply :

Quote
With the exception of jigs or bullet weights/hooks I rarely lose a lure, I have spinner baits, cranks & traps that are several years old.

x2. I don't have any crazy cover, so for the vast majority of my lake 12# mono is enough to pull a lure free if I hang up. Light line around the rocks, if i'm fishing from shore, sometimes i'll get hung up but can usually work it out. Did the slingshot (or bow and arrow) technique today, got my #2 mepps out from a rock.

The Bassinator reply :

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Just be glad you are not fishing from the shore. If I am not careful I can lose up to 4-5 lures a trip.

I lost a Rat-L trap due to a line breakage. It seemed like that thing was up in the air for 3 seconds and I didnt know where it was until I saw the splash. I also snagged a husky jerk in firetiger that I bought the day before. I think Im still gonna go in after that one

hatrix reply :

Its pretty rare that I loose a bait. I use braid almost all the time just for that reason. Its so strong and I don't have to worry about checking my line and retying. You will save more money in the long run buying the more expensive line. When i do use other line like on a ultra light, i usually retie after every few fish.

grimlin reply :

I don't even want to think about it.....

Last year i spend a half an hour on this one spot every weekend.It was loaded with fish......Let's just say it looks like a Bass fisherman's Christmas tree now.I'd lose 4-5 lures in that spot every time.

Gangley reply :

I may have lost 4-5 lures in the past year. A rattletrap, a spinnerbait, and a few horny toads. I am very careful with presentation and using what i feel is appropriate lures for the occasion. However, I still have no clue how i snagged the spinnerbait, that was a first for me.

Nicky Greece reply :

I am probably the master of throwing Crankbaits into the trees...

yamisoez reply :

Quote
Just be glad you are not fishing from the shore. If I am not careful I can lose up to 4-5 lures a trip.

farmpond1 reply :

Something bad will happen if you don't sacrifice at least one bait per trip to the gods.

JPost reply :

How well do the "lure retrievers" work for fishing from the bank? I wasn't sure if you kind of have to be on top of the lure such as in a boat to get the retriever to go all the way down to the lure or does it work like zip line? Am I making sense?

Thanks

BassThumb reply :

Quote

Quote
I used to lose a lot of lures when I first started fishing but now I don't seem to lose as many. Maybe it's because I'm more accurate, or maybe it's because I use 50 lb Power Pro on most of my setups.

More accurate...well, not sure that is the case. If you want to catch big fish, it's common sense you need to be fishing in the cover. I usually lose 1 lure a day. However when i fish in Minnesota, i use will lose about 4 a day. They have northern pike and they have no decency. I use Triline 20 lb test but it just doesn't stop all the northern.

If your not losing lures, you probably aren't the type of person that catches a lot of big bass. Am i wrong??? (im not talking about catching just one big bass, anyone can do that by shear luck, i'm talking about many big bass)

Very true, those Northerns can really be a pain. Other than a few tubes and Senkos that were snagged deep under docks and absolutely could not be reached and had to be broken off(I hate doing this BTW), all the lures I lost were cranks and jigs due to Northerns. Maybe $50 worth of cranks and 8 jigs, so $80 total.

zach t reply :

Thanks for the responses. Looks like this is just going to be something to live with.

I can certainly improve my odds with a little more caution. I respool very often since i fish so much (every two weeks). But, fishing the Big G is hard on the line ,between the cover, the lilly pads, and grass, the line gets nicked and stretched alot.

hatrix reply :

You should really try and spool a rod with braid. Ever since i started using it the amount of lure i loose has dropped dramatically. Last night i did loose a little 3" suspending minnow to about a 10lb or more catfish using 20lb braid. I got bold trying to horse him in and didn't let it wear it self out enough. It was cool though cause it jumped when it grabbed the bait since it only run about 1' deep. I never seen a catfish that big break water.

Raul reply :

Quote
How well do the "lure retrievers" work for fishing from the bank? I wasn't sure if you kind of have to be on top of the lure such as in a boat to get the retriever to go all the way down to the lure or does it work like zip line? Am I making sense?
Thanks

Plug knockers unless you are on a very steep bank and the knocker can fall vertically do not work from shore, they are for boat use. Poles worl well from shore, only problem is that the longest one I can remember is 15 ft in length and since fishing follows Murphy 's laws there you are with your 15 ft long lure retriever pole and your bait hung up 15 + ft from you.

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