For "poor anglers" that can't afford $1100 for a lure

[Snidley]

These one are only $135 to $275. Pro bassers are using them so i guess they work. drag one of those Ho Fathers around on a downriggewr and see if a Chinnie pops up. 

 

Tater Hog Custom Lures

[lew]

Bass are the easiest fish in the world to catch, why would anyone need such an expensive lure to go after them ? 😁

[AKRISONER]

8 minutes ago, lew said:

Bass are the easiest fish in the world to catch, why would anyone need such an expensive lure to go after them ? 😁

will also earn you more money than any other species...Never heard of any $100,000 every couple of week tournaments for anything else.

[grimsbylander]

16 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

will also earn you more money than any other species...Never heard of any $100,000 every couple of week tournaments for anything else.

True. All you have to do is spend $250,000 to get it. 

[AKRISONER]

48 minutes ago, grimsbylander said:

True. All you have to do is spend $250,000 to get it. 

dont get me wrong, theres very few of these guys that are actually making any money doing this stuff, but those at the top have more importantly got the sponsorship dollars backing them. A guy like Gerald Swindle hasnt won a thing in a decade, but hes a salesman with a history and appears to be doing just fine travelling around fishing for a living. Its not the life for everyone, but I could think of worse careers lol.

I recently saw a stat that Zaldain (the angler being referenced to by the OP) has finished in the money over 80% of the time while on the elite series...thats pretty damn impressive. Id argue that spending $200 on a bait for him to fish the way he does is a worthwhile investment.

thats whats intriguing about zaldain, he fishes like no one else does, or really can. What he did on G ville last year was insane.

[Snidley]

Some Canadian guys are making money bassin' in America. Personally I hate the idea of "pro bassin" but I guess it is legal. Your favorite fishing lake covered with 200 pro anglers and hoards of followers in boats seems like a nightmare to me but they can get people to pay to watch guys show bass at a podium so truly there is one born every minute.

[AKRISONER]

4 hours ago, Snidley said:

Some Canadian guys are making money bassin' in America. Personally I hate the idea of "pro bassin" but I guess it is legal. Your favorite fishing lake covered with 200 pro anglers and hoards of followers in boats seems like a nightmare to me but they can get people to pay to watch guys show bass at a podium so truly there is one born every minute.

When you get really into bass fishing it’s actually pretty intriguing to watch. As much as tournament angling is gambling, it’s also not. When you watch them fish, and the bags that they are able to weigh while fishing solo, they are something to aspire to. Of course aside from the slight gear advantage that they have, the average person could attempt to do what these guys do. Except you can’t cast, or work a bait, or cast and fish as efficiently as them.

 

Zaldain has been on bass live multiple times skipping ten inch swimbaits under docks...could you imagine?

seth fieder can pick apart a dock so bloody precisely you couldn’t imagine getting baits into where he puts them. I’ve seen him on live put his bait to the dock infront of a pontoon boat with its outboard down and haul out 6lber’s. It’s nuts

if you watched Chris Johnston (one of the three Canadians on the elite series) win on the st Lawrence last year on championship Sunday, he was pushing it to the absolute edge catching giant smallmouth in 6 foot rollers on Lake Ontario. That kind of stuff is good entertainment as far as I am concerned.

even more so is a lot of the bass season is during Canada’s closed season. Watching a guy like Lee Livedsay catch a 42lb 5 fish limit of 7 and 8 lbers on a top water this weekend has me all kinds of jacked up for bass season.

until you tournament fish it’s harder to appreciate the stakes. I would never try and make tournament fishing a living, but trust me, when you are in one and you hook a good one, it’s literally one of the ultimate highs. I guess it’s built for adrenaline junkies in a way, there’s just something about driving your boat to the limit, fishing super hard and the absolutely extreme highs of catching big ones and the crushing lows of losing them.

Edited April 29, 2021 by AKRISONER

[Snidley]

I don't mind catching fish but I have a problem with guys invading a fishery, hammering it, killing lots of fish, the big ones at that, educating fish thus  making them harder for the locals to catch, zooming around the place at warp speed and basically doing so without paying for the use of a public resource. To me it's like the Argos turning up a Edwards Gardens playing a ball game collecting money for tickets and leaving a huge mess while not paying a dime for the property. The idea of watching a guy's fish sack is a remarkably lame "event" that eludes me totally. I admit that the fishing series where the guys play 3 periods, release all fish immediately and is a restricted field of anglers is at least somewhat watchable. They are great anglers to be sure but fishing is a hobby or pastime not an athletic performance and as such the least they can do is pay their way if and only if the locals approve.

[AKRISONER]

7 hours ago, Snidley said:

I don't mind catching fish but I have a problem with guys invading a fishery, hammering it, killing lots of fish, the big ones at that, educating fish thus  making them harder for the locals to catch, zooming around the place at warp speed and basically doing so without paying for the use of a public resource. To me it's like the Argos turning up a Edwards Gardens playing a ball game collecting money for tickets and leaving a huge mess while not paying a dime for the property. The idea of watching a guy's fish sack is a remarkably lame "event" that eludes me totally. I admit that the fishing series where the guys play 3 periods, release all fish immediately and is a restricted field of anglers is at least somewhat watchable. They are great anglers to be sure but fishing is a hobby or pastime not an athletic performance and as such the least they can do is pay their way if and only if the locals approve.

The elite series events boost the heck out of a lot of local economies. You’ve got 100 pros coming through needing accommodations and food. Then people travel to come and watch them weigh in. Places like waddington I’m sure love the business.

[Garnet]

It's true bass are easy to catch, they just get way smarter when you pay enter fee.

And it's not a bass it's 5 bass and you have to do it from 7 to 3 no excuses on Sat and Sunday with all the locals out fishing.

And you do have a huge investment, with just a thousand things that can break and will break. If you can't fix it you go home.

You buy the same fishing license as the locals and contribute the same amount to the fishier and may only fish the lake 2-3 days.

So if you think it's easy just buy in go find out how easy it is.

[AKRISONER]

28 minutes ago, Garnet said:

It's true bass are easy to catch, they just get way smarter when you pay enter fee.

And it's not a bass it's 5 bass and you have to do it from 7 to 3 no excuses on Sat and Sunday with all the locals out fishing.

And you do have a huge investment, with just a thousand things that can break and will break. If you can't fix it you go home.

You buy the same fishing license as the locals and contribute the same amount to the fishier and may only fish the lake 2-3 days.

So if you think it's easy just buy in go find out how easy it is.

I don’t consider myself a “terrible” bass angler, but I’ve yet to finish in the money. I’ve been on the right fish, but as Dave Chong said to me “to win, first you need to find the fish, then you need to convince them to bite, and then everything has to go right”

ive gotten steps 1 and 2 out of the way multiple times but have unfortunately never had step 3 work out lol. I can still see that 6lb smallmouth I lost in my last tournament last year forever burned in my mind. It did the old poke it’s head and stand vertical out of the water for me to stare at him before he shook me off.

[12 Volt Man]

a lot of people in California and parts of Mexico use these huge musky sized swim baits in an effort to catch a 15 to 20 pound bass, as they can grow that large in those parts. 

many are hoping to beat the current world record which is a tie at 22 pounds 4 oz. 

 

 

[Snidley]

In California they do love big lures for bass. The guys on Tackle Tour throw baits that most guys here would feel are too large for Muskies. The rods are so stiff that when you catch a bass it's like a snag slowly coming to the boat. I had a swimbait rod that I used for 20-25lb chinooks and it made them seem weak.  

As far as tournaments are concerned I'm not saying it's easy, I'm not saying that the anglers don't have a lot of skin in the game and yes they buy a fishing license. The issue is that the business does not pay for the use of the resource and I guess tat means my issue is with the organizer or owner of the event. They should have to pay significant fees for using the resource to make money. Ding the sponsors for some of the costs and like all businesses use some of the entrance fees and ticket revenue to cover the cost as well. truth is we have enough socialism corporate and otherwise in our society as it is. Pay your way at the very least you will feel better about yourself.

[AKRISONER]

16 minutes ago, Snidley said:

In California they do love big lures for bass. The guys on Tackle Tour throw baits that most guys here would feel are too large for Muskies. The rods are so stiff that when you catch a bass it's like a snag slowly coming to the boat. I had a swimbait rod that I used for 20-25lb chinooks and it made them seem weak.  

As far as tournaments are concerned I'm not saying it's easy, I'm not saying that the anglers don't have a lot of skin in the game and yes they buy a fishing license. The issue is that the business does not pay for the use of the resource and I guess tat means my issue is with the organizer or owner of the event. They should have to pay significant fees for using the resource to make money. Ding the sponsors for some of the costs and like all businesses use some of the entrance fees and ticket revenue to cover the cost as well. truth is we have enough socialism corporate and otherwise in our society as it is. Pay your way at the very least you will feel better about yourself.

I do not disagree with this. Tournament organizers need to be paying more for hosting events on lakes and that funding needs to go directly back to the fishery and not to any other junk. 
 

That entire B1 fiasco comes to mind. 

[OhioFisherman]

" The excise tax on fishing gear was established by the Dingell–Johnson Act in 1950. The rate is 10 percent of value and is also collected at manufacturer level. While a specific flat rate excise tax would improve the design, the rates are low enough to avoid interfering with consumer choice. "

https://taxfoundation.org/excise-tax-on-firearms-tax-on-fishing-gear-tax-on-hunting-gear/

Here in the states manufacturers do get dinged based on their sales to support fish and wildlife. I started fishing tournaments in the early 1970's and would still be doing it if I was able to. I am not down on all aspects of them, but it beats bowling for me!

[Snidley]

10% on the current price of fishing gear would be significant. I would bet that the excise tax collected at source (the manufacturers) would be a federal tax and thus useless for the states and municipalities that operate, maintain most fishing holes (Tennessee Valley impoundments would be an exception I guess). In the current environment my bet is that a quick call to Biden would glean a few trillion $$$ if he was feeling generous, and he IS feeling generous these days.

[Garnet]

I worked the Musky Odyssey for Power Pro . You talk about fishermen with screws loose. Hand made balsa plugs $799.

They would run these seminars and out come the students eyes as big as saucers with there credit card in hand.

I just stood there with handful on 80-100lb and asked how many. 

[Snidley]

Balsa plug for muskies? I know Woodies that are a Lake St Clair standard are wood yet they disintegrate after an outing or two. A balsa muskie bait wood be sawdust after half an hour.

[OhioFisherman]

5 hours ago, Snidley said:

10% on the current price of fishing gear would be significant. I would bet that the excise tax collected at source (the manufacturers) would be a federal tax and thus useless for the states and municipalities that operate, maintain most fishing holes (Tennessee Valley impoundments would be an exception I guess). In the current environment my bet is that a quick call to Biden would glean a few trillion $$$ if he was feeling generous, and he IS feeling generous these days.

" On March 19, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will distribute almost $1 billion to state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies to fund conservation and recreation projects. These funds have been raised through a rather well-designed excise tax levied on firearms as well as hunting and fishing equipment. The specific figures for the states can be seen in the table at the end of this piece. "

Ohio got almost 20 million that year, builds and maintains a lot of boat ramps and such?

[Garnet]

You are right Musky Guys and sawdust for brains.

Same with Bass Guys saw dust.

I fish about 7 species so mostly mud and sawdust for brains. 

Never ever do the math in fishing just rate how many smiles you got. 

[Snidley]

It comes down to the anglers lament or perhaps nightmare that upon our death our wives will sell our fishing gear for what we said we paid for it.

[scuro2]

Where you at? I've got lures I'll never use I'd give away.

[Crimsongulf]

On 4/28/2021 at 1:50 PM, lew said:

Bass are the easiest fish in the world to catch, why would anyone need such an expensive lure to go after them ? 😁

They are pretty easy to catch off our dock with a worm and a bobber.

[Canuck]

First world issues when someone can make a living fishing for bass.  I guess its not different than Youtubers or Wicked Tuna.  People pay to be entertained.  

[Bass tracker]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:35 AM, Garnet said:

It's true bass are easy to catch, they just get way smarter when you pay enter fee.

And it's not a bass it's 5 bass and you have to do it from 7 to 3 no excuses on Sat and Sunday with all the locals out fishing.

And you do have a huge investment, with just a thousand things that can break and will break. If you can't fix it you go home.

You buy the same fishing license as the locals and contribute the same amount to the fishier and may only fish the lake 2-3 days.

So if you think it's easy just buy in go find out how easy it is.

Jacob Wheeler catching 129 lbs (88 bass) in one day is the most incredible display I have ever seen in bass fishing.