All great answers! I do agree losing topwaters is a rare occurrence for me. I still have the first Storm Chug Bug I bought 35 years ago. Hundreds of fish later, many many hook replacements, that thing is still going strong.

 

The PB Rat is on my short list. But here’s the deal I made myself: keep it budget-neutral by selling some gear I no longer use and when I hit $125 in Venmo, will pull the trigger. 

I'd make a down payment on a Tater Hog.   They're an NC company.  Their cheap ones are $200+ and they've got a backlog.   

 

(not really, there's no way I could pay that)

 

Regarding losing top water lures.  I have the ability to cast them into trees 20 feet high and 5 feet on shore.   I can't reach them with my lure retriever pole that far up and out.  

10 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The rush of chunking a $175 bait that can't replaced that took months to get, and then landing a monster on it is unlike anything I've ever experienced in fishing.    

 

Don't hesitate to spend your money on the premium high big baits.  They cost for a reason, and the good ones have epic track records of catching trophy caliber fish.  

 

 

Step your game up....YOLO! (do the kids still say this??)

 

So how would you feel if you took 2 hours or so of your time to tie a specific fly and then have a toothy critter bite it off on your third cast?  

My approach is always....it happens and if I can't afford to lose it then I probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

 

Once I start fishing with something from reel to rod to lure to fly etc....the cost is irrelevant. I get more irritated when I tie a fly that takes some time and then it doesn't behave like i was hoping it was going to. 

I would get a Deps 250. They retail for 150 but the 2 i have I only paid about 100 each. 

 

This year I lost a 250 dollar bait to a Muskie and a 150 dollar bait to a large bass that broke me off on a concrete pipe. As upsetting as it is, it's all part of the game.

$125, is that all? lol What about the MacDaddy Lure. It's going for cool 1 million bucks! Made out of gold, platinum diamonds and rubies. And it has gotten trolled a few times. There's no end to it, both in freshwater and saltwater, there's always gonna be pricey lures. Some of them are worth it, some of them are not worth it, and others like the MacDaddy are just plain looney tunes. 

 

$1,000,000 bucks...imagine losing that to a fish lol 

 

 

                                                            

I think, for $125, I'd probably Texas rig a Kobe beef ribeye fillet.  I'm not one to go half-butt crazy.  I either go all-out crazy or I don't go crazy at all.  

1 hour ago, Bankc said:

I think, for $125, I'd probably Texas rig a Kobe beef ribeye fillet.  I'm not one to go half-butt crazy.  I either go all-out crazy or I don't go crazy at all.  

except you'd need to at least double your budget for the Kobe ribeye....

2 hours ago, flyfisher said:

except you'd need to at least double your budget for the Kobe ribeye....

I'm talking about the price I'd tell my wife, not the price I'd pay the butcher.  

I don't buy expensive swimbaits because I know it'll turn more into a thing of collecting them than actually being used for fishing.

On 8/27/2023 at 5:57 PM, Woody B said:

I'd make a down payment on a Tater Hog.   They're an NC company.  Their cheap ones are $200+ and they've got a backlog.   

 

(not really, there's no way I could pay that)

 

Regarding losing top water lures.  I have the ability to cast them into trees 20 feet high and 5 feet on shore.   I can't reach them with my lure retriever pole that far up and out.  

Well, I must have cursed myself because last night I lost a $20 Megabass Popmax in a brush pile just out of reach from shore. So it goes… 

At some times and some places, I think a case could be made for a lure that costs $125 to be a decent investment. At other times and places, not so much.

I'd put it towards a Legal Dope Tiny Tum and pay the rest out of pocket. Wanted one for a while but haven't had the money to drop on it.