I am likely feeling this way because I'm overwhelmed by how many lures I've amassed that I'll never use, but I think we need far fewer lures than we procure.

 

Now, I've had good luck with my spinnerbaits.

 

And I've caught thousands with my underspins.

 

And I've purchased some never-used Johnson spoons.

 

And I have some chatterbaits still in their packaging.

 

But I think of all four as basically the same bait. They all have flash and I can attach soft plastics to each. I can cast all four into heavy cover.

 

Now, I think there are moments when a bass prefers a spinnerbait to an underspin or a chatterbaits or a spoon, but most days, I think each will work. 

 

When it comes to surface lures, I think a Whopper Plopper, buzzbait, and popper are basically the same lure too. I might include the walking baits too and the ones with spinners front and aft. 

 

And when it comes to soft plastics, the idea that the thousands of different soft plastics are truly thousands of different lures, well, I just can't go along with that. They're all pretty much the same lure most days. Again, I do think there are moments when bass prefers a certain lure in a certain color.

 

I'd write more, but the Bait Monkey is pounding on my front door and shrieking. 

As far as soft plastics, in a pinch I can make a Senko work in almost every application.  Yet I still have a staggering array of soft plastics. 😂😉

You can fish underspins in heavy cover? Thats impressive. 

Most baits are interchangeable, and most bass caught on one bait may just as well have been caught on a variety of baits.  A person could get by with a couple surface baits, ones for mid depth, and a few for bottom baits.  There was a time when all I fished was a single colorado blade spinnerbait for all three and landed many bass.  It sure was easy to pack my fishing gear back then.

 

There are differences in practicality that usually make the difference for me, and that is way I buy have more baits (thousands more and still buying).  I basically use a square bill, spinnerbait, and bladed jig for the same application.  There are many bass fishing scenarios, where all three will work, but they do have differences.  I tend to use a spinnerbait around wood, because they don't get hung up in wood as much as the other two.  I use chatterbaits in grass, for the same reason, and square bills in rocks, because they deflect well of of rocks.  Each bait will catch the bass but one will work the cover better.  There are many other examples of this, Trigs, and Carolina rigs, deep diving crankbaits and jigs, etc.

 

There are also times when one lure significantly outshines one lure over another.  A couple days ago a ribbon tail worm worked well and a straight tail worm didn't.  This was unusual because I always do well with a straight tail worm in this lake.  Because of my past history here with the straight tail I pushed it to hard and wasted valuable time before giving up and catching bass in the ribbon tail.  I grew up waking a spinnerbait, but many days a buzz bait will outproduce a waked spinnerbait by a large margin.  If it is windy I will always try throwing a spinnerbait, regardless of depth or type of cover.  I tied one on a two days ago when the wind picked up and threw it in grass that I normally wouldn't try a spinnerbait and hooked my biggest bass of the year( not going to say what happened with that bass).  as well as many quality fish.  I also will fish a spinnerbait around rocks if the wind is blowing.  There are days when a square bill deflected through tree limbs will catch monster bass, that refuse to eat spinnerbaits, or T rigs ( Bait Monkey loves those days)  I don't know if chatterbaits would work because I'm too chicken to throw $15 baits in to trees.  One day my tried and true popper didn't work, as well as other favorite topwater baits, so I decided to try and old devils horse that has sat in my box for years.  First cast in the same area, and the Devils horse got smashed by a large bass (how large I'm scared to estimate) Now I am now going to change the 30 year old stock hooks on that bait, and start fishing it more.

 

My long winded point is there are many times multiple baits will work, but there are just as many times when one bait will be more practical, and a few times when one bait will shine above the others for no reason.  The Bait Monkey loves those no reason days.

 

 

 

 

 

There are similarities and overlaps but there are differences too.  Using the bladed lures example, a bladed jig and a spinnerbait sound very different in the water and put out very different vibrations.  A spinnerbait has a lower pitch but thumpier ‘whomp whomp’. Like a helicopter.  A bladed jig is much higher pitched and a clicking type of sound.  The other two have little or no sound underwater.  Some days the fish eat them all.  Some days (or lakes) they have a strong preference.    The same will go for topwaters.  Sometimes a plopper and buzzbait can interchange but for where I throw a buzzbait you’re not going to throw a treble hook into it and come out clean.

 

That’s the other part of overlapping baits.  While the fish might eat either one when you put it in their face, getting the bait into the right place again and again is a lot easier if the bait is the right one for the job.  Going down a lily pad field with a topwater is a lot easier with a buzzbait than a plopper.  A plopper can go to a hole or down a lane, but you’re going to snag it up a bunch of the time.  A buzzbait can snake through the holes and then over a couple pads into the next hole.  Horses for courses.  

19 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

I am likely feeling this way because I'm overwhelmed by how many lures I've amassed that I'll never use, but I think we need far fewer lures than we procure.

 

Exactly!

 

A lot of lures do overlap. Part of the human problem is how we see lures. We are looking at them out of the water and in good light with zero obstructions.

 

Fish see things differently. They have to. And this is where we humans get tripped up all the time.

 

An example I like to pull on fisherman many don't get.

 

I fish the St. Johns River a lot. And quite often with the bright sun directly overhead, I can put my hand 6 inches under the surface and in the best of lighting conditions I CANNOT see my hand.

 

Bright sunlight directly overhead shining directly into the surface water, and my hand disappears from view completely. Out of sight.

 

So, I ask fishermen what color lure works best on river bottom sometimes 2 feet down, 4 feet down, 8 feet down, etc.

 

And it is endlessly funny to hear them go off into all these wonderful colors that he swears up and down work best- when the correct answer is the fish cannot even see the lure. Even if it were 1 inch in front of them or 1 inch  from an eyeball, the fish cannot see the lure. They cannot see the shape of it. They cannot see the color of it.

 

So I really enjoy in a humorous way how the experts on color really go off into their perspectives on lure color, sizes, and shapes in water that one single fish can even see it.

 

And this is where overlapping lures are basically useless and a fisherman can greatly reduce lure choices and selections because the fish are not biting from a visual cue. It is not physically possible.

 

So like others mention here, I can use a small selection of lures rather than an endless supply of variants that all overlap each other in varying degrees.

 

When I take my sons into a tackle store, or fishing buddies, I will sometimes point this out as we walk in to the store- now remember, all these sizes, shapes, and colors are NOT for the fish. They are designed to catch YOU the fisherman first and foremost and trick you into opening your wallet to purchase an endless variety of things you simply do not need.

 

 But if you have to have every size and shape and color, then so be it. Enjoy!

 

Most of the time the fish are hitting lures so hard and fast that not a one of them are stopping to take the time to analyze the lures like we do. The fish are not stopping and saying hey you know its not the right size, or its not the right shape, or its not the right color for me to bite it today.

 

Fish are slamming the lures often instantly with intent to kill it and eat it and prevent the next fish from taking his opportunistic quick meal. The fish do not analyze lures like we do. And they surely do not "see" them like we do and often never do see the lures they are striking. Its not possible in waters the light cannot penetrate. It does take light to see. Fish not only have little to no light in a lot of waters, but they also have the density of the water obstruction to overcome as well. And many of us humans do not factor that into what we do up here out of the water in good light with no obstruction of view.

 

I really do get a kick out of fishermen fishing in dark stained waters with zero light at the bottom endlessly switching lures to find just the right color the fish will like! Boy are we on the wrong path! Say Bill, you know I think red works better than purple! No, try black, maybe blue! How about green? No, motor oil! Chartreuse! I am sure the fish can see it and will discuss among themselves which color they are going to bite on today so keep up the bait switching all day long! Its quite humorous really.

 

Quite often because of this, I will use only one lure and do just as well as the bait switchers.

 

But by all means do continue the discussion on what colors work best on the bottom where it is physically impossible for a fish to see the colors how we do up here. The bait monkey wins every time!

 

Those color variations do better at catching fishermen than they do the fish much of the time.

39 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

I'm overwhelmed by how many lures I've amassed that I'll never use

I’m not just overwhelmed, I’m embarrassed…… got a lot of whopper ploppers = 0 zero fish. Have many buzz baits, all kinds of color, with or without clackers. = a lot of fish and they cost a $1.00+ at Walmart.

The list is long.

We all were there at some point, most probably still are. 
 

One of the advantages of fishing mostly as a tournament co angler you learn real quick where your comfort and confidence level is for all 3 water levels. 
 

I’ve got it down now to where I use certain plastics to take the place of most all moving top water lures. 
*Sight fishing beds to 1 color of only 3 different baits. 
*Frogs to 1 size in 3 color patterns 

*4 hook styles in 4 sizes

*Weights and nails to 1/2 of what I started out with. 
* Hard baits culled by size with fewer color patterns. 
 

Granted, fishing in different waters all the time with ever changing cover, structure, clarity, depths etc. has taken years to cull and tweak, but I really don’t think I’ve miss calculated much as there is always something else to use. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

11 minutes ago, scaleface said:

You can fish underspins in heavy cover? Thats impressive. 

 

Yes, I do. I just rig the bait so that the hook is tight against the soft plastic. It's pretty weed-free. 

 

Quote

 Going down a lily pad field with a topwater is a lot easier with a buzzbait than a plopper. 

 

I have cast and guided Ploppers through many lily pad fields. There are nearly always lanes. I just keep switching my rod tip from side to side. I think it's fun to guide the bait through the fields. It's like solving a maze when I was a kid.

 

The thread about our 2026 goals got me thinking about my excessive lures. Some in that thread had a goal of using more lures. Others want to use fewer lures. I've been leaning hard into fewer lures for the last couple years. Now, IF I towed a boat with vast storage capacity, I might not care how many lures my boat carted, but I walk through the dark woods to launch. I have to carry all my lures, not a trailer towed by an F-150 truck. And my boats are small, so the more equipment I bring, the more cluttered they are. 

 

My point is that my fishing situation is different. I'm not trailering a big boat. I am launching in the dark. Simplicity works for me.

 

 

4 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Yes, I do. I just rig the bait so that the hook is tight against the soft plastic. It's pretty weed-free. 

 

 

@Swamp Girl and @scaleface You're talking about an owner flashy swimmer, right?  Do you use the willow or indiana blade?

 

scott

13 minutes ago, GRiver said:

I’m not just overwhelmed, I’m embarrassed…… got a lot of whopper ploppers = 0 zero fish.

 

I totally forgot to mention to SwampGirl's comment above, but here in Florida we have a saving grace on lure overload.

 

That whopper plopper may not catch bass very well for some of us, but we Florida fishermen can simply re-purpose bass lures over into saltwater and turn them into dynamite lures.

 

He has been doing a lot of inshore fishing and just loves topwater's explosive action. He recently said dad I need some good topwater lures that look alive and make noise and move. So I immediately thought about the whopper plopper and just purchased 3 of them for him for Christmas at $2.84 each with free shipping. So less than $10 for 3.

 

It will be interesting to see if these do better in saltwater than they do in freshwater.

 

So lures that don't do well in freshwater are moved from the bass tackle boxes right on into the saltwater tackle boxes. Lures redeemed!

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Simplicity works for me.

I'm sure it works well for you, but I suggest you take the bladed jig out of the package and tie it on.  I grew throwing spinnerbaits, and they are still my favorite lures, but many days,  bladed jigs flat out out produce spinnerbaits by a large margin.  I dabbled with them a couple of years ago, with no luck and gave up.  A couple years later  I decided if they work for so many other anglers they must work for me.  It took awhile for me to catch on, but now I always have one tied on a rod.  In Almost every tournament around the nation one of the top 5 baits will be a bladed jig.  Where you fish the bass have probably never even seen one.  If you have to simplify remove another bait and give the bladed jig a try.

7 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

 

@Swamp Girl and @scaleface You're talking about an owner flashy swimmer, right?  Do you use the willow or indiana blade?

 

scott

 

I use the VMC heavy duty underspin. I used to use Owner underspins, but they don't take a beating like the VMC heavy duty underspins can. They only come with willow blades.

 

5 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Almost every tournament around the nation one of the top 5 baits will be a bladed jig.  Where you fish the bass have probably never even seen one.  If you have to simplify remove another bait and give the bladed jig a try.

 

Persuasive. I tried one once and caught a bass, but not quick enough to continue using it. Maybe I should do like you did and loop back to it.

@Swamp Girl  Good post, Katie.  First of all, you have to be around fish, then:

I pick a lure to achieve the speed and depth that will produce bites and be efficient in the cover #1.

Color, shape, sound, etc is always #2.

15 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I use the VMC heavy duty underspin. I used to use Owner underspins, but they don't take a beating like the VMC heavy duty underspins can. They only come with willow blades.

 

 

Persuasive. I tried one once and caught a bass, but not quick enough to continue using it. Maybe I should do like you did and loop back to it.

Ok. I was thinking of a roadrunner type bait. This one ould be a cover eater.

2 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

@Swamp Girl  Good post, Katie.  First of all, you have to be around fish, then:

I pick a lure to achieve the speed and depth that will produce bites and be efficient in the cover #1.

Color, shape, sound, etc is always #2.

 

Thanks, Al. 

 

One thing that helped me catch more bass was the word "column" as in "fishing the three levels of the column." So, that's why I try to do. I work the bottom, the middle, and the top and like you, I'm more concerned about what lures will go where I want them to be than the "color, shape, sound, etc."

 

2 minutes ago, scaleface said:

This one ould be a cover eater.

 

It is. I cast it everywhere. Sometimes if I'm deep in wetlands, I chuck it where there might be water. Being low in my boat with high weeds and brush in front of me, I can't always see what's beyond, but a few times, I've cast, heard the lure splash into water, and then heard and felt the eruption.

Its crazy how much tackle I have ....basically all I threw this year was a Ned rig and a small popper. Kinda the same for panfish...I've got tons of plastics, spoons and mini crank baits and this year I caught thousands of bluegill and crappie, 90% of them were on a Berkley powerbait may fly on an ice fishing jig under a rocket bobber.

I'm going to come at this from the opposite direction

and say there are No overlapping lures.

Allow me to expand on this.

I am basing this deal on two different but basic trains of thought.

 

1. Each bass is an individual with individual likes, preferences & tendencies.

 Just like our own experiences drive who we are, how we act, what we like & dislike, 

I believe the same applies to a bass. And yes I get that the fish are driven by instinct, but there has to be some variation or wiggle room in there when it comes to what they prefer to chase, how they attack, and what they like to eat. If this didn't have at least some validity, the bait monkey would have  been extinct a long time ago.  It's why I have the arsenal I do and why I will always offer at least a few different 'variations' of a similar bait in area I have already caught a few before departing.

 

 2. Not all baits are the same.  Take any hard bait as an example.

I cannot count how many times this happens.  I have, say, 5 perch-colored baits. All the same make and model, same hooks & hardware.  But only one has no paint left on it because it's The One They Eat. Doesn't mean the other 4 don't catch, just that this one has something I cannot detect but sets it apart as more appealing. Can't explain it, but the bass certainly display an overwhelming preference for this particular bait.

Finally, if there were such a thing as an overlap, I'd have to say it would be something soft plastic.

YMMV.

A-Jay

 

 

 

I’ll just stay on spinnerbaits. If you have 2 spinnerbait both with the same colored skirt, strand count, length etc. Both spinnerbaits weigh exactly the same. You use exactly the same trailer. Both use a gold small Colorado blade on the arm that are exactly the same size and the spinnerbait head is the same color. The only thing different is the willow leaf blade swiveling on the same exact bb swivel but 1 blade is a size larger than the other, then an only then, you have a different lure. One will fish faster. For that particular day that could be the difference of land or not landing a fish. 
 

Alright, 1 more. 
 

The same exact jig everything is the same except 1 jig has a 40 strand count the other is 50. You change the rate of fall which could be, for that particular day, the difference maker. 
 

JF10

I switched to a minimalist style some years ago.

 

I do not catch fewer fish because of this decision.

 

Where a spinnerbait differs and part of why I fish them more and more every year, it has a wire leader built in for those toothy fish...

 

I love spinnerbaits to begin with, but I love them a lot more as I virtually never get bit off when fishing them and catch some decent Pike from time to time. Sometimes a Pike eats the spinnerbait and then a Musky tries to eat the Pike... 

I don’t have a ton of contribution to this post. I agree they overlap but are different at the same time. But I do keep

it simple. And try to not purchase a ton of different lures. 
 

one I can agree is the difference in vibrating jigs vs a spinner bait. On nasty cloudy water days after hard rains. A spinnerbait won’t do it. But a vibrating jig killed them this year. First time in 10 years of trying that I caught fish on one 

Katie, you are in a unique situation in that, you have to pack in a canoe with your gear and that limits what you can carry.  It also puts some restrictions on the environment you fish. You’re blessed with good fish populations where you do fish.  
 

Then there’s other folks that are more mobile, have boats that permit us to fish almost unlimited locations so we can fish diverse situations.  All that to say, baits or lures are to me, tools.  Each specific situation will have a most optimum and efficient tool.  I love the process of refining the method and tool to maximize efficiency and hopefully the catch rate.  So I don’t think overlapping tools are the most effective tool.  But I will say the curse of the monkey is buying and stocking lures that are redundant.  I am bad at that. Just my thoughts.

12 minutes ago, Columbia Craw said:

Katie, you are in a unique situation in that, you have to pack in a canoe with your gear and that limits what you can carry.  It also puts some restrictions on the environment you fish. You’re blessed with good fish populations where you do fish.  

 

All true. 

I honestly believe that you could give Katie one rod, one lure, and a mud puddle to fish in, and when she would catch tons of good fish.