What's in your wallet?

[CrappieJohn]

Today while turkey hunting I got to thinking about that stupid capital one commercial that asks what is in your wallet and how the same question could be applied to our tackle boxes.

So.....what's in yours?

Mine? Well, that's a tale in it's own right. To begin with I have a number of tackle "boxes" , satchels actually. There is my new found atraction to bass that requires a separate soft-side. My Lake Superior ackle occupies yet another satchel. The walleye/sauger tackle?....well it is kept in part in a five gallon pail for easy access or a suitcase sized soft side plus a couple random boxes (8 or 10 really). We won't even begin on the crappie /panfish tackle. Let's just say if I took it all along on a given day I would not fit in the boat with all of it. And finally there is the ice fishing stuff which has reached ridiculous proportions. The overall bulk of this stuff is amazing.

So why have it all? Does a person use it all or is it just cosmetic? And much like the question about what you have in your wallet, what, exactly, do you have in your box(s)?

I know a couple people who have boxes absolutely stuffed with tackle of every color shape, action and size only to use a float and minnows for almost all of their fishing. When asked what a certain bait/lure is for they cannot actually give a solid , sensible reply. And then they ask me the same....why do you have all that junk? The answer is simple.....I use it.

Oh yea....I carry a ton of stuff with me when I fish even if it is for crappies. 90% of the time I use fewer than five or six different lure styles in perhaps that many different colors each, but then there are the times when stepping outside of the box has paid its dividends. Had I not been prepared I would likely have missed out on some very fun yet serious fishing. In realty though I haven't really got that many different baits that I haul even though it may appear as though I do. You see, I have put my tackle in order according to season. I fish it enough to know what will be the primary profile and action and size and then load up on every color so I don't get blind-sided. And then, and this is where I can look cluttered to others, I toss in at least a couple of everything from each other "seasonal" box just for those "out of the box" occasions. And every one of the panfish satchels and boxes has along with the normal stuff a complete compliment of ice fishing tackle! And my ice tackle will contain at least a few open water plastics in various colors.....just in case.

The huge key to really knowing what you have in your "wallet"-aka tackle box- is to know what works and when. If tackle is collected and not used, it only adds to the weight of your box. Knowing what you have andd how to use it effectively are two entirely seperate things. When I add something "new" to the box I take time to do one of two things: I either fish it until I know when and under what conditions it works best, or I convince myself it is indeed junk and can file it in the box marked rummage sale. I don't know about the rst of you but I get tired of long arms from hauling dead weight like the aforementioned buddies do. If it is important enough for me to lug to the water it is important enough for me to discover its true utility. I know what it will do for me.

A recent fishing trip with a fellow FMer from the Rochester area helped him to understand the concept of stepping out of the box and how "knowing" something that works in a typically vertical presentation during the winter can pay huge rewards when fished outside of that arena during the open water season. Having assaulted the pannies and crappies with every kind of plastic and hair jigs with minimal success, even with bait, I suggested we switch to a Red Glow jigging spoon from Scenic Tackle called a Go Devil (1/16 oz). We tipped these with waxies and were into fish RIGHT now. By casting these and allowing the lure to sink to the bottom, taking up a couple turns of line, and then swimming these back to the boat we managed to catch black crappie, white crappie, perch, sunfish, lm and sm bass, and stripers. Not just a fish here and there but for well over an hour non-stop.

This is but one of a myriad of instances where "knowing" what I had along was secondary to "knowing" that the tackle maybe designed for ice fishing, but had a place other than under ice. But you have to be willing to try these new concepts in order to learn this. You need to "step outside of the box" to find out what you actually have in your box. I have caught a lot of winter river walleyes fishing the dams using 2/3 of a 7 1/2 inch bass worm on a jighead! I try to convince people that the only reason they label anything as bass or walleye or crappie is that they want you to think that this stuff will not catch fish other than what the label implies. And just because it is sold in the "ice fishing" section doesn't mean it has no place in open water and vice versa. Remember....I said I carry some full sized crappie plastics when I am ice fishing....I do it for a reason.

This next few weeks can be a very exciting fishing period. The fall weather though can be fast changing and have fronts that barrel thru like freighttrains. Fishing can shut down in a blink, but if you know what you have in your arsenal, adaptations from the norm can save the day at times.

Now before you hit the water again....ask youself, "do you really know what you have in your wallet?"

[Admin. Note: the go devils can be found at Scenic Tackle.com and here at TackleCity.com. The glow red is a super color on days with dirty skies.]

[Guest]

Whats in my wallet?

A bunch of reciepts that used to be cash!

My tackle boxes... A little bit of everything, and most everything of some things. I am pretty stocked up.. Its easier to restock of something your out of then it is to run around the store trying to find things you need.

[Valv]

I have the barbarians from these commercials.... if you look at my tackle boxes you will understand, they all look like those ugly guys.....

My wallet....I have 5 children and I'm still married...what do you think I have in it ???

[ddsbyday]

2 divorces no need for a wallet.

[Northlander]

Tom I have been having success on both walleyes and crappies SLOW trolling and twitching the Go Devils this fall. ( As well as pimples) You hit it on the head with the RED. Its been a knockout in the dingy waters Im fishing.

Ill try to post some pics of these fish with S.T,s help.

As far as whats in my wallet mostly just non winning Loto Tickets lately.

[cableguy031]

What's in my wallet?

About $3.00 left after lunch at a buffet, some old receipts, lousy non-winning lotto tickets, boat registration, fishing license.

Tackle box.... Spinner baits (grn & wht, wht, blu & wht, red, blk, and grn), 2 slip bobbers, a few Kahle hooks, Jitterbug.

Travel light, easier to move and wade in the water. LOL!!!

[fisherman]

My wallet has a soon to be $290 million winning lotto ticket.

Lots of walleye jigs of every shape color and weight. Cranks for fall trolling. Slip bobbers, light up bobbers.

Some plastic and spinners for the days when you get bored and have to go after those easy to catch bass.

[Gissert]

What's in my wallet? A recipt for filling up the truck this morning with $3.19 diesel.

[The Yeti]

In my wallet... nothing... I'm married... ha ha ha..

In my tackle box: terminal tackle on one side (beads, clasps, blades etc.), lindy sinkers and swivels on the other. Front pocket, various plastics, behind that, in another pocket is needlenose, forceps, more sinkers, bobbers, lindy rigs (I tie my own) and various other cr**.

Main compartment, all Plano boxes. 1 for jigheads various sizes and colors, one for crappie stuff, one full of crankbaits, one full of spinnerbaits. A marker buoy and a pvc rain suit and a jaw spreader.

Then I swap in a musky or bass (mostly plastics) box as needed depending on the trip.

Oh I forgot, I also have spare line and a bag of sunflower seeds.

There. I don't think I forgot anything..

[smmurphy]

Wallet: Dusty minnesota fishing license and trout stamp and lint.

Tackle box: I've forgotten because I haven't been able to get out since august....(refering to my post in "still fishing?")

[Walleyeguy31]

My wallet contains something from the mid 70's that is private and I do not wish to divuldge the information. As I look at it it shows it is it bit expired! WATER BALLOON FIGHT!

I am jokin, I was born in 73! Maybe it is from the mid 80's!

[MercMan]

Wallet: Driver's license, a couple of credit cards, my old college ID card (for some reason can't throw it), hunting license, outdated pictures of kids, blockbuster video card, AAA card, and my fishing license if I remember to take it out of my boat tackle box for ice fishing.

Tackle Box. Lots of stuff, very heavy, but I seem to use the same old things over and over. I have brand new rapalas that "looked great" in the store, so I bought them and they're still in their respective wrappers. I also carry my fishing license in there in the summer so I don't have to take my wallet with in the boat, hence I have to remember to take it out when hard water season approaches.

[bucketmouth64]

What's in my wallet? Pix of kids that's worth $$$. Other than that credit cards and child support. Enough said.