I buy a lot of new baits, some would say I buy too many new baits, namely my wife, but I do have to admit there are times when I tend to agree with her (although not for the same reasons).
My wife would say I buy too many new baits because, one: I have an entire room dedicated to fishing equipment and two: because she see the bills.. but for me the only time I question the amount of baits I buy is when I cant even keep up with them, and a new bait sits on the shelf unused, and unwanted
Yes similar to the plot line from the original Toy Story movie, fishing baits can and do get neglected. the reason being?.. Confidence! Many of us get limited time on the water and the time we do get we really want to have success. This is why "old faithful" is always tied on in place of the "newbie". I get it, Ive been there, and believe me when I tell you, I have have bags and bags of baits that have been rarely (if ever) used sitting in my fishing room quietly singing "you've got a friend in me"as they wait for their turn on the water
Where am I going with this mini rant you may ask?.. well, what it comes down to is, that a season or so ago I made a conscious decision to get better in a select number of fishing aspects or techniques, and the only way to do this was practice, I started making short weekly trips equipped with only a few select new baits that I wanted to learn and get better with. By traveling light I had no choice but to use the baits I had with me, I left the frogs at home and put away the wacky rig and started to really focus on various techniques such as Spinnerbaits, jigs , and various flipping baits. These trips can range from 1 hour to 5 hours in length and the idea is to learn and get a feel for how a new bait fishes, throwing it in various situations and water types will quickly show you how and where a bait will fish.
One trip does not make or break a new bait for me, I have had times in which I put away a bait 3 or more times prior to really getting the hang of it, and there are times I have had great success with a bait only to follow that trip up with back 2 back poor outings. The longer you use the bait and try to figure out why it is or isn't producing the more apt you are to find success with it.
My best example of how this has worked for me can be traced back to spinnerbaits. I struggled with this technique, I had a hard time finding a bait that I liked to throw and that I could get to produce. I continued to purchase a few new spinnerbaits each season to give them a shot. On some of my weekly trips I would pack a 2 or 3 spinnerbaits and throw them each for 30 minutes to an hour. I quickly learned what felt good to me and what didnt, and even more importantly I learned what baits I could catch fish on.. and I have been catching fish on one ever since
All in all this is not for everyone, but these trips have proved very useful to me. Not only have I gained confidence in a bunch of new techniques, but I have also started using many new baits that had previously been collecting dust in my fishing room. I really recommend you give this a shot. It's easier then it sounds, just put aside a few hours a week, grab a couple rods and pack a small bag with your new gear (I know you have some!). Remember, Practice equals confidence, and maybe if your lucky and your wife sees you playing with you new toys, she may even let you buy more!
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