# Do "Pro's" influence your tackle purchasing?



## LonLB (Nov 9, 2011)

I see LOTS of people say that what a pro uses does not influence their buying decisions. I never see someone say that they are influenced. Yet somebody has to be, Otherwise their would be no such thing as a sponsorship.

So my question is, if you are being TRULY honest, does the equipment the pro's (or your favorite fishing personality) use influence your tackle purchases?

*Since it seems everyone says no, the key here will be to be 100% honest*


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## LonLB (Nov 9, 2011)

I'll go first and say absolutely.
Their is one Pro, and one group of folks who have a television show that has helped me to catch TONS of fish. Dating all the way back to my early teen years. If I see them using it, or hear of them using it, it WILL work for me.


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## Canoeman (Nov 9, 2011)

Ill go 2nd and say Absolutely not!!

I use real world tactics and go from day to day as to what is working and what has worked in past years. Just because a pro/host is using a bait in MS to catch fish doesn't mean its going to produce here. 

I'll rarely even watch fishing shows.. most of it is commercialized hype trying to sell you the latest gadget/bait released by whomever is sponsoring them anyway..


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## Jim (Nov 9, 2011)

Not me, I will purchase tackle based on what everyone else is using and catching fish on.


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## Loggerhead Mike (Nov 9, 2011)

Nope, I blame hank parker because of it. :LOL2:


I use zoom products fishing more than any. Don't like buying into any of that commercial crap


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## muskiemike12 (Nov 9, 2011)

No for open water fishing. I fished in BASS federation for years and I learned more fishing with those guys than anywhere else. 

Yes for ice fishing. Dave Genz is the man!


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## BOB350RX (Nov 9, 2011)

just because i see someone using a new lure dosent mean i go out and buy it, but if i see or read of a new technique being used and producing it would be foolish not to try, i usualy stick with the old methods... hell i dont even wacky rig anything. never "drop shotted"anything, or even carolina rigged a worm, pretty much texas rigg, rapalas, spinnerbaits all here, when im bassing anyhow. walleye another beast usualy go for jigs and crawler/minnow, or a lindy set up/ crawler harness, if im going for gills its all fly rod..


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## BaitCaster (Nov 9, 2011)

Nope, not at all. My tackle purchases are determined by other anglers that fish the same waters that I do.


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## Brine (Nov 9, 2011)

Absolutely Yes. Someone's got to keep these sponsors around... :mrgreen:


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## basstender10.6 (Nov 9, 2011)

No... mostly because a lot of the tackle the pro's talk about is really expensive. I dont care how good a $18 crank bait is... i will not buy it!


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## JeffChastain (Nov 9, 2011)

You know why you bought the Banjo Minnow...


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## russ010 (Nov 9, 2011)

I don't use what the pro's use for 2 reasons:

1 - now I know what everybody and their grandma is going to be throwing, and if I want to win - I need to throw something different.

2 - by the time you find out what the pros are throwing, it's probably some variation of what you are already doing.

If I see them throwing something out of the ordinary, I'll take it and make my own variation (wobble, size, different blades, etc.). Right now, that's what I'm doing and I'm literally wearing out guys on a lake they fish all the time and I only get to fish it occasionally.

I've got secrets (atleast what I think are secrets), but I fish with guys in my club in the same boat, as well as guys from other clubs - and you'd be surprised how many times I see them start something they think is their "little secret" only to be thinking to myself - well, I gotta find something new because if he knows, so will everybody else in a few weeks.

I don't usually do this, but with some particular baits, I have to cut them off and tie something else on because guys are always walking around my boat at weigh-in, and I can see them putting their eyes on everything I threw - or atleast what they think I threw....


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## nomowork (Nov 9, 2011)

First and most important, I'm cheap and not anywhere near pro status. :lol: 

My high end rods are Ugly Sticks that are used for salt water! I have a couple of Shimanos but most of my fresh water rods are Wally World stuff or Bass Pro Shop specials. The rod that caught the most trout is a $14 Wally World that we use year after year and it is only five feet tall.

My spinners and bait casters are also on the cheap side. The most expensive one I have is a Daiwa that cost a whopping $45!


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## baseball_guy_99 (Nov 9, 2011)

I voted no.

Most of the time I stick with what has worked in the past.

And to find out what works, I just use the process of elimination. 
I'll walk into a sporting goods store and just randomly buy stuff. If it works, i'll buy more.


I'm also with russ...I like to put my own spin on baits. I'll put diff blades on spinner baits, re-paint crankbaits, and try dyeing plastics diff colors.


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## LonLB (Nov 10, 2011)

I think all you, "NO" voters are missing out. :wink: 

I won't blindly buy or try something because any old pro says so. But there are a few (three actually-forgot about the other one when I posted this) that when I hear, or see something from them, I can count on it to catch fish.



FWIW one guy is a local, that fishes local tournaments, and Stren, BFL tournaments in FLW. (so does his wife-and she got co-angler of the year in the BFL) I fished against this guy a couple times, and when a field of 70 guys struggles to get a limit, this guy hauls in big sacks.


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## nomowork (Nov 10, 2011)

Once my GF and I were shore fishing for trout. It was a very busy day on that lake and shoreline was very crowded. A group of older men were fishing next to us and just hauling them in one after another while others around them weren't even getting a nibble including us. My GF went to talk to them and found out that we were using the same bait. After they caught their limit, one of them showed us their secret which was a type of hook that I have never seen. 

We found a tackle shop near home that carried that type of hook so on our next fishing excursion to that lake, we tried it and we were pulling them in while others around us weren't so lucky. There were people just waiting to take our spot when we were done. 

In this case, it was literally the type of hook for that type of fishing.


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## fender66 (Nov 10, 2011)

Do I pay attention to what they are using...YES.....do I buy the same thing they are using.....NO, almost never.

I'm constantly reading articles about fishing. During the Fall, Spring, Summer, Professional X uses --- lure. Do I run out and buy it? No way. Do I look into details about it on line? Absolutely.

Take a football jig for instance:

I'll look at methods of how it's used. I'll look at the trailers that are available for it. I'll look at the quality between different makers.....Then, I may or may not buy a few based on all the facts that I've learned. But....it's most always not the same one that Professional X used. Most of the time they are too expensive. All that advertising cost has to go somewhere.


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## bcbouy (Nov 12, 2011)

i fly fish almost exclusively. all fish eat the same stuff.simple entomology is all you need to know,and then tie your own flies for pennies. if you match the hatch,you get 75 plus trout in 2 days


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## BYOB Fishing (Nov 15, 2011)

After KVD won the classic with the yellow/black crank, thats what everyone wanted to buy from me at the tackle shows a few weeks later.


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## Captain Ahab (Nov 16, 2011)

I do not watch or read any of the stuff that deals with pros so I have no idea what they use or how

I just fish man!


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## LonLB (Nov 16, 2011)

One of the things I think is cool about one of my local shops.

D&R sports is Randy VanDam's shop. Kevin's Brother. And Johnathon VanDam is Randy's Son. Anyhow, between Kevin, and Johnathon the stock at D&R is usually very up to date, and only contains what catches fish.

There are no NFL team crankbaits, or other nonsense like that.


In this case, the pro's influence an entire store's stock.


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## Popeye (Nov 16, 2011)

Oh jeez, do I hate to admit this...

I agree with Ahab...

I will read fishing reports for the day or two before I head out, but the information I take from the report is generally water depth and how deep the fish were and a basic, color idea. That's for Salmon trolling. If I go fish the Fox Chain, pretty much run my standard everyday color to start and jig weight based on wind.


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## fish devil (Nov 17, 2011)

:twisted: I voted "Yes". I think most of us tournament bass fishermen are definetley influenced by the Pro guys. I mean thats the name of the game, catching bass when it counts. Let the pro's do the leg work. :LOL2: Big shout out to KVD for the Redeye lipless cranks. Denny Brauer and his jigs.


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## thegr8cody (Nov 23, 2011)

NO, i buy stuff that catches my eye. my favorite bass worms are a $2.00 bag of Luck e strike black worms from wal mart and i've caught numerous bass on them. i still use the same colors and baits i used when i was a kid because they caught fish and still do (most of the time.) i've been watching Bill Dance since i was a kid and i can honestly say i've never owned a quantum product, or a booyah spinnerbait. my favorite saying comes from bill dance though. the best lure in your tackle box is the one you have the most confidence in.


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## LonLB (Nov 23, 2011)

Since everyone say's no (not just here but everywhere it seems) I find it odd that the Alabama rig is the hottest thing on fishing forums, and tackle shelves......
:mrgreen: :mrgreen:


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## LunaticFringeInc (Dec 13, 2011)

I voted yes however the real truth is yes and no. Let me explain...

I think to an extent that everyone is influenced to one degree or another by Pro Fishermen, some more so than others. I look to the Pros more for techniques and ideas more so than this or that bait in this weight and this color and this brand, just becuase thats what they use, and won last weeks event with.

On the other hand no they don't really influence me much cause I am not into the "Trick of the Week". As the song goes "I am into basics and I don't like fads...". I have a hand full of basic baits I use all year long and they work pretty good and if I ain't catching any its pretty likely everyone else is doing about the same or worse. My plastic worm bait bag is pretty boring and uninspiring to look at. I have curl tail worms in 2 different sizes for the most part and in about 3 different colors. I got Lizards in the same 2-3 different colors. Why? Cause it works day in an day out. Now I might rig them a bit different and fish them with a different technique. Bottom line is I see no reason to use Lake Fork Baits exclusively and use them in every color of the rainbow just cause thats what my favorite Pro Angler used to win the Bass Masters Championship last week. 

I generally dont frequent the Tackle shops on a regular basis to get a couple of these or a couple of those. I stop by occasionally usually at the end of the season and if they got what I use and its on sale, Ill buy 30 plus (if they have that many in stock!) 3/8 Chatter Baits at 1.49 each vs the normal 5.00 plus dollars a pop. I am all about what I NEED/WORKS and getting it at the cheapest price possible! As for colors I try to "match the hatch" so to speak, so there aint a lot of Fire Tiger patterns in my tackle bag nor are there too many Bubble Gum Pink plastic finess worms. Granted there might be a time and place for such a colored bait but I think those times are few and far between. But really...whens the last time you gutted a fish and found Fire Tiger colored Shad in their gut? Just saying...


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## azekologi (Dec 13, 2011)

I'd have to say "yes", but they're there's an "*" by my yes vote. :wink: 

I've had several chances to talk to one of the local Bass Pro Shop's Pros, Matt Shura https://www.mattshura.com/, as I've taken a couple of free seminars he's hosted at BPS and he lives right behind my in-laws (which is kinda cool). We've talked shop, mostly rods & reels, but a little bit about tackle, lures, and such, and I've made some purchasing decisions based on his insight. I like his input as he's not all about plugging his sponsors; he gives real-world, non-Pro, tackle advice for people who don't get handed a bunch of (expensive) free stuff to 'try out'.

Some of it's because I don't have a lot of knowledge about this 'bass addiction' that everyone seems to have :roll: as I'm primarily a trout fisherman 8). I'm sure as I get more into the bass thing that ya'll are hooked on (pun intended), I'll follow more pro advice, but it's hard indulge on pro-grear, in pro-quantity, on a working-man's budget.

That said, I take pro-advice on hardware (rods, reels, etc.), wanting to get good stuff that lasts, but follow the lake angler with a full stringer when it comes to getting lures and such.


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## azekologi (Dec 13, 2011)

nomowork said:


> Once my GF and I were shore fishing for trout. It was a very busy day on that lake and shoreline was very crowded. A group of older men were fishing next to us and just hauling them in one after another while others around them weren't even getting a nibble including us. My GF went to talk to them and found out that we were using the same bait. After they caught their limit, one of them showed us their secret which was a type of hook that I have never seen.
> 
> We found a tackle shop near home that carried that type of hook so on our next fishing excursion to that lake, we tried it and we were pulling them in while others around us weren't so lucky. There were people just waiting to take our spot when we were done.
> 
> In this case, it was literally the type of hook for that type of fishing.



You gonna share that type of hook with your trout-fishin' online brothren? [-o< 

I haven't shore fished since I got a boat, but I'm curious. :wink: 

The same thing happened to my buddies and I when we went on our annual 'Buddies Since High School' camping/fishing trip a few years back. We were trying just about everything we brought with us (a multiude of spoons, roosters, live baits, etc.) and weren't gettin' nuttin'! There happened to be a mini-tournament on the lake and most of those guys were pulling out fish left and right. We motored over, asked them about their toruney, etc., and what the heck they were using. Five minutes later we were pulling the boat on shore, a hour later at the Wally World in the nearest town, and and hour later pushing the boat back into the water. Sure enough, FISH ON!

The magic lures that they were using were "Cowbells" and/or "Ford Fenders" (trolling lures) with a 18"-24" leader and a live worm. Now I have a tackle box with 5-6 of them, different lengths, different colors, different brands, and they work 80% of the time...we were all glad we asked and have been using them at our mountain-lake hot-spots for 3-4 years now with great success.


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## bcbouy (Dec 14, 2011)

up here,ford fenders and willow leafs with a wedding band or a flatfish are a staple in everyones tackle box if they troll lakes for trout or kokanee.


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## Charlie Two Tracks (Dec 15, 2011)

I really try to find lures that others aren't using. I will listen to what others are using but if the lure can be something that isn't used a lot on a certain body of water, I believe I have an advantage. I have a homemade lure for crappie and bluegill. The thing looks stupid and like the only thing you would catch is moss. It works great and will produce fish when the other guys are getting skunked.


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## Cartman (Dec 15, 2011)

If you mean 'pros' as in guides with articles in coastal fishing mags, then yes they do...but not 100%


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## Jonboat Jerry (Dec 18, 2011)

I belong to two fishing clubs and both have local guides as guest speakers. These are the pros that I listen to, and many of
them will tell you where the productive spots are, structure to look for, and what they were using. As a beginner fisherman I could waste a lot of time & money on useless equipment without their local knowledge. My 2c.


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