$Cheap Fishing Habits$

Hello all you Froogle Fisherman and Fisherwomen!

I thought this would be a fun thread to hear about your Froogle habits or tips to save a $ when fishing. It can be everything from only buying a certain bait/tackle because of the cost, only picking from the clearance section of the tackle/bait isle, collecting your worn out soft plastics so you can melt them down and pour new ones, really just anything you do to try and save some money as a fisherman/fisherwoman.

Here are some of my Froogle habits / tips;

-I like to buy some of the more "cost-effective" tackle brands like Eagle Claw, H2O Express or now Walmart's brand Ozark Trail has made a big offering in tackle/bait
-For my soft plastics, I will typically only buy Zoom brand and try to keep my selection to a few colors/bait profiles; EX: Trick worm, Lizard, tube and finesse worm / Colors: light and dark with a few variations like fleck or dipped tails.
-I only have 5 rods and all were bought on clearance through Academy or Walmart (2 Spinning and 3 Baitcasters)

Thanks again and look forward to hearing any other unique ways on how you save some money when fishing.

I have 19 rod & reel combos. 17 of them are 10+ years old. I have tried my best not to buy the newer shiny "pricey" rod & reels. The 2 that I did buy were for my younger kids.

Totally understand keeping combos for years. Most of mine are at least 5+ years old with my oldest being 13 years old from when I was a teenager.

Not to be a smartass, but no real answer for this, because there is fishing and there is fishing. You have those that buy low cost tackle, fish off bank on lakes creeks ponds. Those that buy $80k boats and all the high $ tackle. And then thise somewhere in the middle. Buy what you can and go where you can, just gave fun outdoors. Let you conscience and wallet guide ya.👍

There are real answers. Even if you own an $80K bass boat (I have owned 2 and a $60K saltwater rig), do you do anything that would be considered froogle? I do and I gave my honest answer. If you're not interested in adding to the thread, kindly disregard the thread.

Frugal ... well, how about getting the boat paid off and keeping it instead of trading in on a new one every few years?

I feel that all opinions are valid and can understand a position that there are just different anglers out there. I really do feel that at the core if it all is getting outdoors and enjoying what nature provides.

Is there are specific tackle sites that y'all like to visit that have consistent sales, really good deals on discontinued baits or just some site that you know you can consistently go to for great deals?

Save fuel/oil cost by alternating boats with fishing pardner.

You can do what I did and bought a good cheap used kayak for $400. Fished all day yesterday in it with a $37 academy rod, had a great time.

One of these days I think I will do that...probably when my kids have grown up (they are still 4 and 8...plus one more on the way). The one thing that has kept me from doing it is that I would want to dedicate a whole/half day to fishing if I had a Yak. Right now I am lucky to get in 30min to an hour after work or on the weekends. I love taking the kiddos fishing with me, but their attention span doesn't allow for long times at the water. Plus when I take them I am the fishing guide focusing on them fishing and I wont be fishing.

But hopefully one day I will throw a yak rack on the sedan and pick up a good used yak and attack all the ponds that I frequent.

I think you missed my point.

Check out Champion Jigs he has some good products. championjigs.com....... if you like what you see pm myself for a discount code. He does have so top quality spinner baits and buzz baits. He makes custom colors with different hooks for those of us who like a certain hook in their jig.

I am only one of a very few anglers who target Sunfish! (Bluegill,Redear,Warmouth,etc.) Love catching them on ultralight tackle. Needless to say my tackle budget is not all that expensive!

Im a full time guide on the coast.

But when i get a day for me bluegill is my favorite.

I stay giggling like a little kid the whole time. I need to fish with Banker Always Fishin.

I tend to buy zoom plastics because they are pretty cheap and have caught me some pretty good fish.

This isn't a frugal thing but I decided a few years ago i would buy my rods from academy because you can easily return them if they break. I've had 1 break while setting the hook and got it replaced easily.

I have some very expensive equipment and and to be honest, I find myself reaching for one of the 6 Tatula SV TWS on BPS Carbonlite 2.0's more often Than One of my many more much more expensive Steez on either Tatula or Steez Rods. I dont know if that counts as frugal or not but makes me wonder what else I could have bought with that extra dough!

I just quit buying tackle it has been about 18 months now, and guess what, all of those Senkos, baby brush hogs, trick worms, rage draws etc I bought because it was the latest greatest color still work. I will be fishing for years with what I have. I still like to window shop some of the knew plastics technology and some of the new color schemes but now it’s just curiosity.

I try not to pay full price for line. I watch for clearance sales and Amazon deals.
I found 300yd spools of Gander Mountain braid for $5. I suspect it's rebranded PowerPro.
My best deal was a 3000yd spool of P-Line for $11. It's amazing line, too.
I've got a whole bin full of flouro, copoly, and braid.... enough to last a lifetime.

Cheap fishing habit? No such thing!

I buy my fishing gear Jan/Feb/March when Wmart, Academy, BPS/Cabelas have their clearances
Now that I have plenty of lures I don't have to buy any more

Purchase fish finders when they clear out the old generation models or off of Craigslist/TFF classifieds.

Purchased second hand kayak and boat.

Purchased a kayak from Sports Authority when they started clearing everything out.

Do my own boat/kayak maintenance, sometimes with help from other TFFers.

My next purchase will be when there is more competition and prices drop in the spot lock TM market.
Until then, I wait.

A lot of good suggestions for trying to save some money when fishing....Fishing may not be free, but you don't have to pay full price :p

I will have to look out for the deals on line as well, I missed out on the Gander Mountain closeout...but will just have to keep my eyes open for clearance.

That was an interesting topic about Spot Lock for trolling motors, I wonder when that market will settle down?

Tying my own flies versus buying them. The math works out in my favor if I’m disciplined about buying materials and working in materials from craft stores and from hunting. I buy premium fly line on closeout and that saves a lot. Building leaders from cheaper brands of fluorocarbon saves over buying premade ones. My kayak was a closeout model and was 30 percent off retail. Freeze gallon jugs for the ice chest instead of buying ice. Fish close to home instead of driving hours to catch the same exact fish. I never got driving halfway across Texas wasting tons of time and burning all that extra gas when there’s the same fish to be had nearby.

I like you input about going to the Craft Store for supplies....So funny enough I have done this before as well. It was for two Items; Steel wire to make my own Tokyo Rig and Clear Elastic flex line to make a bouncing drop shot. I found both of these items at Hobby Lobby for a whole lot cheaper that a product branded for fishing....except they are pretty much the same thing. I have also done similar with hardware stores.

I did and love it even more when I use it!! As to rod and reels, I have good rods and older Shimano reels, I'm good for a few years.

Saving money is great, buying cheap tackle and rigs is not. I used to spend very little on fishing when I first started, and lost too many fish to straightened hooks, broken line, bent swivels and broken poles. I still don't spend a whole lot, but I'm the "in the middle" guy. I buy expensive terminal tackle and line, and mid-priced rigs. If a rig breaks or wears out, I can just buy another one. You're more likely to lose a fish to bad tackle than a rig.

Yes, quality hooks and line are of primary importance
Last 4-5 years Walmart has cleared out Gammakatsu superline, KVD triple grips, and Berkley Fusion heavy duty hooks
I buy a lot of them when on clearance

Same clearances have had power pro , sufix 832, and seagaur on sale

I gave up on tackle boxes/binders for all soft plastics, hooks/some terminal tackle. I just put the bags in a gallon ziplock bags. Mostly for ease, but it saves money.

That's a great idea, I will actually do that for when my bank fishing setup. I still have all the bait bags back at home stored, but I have one sandwich sized ziplock back that I will load up with a few soft plastics that I like and just use that in my small tackle bag when fishing the bank.

Note: don't mix up soft plastics that are drastically different colors. For example, don't mix light colored soft plastics with dark colors, the dark colors might "bleed" onto the light color baits.....on a plus note, you will have a uniquely colored bait that no one else will have :p

The Walmart in McKinney has hooded, long sleeved Russell dri power shirts right now on clearance for $11
Purchased two yesterday. I have about seven of them--they are good quality and very comfortable.

They are great for keeping your head and skin cool and UV protected in the summer. They go on clearance Feb-April every year (along with the Russell dri power pants usually same price also--keep your legs cool and UV protected in the summer)

Great Catch Right There with the russel hoods at Walmart!

Going to check out Walmart

Sams also has dri fit shirts and the nice button up UV shirts for $10. I ended up buying a few pair of the Denali cargo shorts for $9. They are thin and breathable.

Dollar store .

I buy Zoom plastic because they work. If they doubled the price I'd still stick with them but recently my local Academy had all Zoom plastics for 25% off so I'm probably set for the next 2-3 years.

I freeze by own ice instead of buying the store-bought stuff. I used to dig my own worms, but they're getting hard to find. I use a cast net for bait, and keep cut-up drum and bluegill in my home freezer.

I figured out that most fishing expenses tend to be on vehicles, lodging, and transportation.

I fish in a 16 ft aluminum boat with 20 hp motor. I focus on the lake closest to home. I tow the boat with a 12 year old SUV.

It's been a few years since I've bought any new lures, rods, or reels.

If you have a yard where you have room for a compost barrel/crate, etc., a bonus is all the earthworms that eat their way into it. When you turn the pile, you have all the bait you'll need!

Exactly, traveling long distances to fish gobbles up money in gas, lodging and other expenses and I’m not of fan of staring at the windshield for extended periods. Since this is a thread on cheap fishing habits, the ones MathGeek just shared I will second as tops for fishing frugally.

I fish from an 8 year old kayak hauled around in a 1998 model GMC truck and rarely travel more than 20 miles from home to fish. I’m still learning new stuff about those close by waters in spite of spending thousands of hours fishing them. Driving by perfectly good water close to home to travel hours to some distant spot to catch the exact same fish never made sense to me, but I guess other things come into play. Being frugal is not one of them.

If it weren't for fishing I'd be a millionaire.

Haha, that or you would find another hobby/sport to take up your time/money :p