The 3-lure rule that stopped me from overspending on tackle
After fishing for years one thing has stood out to me the most, anglers own way more gear than they use — no matter what they're targeting.
After going through hundreds of orders across all kinds of fishing, the pattern is almost always the same. Three lure types cover the vast majority of situations, whether you're on a lake, river, or pond chasing bass, panfish, trout, or whatever's biting:
A soft plastic worm (Texas rig) — works in almost any water clarity, any season, any structure, and catches far more than just bass.
A spinnerbait — your search bait for covering water fast and finding where fish are holding, effective across freshwater species.
A topwater popper — early morning and evening, especially in warmer months, a reliable producer no matter what you're fishing for.
Everything else is situational. If you're just getting into fishing and staring at a wall of tackle wondering where to start, buy these three first, fish them for a season, then fill gaps based on what you actually needed more of. Don't front-load the tackle box — it's the #1 way beginners waste money, regardless of species.
Curious what your "core 3" would be if you had to strip your tackle box down.