Hoarders Don't Make Good Anglers...They Make Hoarders

Bet you can't guess who made that statement. Here's a clue: It's the same guy whom an outdoor writer for the Chicago Sun-Times once called "the bad boy of bass fishing." Yes, that's right, it's none other than Mike Iaconelli. Incidentally, did you know Iaconelli graduated summa cum laude (highest academic honors) in 1996 from New Jersey's Rowan University with a bachelor's degree in public relations/advertising?

Bad boy or not, Iaconelli has at least one idea with which I can agree. He said he thinks that "one of the most common mistakes recreational anglers make is that they overthink things. A part of overthinking is having too many choices when it comes to lure and tackle selection.

"The thing you hardly ever hear about, though," he continued, "is that the same problem afflicts professional anglers. We all carry enough tackle to sink a battleship, but we don't use most of it, or even think about most of it."

Had to chuckle a bit while reading about a fella on one of the forums who, if nothing else, had some bad timing. Seems he was in his garage, going through all the stuff in his boat. Had all his boxes out and on the deck when his wife unexpectedly showed up on the scene.

"When she was done asking just how insane I was," he said, "she started counting. I won't take time to divulge the number of boxes I carry in my boat, on the shelf, or have in bags on a pegboard. What I want to know is how much is too much?

"I'm a big boy, and my boat only has a 150 on it, so maybe I am carrying too much. I know when I recently bought my Champion, I was all PO'd 'cuz the rear compartments were s-o-o-o small.

"I know they say the fancy new baits are really designed to catch the fisherman and not the fish...and I gotta be honest: That describes me to a T. At least I still have room for the lifevests."

A fellow forum watcher responded this way: "I quit fishing seriously about three years ago. Before that, I was all into Pro/Ams and teams. Had to have all the latest and multiples in case I lost a hot bait. I joked that I had a 20-foot tacklebox to ride around in. When I went to tournaments, the boat was loaded, and I had three big plastic bins full in the truck with spares. I still go fishing one or two times a month, but I haven't bought any new tackle in almost three years...and I'm still catching fish every time I go. Just using my old reliable stuff."

From another forum contributor came this: "I have so much stuff I'm surprised my boat even floats. Recently had to buy a bigger house, with 4,500 square feet. It has eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a three-car garage. Now my wife is happy, and I have a lot more room to work. I have four rooms that I don't even use yet but plan to turn into tackle rooms that should last me for a few years. I think I might have a problem: I'm afraid I've become an addict."

As one angler explained, it all begins ever so innocently. Following is his story of what ultimately happens, though. 

"I used to scoff at buddies who had an overflowing garage full of fishing tackle," he said. "I thought they were overthinking things. They were dragging so much tackle fishing, I was surprised their boats didn't start taking on water and sink into the depths.

"Then, one day, I noticed my tackle shelf had become two shelves. Then it became a 'tackle wall'...like an invasive species, my tackle began creeping up the wall. And finally, when we started referring to it as the 'tackle section,' I knew I had turned into the monster at which I long had scoffed.

"I comforted myself with vague notions that 'too much tackle' is a subjective idea. Surely, 'too much' is all relative, and it's in the eye of the beholder. Well, if this is so, my wife is the beholder. She's the one who told me I needed to address the rapidly expanding 'tackle section' before it took over the garage, and we had to sell the kids' pool table.

"When the issue was broached, naturally, faced with the prospect of having to throw out a tackle collection that was 20 years in the making, I questioned whether it wouldn't be easier to replace the wife. But after much consideration, I set about tackling the daunting looking tackle section of the garage.

"First, I looked at everything that I hadn't properly organized. I decided I needed a good straightening up and reorganized it all. There was plenty of stuff that still was in its store-bought packaging and needed sorting.

"Once I had put everything in its place, I considered what I actually had used over the last 12 months. There were only two colors in a whole box of crankbaits that I ever had used...and neither of them in the last 12 months.

"After much umming and ahhing, I made a severe dent in the tackle mountain I had created. Everything now fits neatly on one shelf again. But throwing away tackle was like throwing away memories. I was reminded of every old fishing trip or every impulse-buy from sleepy tackle shops out in the sticks. That is the real reason we keep this stuff--not because we might use it again one day, but because, after the fish has been eaten or released, all we have left are our memories. There are infinite memories tied up in every fishing-tackle collection.

"Albeit with much sadness, I parted with a large chunk of my gear. I now can find everything I need considerably quicker...but I haven't mentioned these benefits to my wife."