If we're honest with ourselves, we all likely start out as "wanna haves" in our youth and just gradually transform into "gotta haves" as we grow into adults and have the means to satisfy at least some of our desires. As with anything, though, problems can arise when we aren't able to determine when "enough is enough."
"Not a high-dollar affair, by any means," he said. "Just a little, one-day, 25-boat couples derby that we get to fish on a rare occasion when we're home and the schedules line up."
Short hadn't paid much attention until he wanted to add one more box of crankbaits but didn't have room.
"I truly didn't have room to put one more 3700 box in the front storage compartments," he said. "I counted 48 boxes of different sizes in the front three compartments, containing various crankbaits, Zoom plastics, and Jewel jigs, with more stuff in the rod box on the starboard side and even more in the storage behind the seat. I remember thinking at the time, 'This is crazy! How much does this stuff weigh. I went to get the scales, and would you believe it weighed 150 pounds?'
"In other words, I had the equivalent of a full-grown man stashed in the front of my BassCat," he continued. "And that didn't include the weight of my Lew's rod-and-reel combos (another 15 pounds), the spare MotorGuide (another 27 pounds) in the starboard rod box, along with the anchor and enough Vicious fishing line to spool half the field for a day. Again, did I really need all this stuff?
"Did I really need to carry 46 DD22s stuffed in that 3730 with the lid that barely would latch? Maybe I could just carry one of each color I felt I would need in the boat, with the rest in the truck. What if I lost the one I was using? Oh, the dilemma of tackle selection.
"It's like a drug--a guy's gotta have his 'stuff' with him at all times. Don't leave home without your 'stuff.' I gambled on one of each color, and as it turned out, we never even threw a DD22. But I had them, just in case the deep crankin' bite was on."
Flipping through some of the boxes, Short was surprised at how many of the baits he never had thrown. He hauls many of them from coast to coast and border to border, chasing little green fish, and they never leave the comfort of the plastic boxes where they reside.
"I seem to catch fish everywhere we visit on the trail with the same handful of baits that would probably all fit in eight boxes, instead of 48," he said. "I still buy new baits, stuff the compartments of the BassCat full, and lug around way too much stuff. Maybe I need to thin out some of it and get down to the basics of what I know I need to have in the boat every day on the water. That might not be such a good idea, as I'll probably need a bigger boat to hold all the stuff I think I'll need."
In case you're wondering, Short and his wife caught all their fish in the derby on four different crankbaits on four different rods.
Said the pro, "We could have left everything else on the bank and shaved 146 pounds of weight off the boat and been nicer to my Mercury Pro XS. I just gotta have that 'stuff' though, man!"
You might say Short is like the fella in that old tune written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams back in 1947...the one that had this popular refrain throughout:
And if you happen to be getting a lot of flack from your better half about all your fishin' tackle, you might want to consider adding these two possible defenses to your usual arsenal:
1. The average woman owns about 19 pairs of shoes. While this number may seem high initially, it's alright, considering that women regularly use only 4-5 pairs of shoes. And this number is likely to be even higher for women who are "shoe crazy."
2. The average woman also owns about 9 to 16 purses that she uses for her different activities of the day. These purses usually include three main types: everyday purses, tote bags, and mid-sized bags.
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