While being ahead of the curve with a new mousetrap constitutes a big advantage , the 2021 Bass Pro Tour AOY also says the meticulous browsing and buying of tackle constantly improves the efficiency of his entire arsenal as a whole .
Much in the way tungsten and braid have allowed pros to shed a lot of lead and monofilament from their traveling tackle arsenals , finding more efficient lures helps eliminate bulk from the boat .
“ It ’ s a constant process ,” Wheeler says . “ Lures evolve and get better over time . As a pro , it ’ s my job to stay up to date on improvements to tackle and use that improvement to increase my efficiency . If something new goes into my arsenal , something else must come out . I can ’ t keep adding and adding every year without removing something or it ’ s just too much to deal with in the boat .”
Each year , Wheeler takes several different categories of lures and orders all the options . As a simple example , if he feels his jigging spoons need attention ,
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER he ’ ll order every kind there is and spend a week testing them . If he finds something in a spoon that registers as an improvement over his current selection of spoons – composition , size , shape , action , rate of fall or color – he ’ ll rotate the new ones in and cull out the old ones .
“ A lot depends on how the schedule sets up ,” Wheeler continues . “ Some years there might be more shallow , stained water on the schedule and winding baits need to be reviewed . Other years , clear , deep impoundments might be more prevalent on the schedule , and I ’ ll focus on categories of deeper lures .”
No matter the schedule , everything he uses for fishing gets reviewed every couple years . And it ’ s not just lures . Wheeler spends time researching new weights , hooks , lines , rod actions and tools .
“ If it has to do with catching a bass , I research it all winter to make sure there isn ’ t something I ’ m missing ,” he says .
birge ’ s quest for efficiency
Zack Birge spends hours of his offseason shop time organizing tackle to an admittedly obsessive level . He evaluates every lure and bag of plastics he carries , culling the has-beens and tediously cataloging the rest in hard boxes .
“ Keeping too many unproductive lures in the boat is a waste of space ,” he says . “ If it has rust on it or I haven ’ t used it in the last four years , it ’ s taken out to make room for something better . In the heat of battle , it makes me crazy to dig through lures I never use to find the ones that I do use – that ’ s just inefficient .”
Birge also monitors online tackle sites across the globe , but his reasoning for doing so is to find hard-to-get lures in certain sizes and colors that are proven performers . He ’ s reluctant to reveal exactly which rare gems he hoards , but he does disclose that doing so constitutes a major advantage .
“ In competition , I ’ m the guy who likes to throw what no one else is throwing ,” Birge says . “ I ’ ll stockpile lures that are nearly impossible to get . A lot of it is Japanese-made stuff in certain colors and sizes that are only offered in small batches and sell out very quickly .
“ I ’ m not saying it ’ s the only lure fish will bite . I ’ m just saying that having a lure that no else has helps my confidence .” ott ’ s garage
Ott DeFoe calls his shop “ the garage ,” which is how his YouTube series Ott ’ s Garage ( OG ) got its name . OG is also the name of DeFoe ’ s signature line of crankbaits for Rapala . After spending hours and hours in the garage sanding down balsa baits to a perfect size and shape , the OG Slim was born .
DeFoe is a tinkerer at heart and says he likes to morph and “ MacGyver ” lures together to fit a certain need .
“ I ’ ll see a situation on the water that needs a certain kind of presentation ,” he explains . “ It becomes a game of problem solving for me ; I ’ ll take parts and pieces from different lures and start cobbling them together to make something that fits that need .
“ Maybe I need something small that runs subsurface with some subtle flash , but it also needs to cast far . I ’ ll get in the garage and start adding things like swivels , split rings , lead wire , treble hooks and maybe even tiny blades to a soft plastic jerkbait . I love tinkering like that . The first time I catch a fish on something I created , it ’ s a real thrill .”
therapy for tharp
Randall Tharp knows that feeling of catching a bass on something he created himself . It ’ s the reason he spends his shop time pouring his own jigs and adorning them with his own hand-tied skirts . His homemade creations include flipping and swim jigs in various sizes .
“ I ’ ve been pouring my own jigs since my BFL days years ago ,” he says . “ Back then , I did it because homemade jigs were much better than store-bought production jigs . Since then , production jigs have come a long way , and some are just as good as homemade jigs .”
Still , each offseason , Tharp will pour a few dozen jigs , mostly because it ’ s a yearly tradition that ’ s therapeutic and evokes nostalgia .
“ I ’ ve won a lot of money with the jigs I ’ ve poured ,” he says . “ I still do it because it gives me confidence to fish with something I made . Professional bass fishing is probably the only sport where you can use stuff you made by hand in competition , and I think that ’ s pretty cool .
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