Bass Fishing on a Budget

Homemade Spinnerbait for Bass Fishing on a BudgetBass fishing can get expensive in a hurry. Especially if you fish on a regular basis and try to keep up with the latest tackle trends. It can make bass fishing on a budget a real challenge.

Budget lures are getting harder and harder to come by these days. And with more and more media coverage for professional bass fishing tournaments, there is a lot of pressure on bass anglers to buy the products and equipment that their favorite pro bass angler promotes.

Rods and reels can be some of the most expensive pieces of staple equipment that a bass angler buys. But let’s face it; if you’re bass fishing on a budget, buying the products being promoted by the pros will use up your fishing budget pretty quickly.

So if you want to have decent equipment but can’t afford to buy a lot of the stuff being hawked by pro anglers, read on. I’ve got some great tips for you in this blog post.

There are many places where you can buy decent quality bass fishing tackle and accessories without breaking the bank. It will require some scouting and shopping around, but doing this will go a long way toward stretching your dollar a long way, without necessarily buying junk fishing tackle.

And the items that can be found on a tight budget even include boating accessories, such as quality fish finders, LED lights and much more. If you spend some time comparison shopping, reading reviews and looking for sales or discount codes you can save a ton of cash.

This blog post isn’t meant to get into a lot of details or name a lot of specifics when it comes to specific items or specific retailers, but I will give you a few suggestions based on my own experiences. And since everyone has different preferences when it comes to styles of fishing, your needs will vary from mine. So below are a few suggestions to help get you started and pointed in the right direction.

Abu Garcia Black Max 3First, as mentioned above, do some price comparisons. Use the internet to find the absolute best price on any items you want to buy. Read product reviews to find out which products have the best reputation. You can find some really great products out there by doing this, since people have already bought a product and use it before writing their reviews.

One of the places I find my best deals is Tackle Warehouse. Tackle Warehouse offers a Best Price guarantee, so be sure you always do your price shopping first and then go to them and buy it from them. Tell them if you found an item somewhere else at a lower price. They’ll match it or beat it. Their customer service is top notch!

Amazon.com’s hunting and fishing department. Amazon will have great prices on a good number of products too, but you don’t get to deal with actual anglers when making your purchase. So there is no way to ask anyone there specific questions about a product before buying it.

Another great place to check out is Academy Sports. Academy has tons of great deals on brand name fishing tackle that will help make bass fishing on a budget much easier too.

If you spend some time researching and use the 3 retailers above you will be way ahead of the game when it comes to bass fishing on a budget. No, they’re not the only place to find great deals, but they do offer some excellent bargains on good tackle and accessories.

One other way to save money on lures is to make your own. Doing this will cut the average price of your lures in half. There will be a little bit of  a cash outlay to get started. But once you figure out what you need and start making your own baits, you’ll find it less expensive and more rewarding than buying retail lures off the store shelf. And the absolute best place to buy your lure parts is www.LurePartsOnline.com. I’ve been doing business with them for 20 years and their stuff is always the best quality available. The spinnerbait pictured at the top of this article is one that I made using their parts and components.

And one last thing. Let me give you a hint when it comes to buying a decent baitcasting reel that I have found to be one of the best deals available for a reel that works well but doesn’t empty your wallet. The Abu Garcia Black Max is a good reel for a small amount of money. No… it’s not a high-end reel. And yes… there are other reels out there that are better. But when it comes to getting a lot of bang for your buck, the Black Max is one of the best bargains you’ll find.