ANGLING TIPS Jack Wollitz

It's amazing what can be accomplished with a little initiative.
My Plano tackle bag was stuffed to the point where it strained to break the zippers and snap the straps. For each outing this year, I lugged the bag up from the basement and heaved it into the boat.
I never weighed the bag, but I'd guess it would have gone 75 pounds. Today it weighs half that.
A Saturday afternoon of sorting through all the baits, weights and tools resulted in the major weight reduction. Not only will my muscles thank me next spring, but my brain will, too.
One big trouble most of us anglers have is we love to stock up on lures and gadgets. Then we haul them to the lake. But we only use a few baits during the vast majority of our fishing trips.
I had 200 crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwater lures in my bag. Add to that about 200 bullet weights, 100 hooks in various sizes, 50 spinnerbaits, 75 jigs and 20 pounds of plastic tubes, worms, lizards and miscellaneous other soft lures.
Looking back over 2004, I realized the baits I carried outnumbered the ones I actually used by such a large number that it was silly. So I started culling.
My goal was to halve the stockpile, which by any measure will still be more than enough.
Too much tackle is a problem. With so many choices, we get confused. We change lures too often, when we really should be changing places. Or we just flat out can't find the bait we really want because it's lost in the jumble.
It's not difficult to slim down your tackle sack. All it requires is a little initiative and the right mindset.
Start by dumping everything and sort through the piles. Decide what you want to return to your tackle assortment by applying a simple gauge: Did you use it last season?
If you did, then return it to your box, along with one or two duplicates to replace irretrievably snagged lures. Then add a few -- emphasis on "few" -- alternatives to be used when the time is right to toss a change-up.
You'll be amazed how much lighter the load will become and you'll probably catch more fish in 2005.
jwwollitz@aol.com