I ditched my tackle bag full of lures and caught MORE fish!
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
Hey Salt Strong Nation!
Joe here — and yes, you read that right… I ditched my massive tackle bag full of lures… and I actually started catching more fish.
Now don’t get me wrong — we love lures. We sell lures. This isn’t about lures vs. live bait.
This is about simplification.
For years, I was “that guy” with a giant backpack stuffed full of every lure under the sun — every shape, size, and color you can imagine.
But you know what all that gear actually did?
It slowed me down. Distracted me. Made me overthink.
Meanwhile, Luke (with his tiny little bag of just a couple confidence lures) was outfishing me almost every time.
👉 Get The Inshore Slammer – Core Essentials Bundle Here
🎯 The Turning Point: From Tackle Clown to Tactical Angler
Luke took it a step further during tournaments — he and his partner literally stopped bringing tackle bags altogether. Just two lures:
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One for shallow water (like a soft plastic jerkbait on a weighted hook)
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One for deeper water (rigged on a jighead)
That’s it.
They focused all their attention on finding the fish, not fumbling through tackle.
And wouldn’t you know it?
Their results improved immediately.
🧠 It’s Like Steve Jobs in a Skiff
This might sound weird, but it reminded me of how guys like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg wear the same outfit every day — not because they’re boring, but because they want to eliminate decision fatigue.
Every decision spent wondering which lure to use is a decision you’re not making about where to find the fish.
Finding fish beats changing lures every time.
🦐 Our Two Core Confidence Lures
We tested hundreds of lures over the years, and these two are our absolute must-haves:
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Slam Shady 2.0 Paddle Tail
(Baitfish profile, works almost everywhere, casts great, catches just about everything) -
Prawn USA Jr. Shrimp Lure
(Inshore shrimp profile, deadly in shallow or deep, even offshore — seriously, we’ve caught red snapper and grouper 100 miles out on this thing!)
Pair them with:
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Hoss Helix Weighted Hooks for shallow (0–3 ft)
- Hoss Roundeye Jigheads for deeper water (3–10 ft)
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Hoss Weedless Jigheads for deeper water with structure (3–10 ft)
That’s it. That combo covers most inshore scenarios.
🤯 Bonus Tip: Tear It Down!
Luke even shared how he tore a Prawn Jr. in half to downsize when the fish were picky — and BOOM, started catching tarpon and a 30″ snook back-to-back. Just a little nub of plastic… and it worked like magic.
💬 The Elephant in the Room…
Yes, we now carry a LOT of lures and colors. But here’s why:
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Fun – testing new stuff is fun!
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Requests – our members ask for specific colors and profiles
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Advanced Anglers – if you’re targeting big fish or fishing tournaments, having more tools can help fine-tune your approach
But for most of us — especially if you’re newer or in a slump — simplifying is the fastest path to results.
✅ Final Takeaway:
Becoming great with just two lures will catch you more fish than being average with a whole tackle shop.
So if you’re tired of lugging around 40 pounds of gear and catching nothing… try going minimalist next trip.
It might just be the best fishing decision you make all year.
Tight lines and fewer tangles!
Joe Simonds
Salt Strong Cofounder
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish ever trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
simplicity specialist, great video! #saltstrong4life
Im a minimalist at home but my tackle bag doesnt reflect that. Going to give this a go on my next fishing trip and see what happens. Thanks!
But then my question is if extreme simplicity is definatly the way to go then why does saltstrong sell so many different kinds of lures?!🤔🙄 and while i do agree that throwing every lure in the tackle box or bag isn’t really going to catch more fish then a few different lures meaning finding the 90/10 zone with structure bait and current i still like to try out different new lures and if you think about it this can give you an advantage because chances are pretty good that not only have other anglers not used these lures chances are even better the fish have not seen them as well but knowing and finding where the fish are is the most important thing in becoming a good to great angler not having more tackle available to ones disposal more then the average tackle store has and being efficient and confident in a few select lures is always better then having little knowledge in a whole lot of lures but hey that’s a common sence way of thinking which unfortunatly the newer generations seem to have slim to none usually the latter thanks for the opinion and all you do😉👍
Thanks for making the insightful post Steven. The reason we offer more than just a few lures in the tackle store is simply because members keep requesting to we add more selection. As shown in the Fishing School (https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-school/), the amount of lures should be smallest for newer anglers who need to be putting their focus on learning how to find spots with feeding fish. The additional lures coming into the mix is more for advanced anglers who now want to specifically target bigger fish or a specific species.
Could you have a show on fishing when the fish have lock jaw? I sight fished and tossed everything in my tackle box at them and a large variety of live baits and cut baits without any luck. The key to catching fish that day was to go further offshore, and fish for the same species of fish in deep water.
We have many shows where fish are less active. But I do not believe in “lock jaw” because fish are not very smart and will undoubtedly eat if presenting with a desirable meal while the fish isn’t spooked.
Most “lock jaw” situations are caused by the angler spooking fish… once spooked, the predator fish is in self preservation mode so will not eat even the best live bait that’s right in front of its mouth. In that instance, it’s best to move to the next spot to quietly approach another group of fish. And yes, when the fish are less aggressive in summer months, it’s typically best to go to some deeper structure zones because those fish will be less hot and less likely to get spooked as we approach them.
Sometimes the fish are biting on selective baits, and those baits are very unexpected. There could be finger mullet all around and the fish are keyed in on glass minnows and won’t touch anything else. I’m bringing the kitchen sink. I want to catch fish when fishing, and if I don’t have what they want, I’m not catching fish.
Yes, there are certainly going to be some instances where the fish in a given spot are dialed into a specific prey. The most common situation that most people struggle in is when the predator fish are dialed into the glass minnows, and that’s why we recommend having a small paddletail be one of the baseline lures to alway have on hand… when the glass minnows are in, just tear it in half and now you have a 2 inch small profile lure that works surprisingly well.
Great video and spot on with the smaller tackle bags and the fewer item brought the more fish taken ….. I too am a firm believer of this…. ! Glad that you posted this podcast on the this subject and the information that you covered on downsizing the tackle bags …
Great podcast! I was laughing so hard at myself! You were spot on. Clown tackle is so me. I’m definitely going to work on my minimalization fishing. Thank you for calling me out! Lol!
Great video, I am a victim of carrying a box or 2 of lures. You have motivated me to reduce the volume of lures and concentrate on the basic needs to catch more fish and keep it simple. Thanks for what you do.
Carlos Ramos Lakeland, FL
Great episode! I’m an Australian teenager, and I fish land based in my local estuary as much as I can. I definitely try to keep my lures and tackle to a minimum for the sake of ease of movement. (And because I don’t have the biggest budget out there). I often fall into the trap of “”oh, if I’m not catching the fish, then it’s the lure’s fault, or the colour’s fault, or my tackle’s fault, and I need to spend more money on expensive gear to catch more fish”. For that reason especially, I’m super glad I found SS, the emphasis upon it not being a person’s gear or lures that makes the difference in catching fish really helped me.
Excellent info . Thanks