“Retiring” baits

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Johnny A
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“Retiring” baits

Post by Johnny A » Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:50 am

Have you ever “retired” a productive lure?
I have a bait that’s put quite a few fish in the boat, including my personal best largemouth. I thinking about taking it out of rotation for service above and beyond, I would hate to lose it. Then again, if it’s producing, let it produce.
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Gone Phishin
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by Gone Phishin » Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:33 pm

You betcha.

I have two framed baits outside of my office. One is a Smithwick Rattlin Rogue in clown. This one was retired after my best night walleye fishing ever. My buddy literally put his rods down and just manned the net for me.

The second is a Fat Free Shad in citrus shad. The first time I ever really put time into studying a map of a new lake, and killed the motor/dropped the trolling motor, I caught a bass on the first cast in open water...this one made me smile.

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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by toddmc » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:25 pm

It is necessary for me to retire billed hard baits when the bills get yellow from being on the deck of my boat for too long or ground down too much on the bottom. I retire spinnerbaits because the wire has been deformed too much to be trustworthy. My custom bladed jigs get retired all the time when I have taken too much material from the hook point by sharpening as a result of rock damage. I never retire a bait because it has caught a fish over 10 lbs. I keep using those until they disintegrate. I often retie skirts on buzzbaits and swimjigs many times before they are retired.

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slipperybob
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by slipperybob » Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:21 pm

I don't really have a productive bait that I would retire. They will take a beating, paint chipped off in several places. Scratches and tooth marks all over. As long as they perform within the specs they're meant for, they will stay in rotation.
slip bobbing is the laziest way to fish

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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by SSS » Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:37 pm

Pikes retire a lot of my lures :sick:

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Gone Phishin
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by Gone Phishin » Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:38 pm

SSS wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:37 pm
Pikes retire a lot of my lures :sick:
Amen. I have one specific original wart that I don't fish solely for this reason.

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uljersey
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by uljersey » Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:42 am

I had a Bomber Square A crankbait that was one of 17,000,000 other ones just like it other than the fact that it had that “it” factor that the fish went crazy for. It retired to a penthouse roost about 50’ up in a tree :evil: I watched that thing swinging in the breeze for months before winter set in. I seriously contemplated bringing a chainsaw with me at one point …

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LowRange
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by LowRange » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:16 pm

Yes to the boat keychain as flotation aids that look cool and have memories. Last one was a BPS squarebill that caught like a million fish before a corner broke off the bill and ended it.

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njbasscat
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by njbasscat » Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:35 am

Nope. I use them till I lose them.

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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by Bronzeye » Wed Dec 01, 2021 12:29 pm

uljersey wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:42 am
I had a Bomber Square A crankbait that was one of 17,000,000 other ones just like it other than the fact that it had that “it” factor that the fish went crazy for.
This is why I won't retire a great lure that still works.

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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by goldrod » Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:48 pm

I am retiring some rods.. lots of them in fact... going to a much simpler life style...lures on the other hand well..are harder cause the one that catches fish will continue to as long as its wet.
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Oktayne the Red
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by Oktayne the Red » Mon Jan 10, 2022 9:05 pm

Many years ago (I could use the word "decades", but that just makes me feel old), I was fishing the local spillway, and had caught a couple of small snook on an old school Rapala. I think the 3th or 4th fish broke off, no more lure. Still a great day, in my little teenaged mind. So I'm about to take off, it hadn't been 10 minutes and another one of the guys there fishing live baits starts hooting and hollering. Yup, this guy re-catches the same fish with my Rapala hanging off it's gill cover.

That lure was my keyring until a towing company lost my keys a few years later. That's closest I've got to "retiring" a lure.

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bronzebacks
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by bronzebacks » Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:25 am

Only ones i retire are when the bills or bait breaks. I have a old manns baby 1- that caught thousands of fish and the Potomac snakeheads loved it to untill one tournament a bass came unbuttoned at the boat and it hit the boat and broke the bill off. Now it hangs on a shelf in my man cave with some broken bill 110s

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Gone Phishin
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Re: “Retiring” baits

Post by Gone Phishin » Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:55 pm

bronzebacks wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:25 am
Only ones i retire are when the bills or bait breaks. I have a old manns baby 1- that caught thousands of fish and the Potomac snakeheads loved it to untill one tournament a bass came unbuttoned at the boat and it hit the boat and broke the bill off. Now it hangs on a shelf in my man cave with some broken bill 110s
I cut my teeth fishing cranks with that bait. It killed here fishing docks.

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