b top gun

GAS, we know what it means here at UHH. I am employed part time at a major outdoor retailer and I observe a slightly different iteration where I work. Every day customers come in thinking that a new fishing rod and/or new fishing reel will transform them into world class fishers. A new bait is seen on a TV show; it is made out to be the latest/greatest sure fire fish getter yet; when it is not in the store's on hand inventory when they are there, they grump about it and storm off. The store I work at has over 100 feet of linear floor space just crammed with who knows how many baits and lures and hooks and rods and reels, yet this is never quite enough. To this I add...IF there is ever a focused ecological effort to cut way back on plastics overall for the sake of the health of our planet, fishing will be impacted. Most all baits, both hard and soft, are made of plastics of some sort.
GAS in fishing has its onset at a very young age, and I blame that partly on competitive fishing where junior high and high school aged kids insist on having THE BEST to compete regardless how much the tackle costs; and parents and grandparents shell out mega bucks to their kids and grandkids. When will it stop???
GAS is not exclusive to photography!!!

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

Reminds me of a Muppets scene. Bert and Ernie are in a boat, fishing. Bert's got the fancy gear, and hasn't caught anything. Ernie leans over the boat, and calls out, "Here, fishie, fishie, fishie!", much to Bert's disgust. Ernie calls again, and suddenly dozens of fish are jumping into the boat!

It ain't the violin, it's the violinist!

b top gun

I have a nice blend of old and new, both with regard to photography gear and fishing gear. Yes, it's the violinist, not the violin, although it helps to have good gear.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

G A S is everywhere. Gone are the days when all you needed to play baseball were a bat, a ball and a glove and a uniform for team games. My 14 year old is on a team and now the rage is sliding gloves to mimic the pros. Do you know how much a sliding glove it? 65 bucks. For 65 bucks they could wear oven mitts!!!

In my day we slid feet first.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Nothing is left untouched by GAS.

HRPufnstuf

Some people sit in a boat, drink beer, and call it fishing.
Some people sit in the woods, drink beer, and call it hunting.
Me, I do both, and there's no impact on the environment, as long as I take the empty cans with me when I leave.

BebuLamar

I think you do well. I quit fishing because I don't like to eat fish. I feel bad catching them just for fun even if you release them.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

At least you were able to catch them. We went to Gaston's in Arkansas to catch trout. Never caught one.

BebuLamar

But as far as GAS I never had a boat nor ever went fishing out to sea. For shore fishing I don't have GAS with the rods and reels. I was able to buy the ones I like best. I don't think I can do it now. Prices have gone up way too much since the 80's. Also I don't like stuff made in China so there is little choice for me if I were to buy rod and reel now. I hope they still make the monofilament line in the USA.

wakeupnfly Loc: wyandotte, Mi

No G A S here. Years ago, I purchased some basic fishing gear, then fished rivers, lakes, from shore, from boats, summer, winter, fishing Charter trips, and the ONLY fish I caught was at a Trout pond! Fish laugh at me! I got tired of all the laughing and gave all the equipment away! Never again!

SteveR Loc: Michigan

If my son had wanted to go I would have been interested in chartering a boat to go out into the Gulf to go after some good fish like Redfish. If you go in with a couple of other people, the price of a charter can be reasonable, but he wasn't interested.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

GAS is applicable to everything.

I was a normal homeowner with a riding mower. When it died I bought a small tractor with a bucket to use on the snowy driveway and a 5' mower to use on the lawn. Then since I had a tractor I started a farm. Eventually I counted 17 different implements used to cut grass and weeds. I had 6 tractors when I retired and probably 10 different implements that the tractors used to do something specific (e.g. plow, disk, a backhoe, a bedshaper and drip line server, various cultivating implements, etc.).

I never had any animals on the farm that I wanted there, but I heard from the local horse owners that they had the same problem of buying stuff for their horses (including more horses).

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

The thing that bothers me about fishing and fishermen is the fishing line. The line gets snagged on bushes, rocks or whatever and the fishermen cut it and leave hundreds of feet of the crap laying around for the wild animals to come along and get tangled up in it. If they can't free themselves they can wind up starving to death.

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

Years ago, the wife and I were in a store and I was, along with several others, looking at a bin of lures that were marked down to sell. After a bit, my wife asked how long it takes to pick out a lure and I replied that I was imagining that I was a bass and trying to determine which one looked the most tasty... The other folks quietly eased away.

Equus Loc: Puget Sound

If I read the OP correctly, there is not tackle that will guarantee catching trophy fish. I am most disappointed. This is another area that there seem to be no reasonable guarantees. My hardware store doesn't have self installing plumbing. The big box store doesn't have self installing flooring. My cameras don't take prize winning photos when sitting on the shelf. what has this world come too?