thousands....and usually have to end up giving some away or throwing them away because they got to old,hot,or something. If you multi- species angle in rivers,lakes,swamps,oxbows,creeks etc.,using a lot of different techniques you need a broad selection.You will catch the majority of fish on 10 to 20 items. But if you fish with a partner you will find days he has something you don't or maybe something you do but need to switch.If you don't your gonna get hammered...sometimes embarrassingly so.

I have seen guys get so mad that there "go to" lure was not working they would stomp their feet and cuss and swear, and just be totally bewildered. Some so hard headed they would sit and watch you catch fish and sulk. Most of them if they make enough trips figure out to stop wasting time and switch to what's working. I have been having tough days before on Lakes that I have fished for thirty or more years and caught thousands and thousands of fish from...only to run into a guy catching fish who had never fished there with something I have never fished with. And I have done the same at places I have never fished a few times.

I know a lot of people don't believe this stuff. All I can say is their experiences differ greatly from my own.

But none of this applies to trolling,spider rigging, or tournament style fishing. I don't do any of that. Also limited vertical fishing these days.