Originally Posted By: dweste
2. Carry no bare hooks; replace them with the color and flash of various spoon-type and jig-type lures starting with tiny ice-fishing sizes. You can bait the hooks on the spoons or jigs, but there is usually no need for bait- spend your time fishing instead of looking for bait. If you want to use bait, use parts of the fish you catch.


I've lost enough lures and bare hooks over the years to have opened my own tackle shop. Either they get snagged on underwater objects and the line has to be cut, or a fish snaps the line and swims off with my lure/hook.

Bare hooks are cheap and light weight. I have hundreds of them and they present no burden to me. If I have to cut one loose, or if a fish swims off with it, it's no big deal. I have more.

Lures can be expensive. I hate it when I lose one. I don't see myself setting up trot lines with my lures. I would hate to wake up in the morning and find my lures gone.