Most of the tackle in our garage have a story and I love finding gear that represents my fishing history. In a recent search, I located some nostalgic items that represent my experiences on the Potomac River. Even though they’re from my earliest years, I still use much of what I used back then.

Watching Brandon Palaniuk go over the top with a Clutch glidebait on Championship Sunday reminded me about some of my favorite swimbait moments at El Salto with the soft Bacca Burrito.

Make sure you spend money on a good rainsuit. Nearly 20 years ago, Pete took me to BPS get me my first “real” set of foul weather gear. He assured me it would pay off in the long run and we’d decided to get a BPS Gore-tex 100 mph rainsuit, no matter what it cost.

I claim not to be a tackle junkie. However, the longer I continue to fish, the more I realize how much specific baits can make a difference. I’m truly catching on to why we have a garage full of baits. Here are 5 that made a difference in 2024.

There is nothing worse than waking up early in the morning to fish and not knowing what to wear. Packing for a fishing trip is equally difficult: What do I take? What if it gets dirty? What if I don’t like it once we get there? I continue to refine my “must take” items to include a stack of clothes that go with me on nearly every trip.

The Yeti One Gallon Water Jug is an amazing piece of technology that is worth the price. It’ll prevent you from getting dehydrated and stand up to any abuse you can dish out — and it comes in great colors.

I gravitated to the Bajio Paila sunglasses for a few reasons: First, I’d really enjoyed the Bajios that I’d tried before. Second, they were ORANGE, which is my favorite color and while I have lots of black and tortoise frames, I didn’t have anything in orange. Finally, after reading reviews I suspected that they’d fit my head really well.

After the annual BFHOF banquet we spend time with our friends the Morgenthalers and the Mansues. While Pete has fished with Dave Mansue before, this year Dave was lucky enough to take both of us out. On the way to the lake, I asked what we’d be throwing and was told “football jigs and glide baits.”

As you step out of the van at Anglers Inn El Salto, the next steps are to collect your first of many secret recipe margaritas, follow your bags to your room, and quickly rig up some rods. You only get one first cast, and one first fish so I asked the members of our June group what they used to break the ice.

Yesterday I provided a video demonstrating how Pete picked his clothing for our upcoming trip to Anglers Inn Lake El Salto trip. Great picks but I have no idea how he can take so little, even if they do daily laundry. I brought a few more items.

Pete has carefully selected every piece of apparel he needs for a week of fishing in Mexico – trying to minimize the quantity to maximize how much tackle he can pack. Surprisingly he has packed mix and match pieces that all go together, including antimicrobial underwear, comfortable shoes and a just-in-case rain jacket.

Normally I have Pete purchase all of our lures. I buy the groceries, he buys the tackle, those are our jobs. This time I wanted to make sure I had exactly what I wanted for our upcoming trip to Anglers Inn Lake El Salto, so I fired up my (our?) credit card and made my first Tackle Warehouse order.

Gearing up for the Fourth of July by dressing in red, white and blue can be both patriotic and practical. There are plenty of options – hats, shirts, bibs, jackets and even shoes. Don’t limit it to that, however – consider a dry bag or baits to pull it all together.

Taking the right equipment on a fishing trip can make all the difference between a smooth excursion and one where you may not return. I test products in order to offer expert and HONEST guidance about their quality. My goal is to help you enhance your overall trip.

When you hear Melinda Mize talk about Bajio Sunglasses, it is clear that she shares in the vision and passion that is behind the brand. I saw her in the Bajio booth at the Bassmaster Classic and asked her to tell me about three popular Bajio sunglasses for women.

I HATE the winter so I spend lots of time dreaming of warm-weather fishing travel — and want to make sure that I’ll be properly outfitted. The AFTCO women angling pros can lead you to the proper choices and colors.

My lure choices this week are topwaters once again. I just love the thrill of the fish exploding on the lure. I pulled some really odd and interesting looking baits off the shelf and of course Pete had stories about all of them. There’s always a story.

The ladies of AFTCO are passionate about their fishing and cold weather won’t keep them off the water. I interviewed four of them from different fisheries and different climates to find out the key gear that keeps them warm when they plunge into a cold weather fishing adventure.

I’m back on the loose in the garage, sifting through baits to find a few topwaters that’ll inspire Pete to relive his angling history and tackle-buying addiction. Now that I’ve found them, I’m putting these gems in my bag for Anglers Inn in June. Maybe they’ll help me catch a big bass or two that haven’t seen anything similar.

As Pete reorganizes his fishing tackle I am trying to figure out the significance of all of his “hidden gems.” He agreed that if I pick a handful of lures from different categories he’ll explain why we have them and how they work. This time it’s squarebill crankbaits.