Are You Prepared To Cast A $1000 Lure?

I was fishing last night- as I do every night in October- and was in a scenario with some almost in my face, almost a cross wind, super annoying blow. It wasn’t fierce, but it also wasn’t a breeze. These are the only conditions that I seem to still get an occasional wind knot in. I think when the cross wind is worse, I focus more. In my face, no problem. But when it’s this sneaky in between I become complacent.

And yet, there I was throwing a Mikes Custom dredge darter. A very valuable plug, no one can deny. This one particularly so, because it’s got “the juice.” I have about 10 of those darters of various generations and head banger or regular “lip.” But this one is the best. It just works better than the others- it’s also the only one I have in blurple. I don’t have any other without a light belly.

So here I am casting, and I’m fully aware of the risk I’m taking. It helped me stay focused- later I would be throwing a Big Water Bait and got horrifically tangled- but it also got me thinking. We often talk about how we all need to be 100-percent confident and prepared for a 50, 60, or (in Toby’s case) and 80-pound striper. That our knots and line have to be perfect, and our hooks as sharp as needles, and our reels functioning as best they can (who has a perfectly functioning reel at this point in the season!?).

These things I think about constantly, and at times they cause me anxiety because I just want to fish and instead it feels like I have to baby sit everything. I just want to go- I’m late- but I have to change a leader and tie an FG. I just want to throw my jig back out, but I have a nick in my leader and I have to cut back. I just had a ferocious fish on that I dropped, and it feels like that same jig tip is blunt- I need to change it. So sometimes I’m lazy and stupid and hypocritical: “what are the chances really?” and “I’m sure this is good enough.”

But I was thinking last night, what if you turn this on its head. What if you think about what it would be like to always be casting a $1000 lure. Every cast there’s a thousand bucks at the end of your line. Do you have confidence in your knots and line now? In your drag? In where you’re standing that you won’t slip and point the rod at the fish, and break the line? Are you sure you can land a fish where you’re standing!?!

It’s an interesting idea and I think it hits harder for me. Because there’s no hypothetical, and no excuses: you are taking that cast with that $1000 lure and you are instantly responsible for all your excuses and short cuts. But in the end, it would also mean that when that giant hits, you’re totally prepared- simply because you’ve been preserving that $1000 lure for the entire tide.

But let’s just hope that the day never comes where we are casting $1000 lures in the surf.

Metal lips are expensive though- and maybe this discussion from season 1 will be interesting to you within the context I’m writing here.

Coda: I do know Gary Soldati bought a $1000 or $1500 glide bait years before the “Stride era” hit us and he did cast and swim it to determine how he could improve on “the best.” So maybe we should ask him how this feels!