BLOG: Confessions of a tackle junkie

I probably have a significant excess of fishing gear but feel that I need more.

Looking through my tackle collection shows a forest of rods, a collection of reels along with assorted boxes of lures and tackle that may never see the light of day - the result of years spent immersing myself in all manner of fishing styles and tackle collecting.

I recently bought a stack of cheap bream hard-body lures off a mate for the sole reason that myself or crew members might need to use them one day, even though I already have more than I could use in a few long seasons!

I have a box of barra lures but have never been barra fishing, six kingfish jigging outfits but only two hands and enough "stock" equipment including spare favourite soft plastics, favourite hook patterns and enough coils of leader to cater for a monsoon, let alone a rainy day.

I don't know what triggers the impulsive rush to seek out new gear or stock up on old favourites but what I do know is that it can be evil. Right now I feel like fly fishing (damn you RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival...) and have been contemplating a new fly outfit.
I have a perfectly good 7-weight outfit that has never really been used in anger, but I'm thinking an 8 or 9 weight would be nice.
My fly reel is an older style model, however, the new large arbor reels look interesting - surely I need one for the collection?

The rational side of my brain is telling me to learn with the 7-weight and upgrade when I have outgrown it, the irrational side is tempting me to buy and satisfy the desired want even though it will not likely provide any increased utility. Whilst fly fishing has an alluring charm I can't remember the last time I went out to wave the long wand, in actual fact I'm a frustrated fly fisherman and still have the proverbial training wheels on. I don't really need a new outfit...or do I ?

Trying to explain and justify my actions is easy - I like testing and using new gear, new lures and anything that might enhance my fishing experience. I also love looking at trends and techniques used by foreign anglers which explains the "interesting" items gifted to me that are totally unsuitable for our domestic waters.

Having everything that I might need on hand is comforting and frustrating at the same time. I know that the stuff I have will all come in handy at "some stage" and the journey of discovery when sorting through the tackle collection is always filled with excitement, however, sometimes I look at it all and bemoan the simpleness of a single outfit and modest clutch of tackle.

Is the excess really needed? Would a simple and more consolidated tackle collection be a wiser choice than a sprawling catalogue of weird and wonderful items? Realistically I have a small number of go to lures which work well, give me confidence and are probably found on the end of my line 95 per cent of the time, so in reality it's quite difficult to justify the volume of items that are used in that 5 per cent of my fishing time. Who am I kidding - being a kid in a candy store is cool, I'm off to play with my toys!

Are you the obsessive compulsive tackle junkie type or do you exercise restraint in your tackle purchases? I’m interested to hear of any weird and wonderful pieces of fishing gear that were bought on a whim, more importantly I'm looking for stuff that I don't know of and you classify as must-have treasure!