MICHAEL NEAL: Five Underrated Accessories That Belong on Every Bass Boat
When it comes to prepping for the start of tournament bass fishing season, we all get consumed with things like lures, line, rods, reels and electronics. Rightly so, since these are the primary tools of the job. However, there are a few items I stock in the boat each year that are underrated necessities – accessories I take for granted but accomplish critical tasks at pivotal times.
These items are sort of like a good field goal kicker in football: they spend a lot of time on the bench, but they perform small miracles at the right time to help the winning team.
While stocking up my boat this off-season, I kept a list of these quiet, overlooked, must-have accessories that don’t get the credit they deserve.
Rod Sleeves
Rod sleeves are a perfect example of an underappreciated fishing accessory. Thanks to TRC Covers, the days of fighting with tangled rods in rod lockers or in the back of trucks are officially over.
You don’t truly appreciate the role of a rod cover until, let’s say, the fish come up schooling very unexpectedly and your favorite schooling lure is under that heaping pile of rods in the rod locker. Being able to effortlessly slide the rod out, slip the cover off and fire a cast out there in a matter of seconds to score a couple of extra keepers is borderline miraculous.
Years ago, I would have missed that small schooling window because it would have taken me five minutes to wrangle a rod out of the locker.
Lure Retriever
In the same way a rod sleeve can save the day, a lure retriever can be worth its weight in gold at the right time. Every year, I stock several Big Bite Baits Pocket Whoppers in my boat, and they’ve saved me hundreds of dollars in lures in a single season.
The Pocket Whopper ($4.99) is a small, compact, efficient lure retriever – or “plug knocker” – that pays for itself the very first time you use it. The Pocket Whopper isn’t on a long pole or tied to a bundle of cord. Instead, this unique retriever is a 4-ounce weight that simply snaps onto your line and zips down into the water to knock your plug free, usually on the first drop.
Obviously, saving money on lost lures is a huge benefit of a lure retriever. But for me, its role goes far beyond that. We all have those “magic” crankbaits that, for whatever reason, just flat catch fish. You might have six others just like it, but this particular one just has the right mojo. Now imagine being in a derby and you’re crushing them on your magic plug, but then it gets hung up.
Trust me on this: breaking off that magic bait and having to tie on another one that’s not the magic bait can cause a complete momentum collapse in your day. If you have a lure retriever handy, you can slide it down there, get your magic lure back, never miss a beat and keep catching fish.
Hot Foot
Having a T-H Marine Hot Foot is something you never even think about until its time to run big waves. Nothing in the bass boat market has given anglers better control of their craft in big water than a Hot Foot. Being able to keep both hands on the wheel while goosing and letting off the throttle with your foot allows you to safely “climb up” and “surf down” 5-footers without spearing waves.
Tool Holder
I literally can’t function in a bass boat without a tool holder where I keep pliers, side cutters, braid scissors, markers, dyes and glue. The tool holder is the epicenter of my on-the-water office; I need to be able to get to my essential tools quickly and efficiently.
In addition, I also rely heavily on a lure holder called a Tackle Titan on the underside of my locker lid to quickly access and stash lures I’m trying and trading out during the day.
While these holders might seem like a common-sense accessories, I’m surprised at the number of anglers I see who have various pliers, scissors and lures scattered all over the boat floor. I’d go crazy!
Most tournament-level bass boats come with some kind of tool holders installed. In addition, these days there are so many excellent aftermarket tool holders and accessory trays available to customize your own tool station. No matter if you have a kayak, canoe, johnboat, pontoon or even a paddleboard, you can find something that fastens to your craft in some way to hold your essential tools in an organized fashion.
Glass Cleaner
These days we have so much glass in our boats, from big-screen electronics to phones to iPads and even sunglasses. A combination of water, sweat, sunscreen and road grit always seems to find a way to our screens, leaving behind spots and grime that distort visibility.
Sometimes a frustrating day of fishing is only made more frustrating by not being able to see things clearly. Grimy glasses combined with spotted screens and high glare from the sun all come together at the right time to blur things almost to the point of being disorienting. This is exactly when the small miracles of a little bottle of Wave Away glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth can literally give you a whole new perspective on your fishing day.
Several times during period breaks on the Bass Pro Tour and MLF Cup events, I’ve taken a few minutes to Wave Away everything: sunglasses and all my depth finder screens. By clearing up my vision of things, it also clears my head and gives me a new outlook on the day right when I need it most.
And that’s exactly what overlooked accessories do: keep your head clear and your fishing momentum going in a positive direction.