Tackle Organization

[Wildbillb]

How do you folks organize your tackle in the garage and in the boat?

Crappy weather today and looking for something to do. Couldn't hurt to be a little more organized.

Thanks

[200racing]

lets see:

hooks,weights and swivels

worms

shaky head/ drop shot (tackle and plastic i like for those)

jigs/trailers

rattletraps

buzz and spinner baits

lizards and creatures

soft minnow baits(flukes,swimbait)

jerk baits

crank baits/top water

pan fishing

[Goose52]

My "boat" is a canoe so I don't store any gear in the boat. In the garage, I have most of the in-use tackle in 3600-size boxes. I pick & choose from these 3600s depending on what type of fishing I'll be doing. I have 3600 boxes for:

Cranks 1-8 ft.

Cranks 7-13ft

Cranks 14-20+ft

Lipless cranks

Minnow baits

Topwater

Jigs

Spinnerbaits

Terminal tackle

Misc

I also have 3500-size boxes and other size plastic boxes for swimbaits, in-line spinners, ultralight, other misc stuff and tackle I take when fishing from the bank.

Most soft plastics and new baits are hung from pegboard. Other soft plastics are stored in a small tub. Other stuff is in boxes under the workbench or in a big workbench drawer.

[bassfisherjk]

First off,Awesome setup there Goose52.Very organized.I keep my tackle in boxes in the basement. Not the best setup but it works for me. My boat is a 14 ft. deep-V with no decking so I have no storage in it.The tackle bag I have has one shoe box size plastic bin that stores soft plastics in the factory bags.Then I have two 3600 boxes for hard bait,etc. Space on the boat is tight so I limit what I take each trip.Good Luck.

[deep]

Very cool Goose!

[tomustang]

Seems like everytime I organize our tackle right after, we end up going out and buying more to the point where I have to reorganize again.

[outdoorsman110]

I have 2 built in dressers in my room, one is for clothes and one is for tackle. 6 drawers full of tackleboxes, lure boxes, line, leaders, reels everything hahaha.

[BassHunter954]

My "boat" is a canoe so I don't store any gear in the boat. In the garage, I have most of the in-use tackle in 3600-size boxes. I pick & choose from these 3600s depending on what type of fishing I'll be doing. I have 3600 boxes for:

Cranks 1-8 ft.

Cranks 7-13ft

Cranks 14-20+ft

Lipless cranks

Minnow baits

Topwater

Jigs

Spinnerbaits

Terminal tackle

Misc

I also have 3500-size boxes and other size plastic boxes for swimbaits, in-line spinners, ultralight, other misc stuff and tackle I take when fishing from the bank.

Most soft plastics and new baits are hung from pegboard. Other soft plastics are stored in a small tub. Other stuff is in boxes under the workbench or in a big workbench drawer.

i likey this looks awesome

[WookieeJedi]

I fish out of a kayak, so my organization is kind of important. Back when I fished out of a bass boat, I took everything with me. That consisted of the old amber Plano Magnum and two other bags filled with 3500 boxes. I also had about 7 rods. All of it went on the water.

Now, I have condensed my tackle load into one milk crate that holds the old Magnum and three 3500 boxes. I have my hooks and jigs organized into pill bottles that share a top to make one long storage cylinder. Those either go in the bike bag behind the seat, or in one of the 3500s. I obviously no longer pack all the tackle I own in the boat, instead, I pack enough to get me through the day. I only have enough bullet weights, hooks, jigs, etc. to fish for one day. All of that stuff takes up room, and adds weight. I even only buy black or brown undressed jigs, and keep a bunch of different color skirts in a bag. I only take the hardbaits I think I might need with me for the day.

You start to look at lures differently fishing like this. It makes you appreciate a compact, versatile lure. Rat-L-Traps, spoons, grubs, and blades are lures that can do a lot of different things for you, and they don't take up much room. The kayak has made me a more efficient and smarter angler. The paddle helps keep you in shape, too.

I also carry a maximum of four rods with me, and they mount to a vertical rig attached to the crate, or are kept in horizontal rod holders along the sides when I'm back in the jungle (I can only take three rods like that). You can see my rig in the water in the Show Your Ride thread. I only recently put it up, so it should be on the last page still.

All the other tackle still goes to the lake, it is just stored in the truck or the camper. If I feel like I need a lure left behind badly enough to paddle a few miles back to the truck, then I'll do it. Hasn't happened yet.

[Nodda4me]

My "boat" is a canoe so I don't store any gear in the boat. In the garage, I have most of the in-use tackle in 3600-size boxes. I pick & choose from these 3600s depending on what type of fishing I'll be doing. I have 3600 boxes for:

Awesome setup! Can you take a picture of one of your boxes?

[Diablos]

I have a v hull with very limited storage so I purchased the best tackle bag I could get. Plano Hydro-Flo

I must say this is the best tackle bag I've ever seen. The quality is top notch and durable.

In the garage, I just use the plastic drawers that college kids use from wal-mart

[lavbasser]

I use 12-15 FTO boxes. Most are stored in a V12 bag. I have 3 FTO utility boxes that I use to store baits I use often or what I think I will use that day. One box is for soft plastics, one for hard baits, the other for misc and terminal. I keep these boxes out and in front of me for quick access. I also use one other utility box to store baits I use that day. The soft plastic utility box has only a few baits. I like to keep nearly all of my plastics in the original bags. I will carry a few flukes that I know are perfectly straight, senkos with o-rings, and maybe a few others but none pre-rigged as it rusts the hooks prematurely. These 4 boxes are always out of my bag, the rest stay in my bag. Throughout the day I will take out other boxes from my bag if I find I am using them a lot.

I use a spinnerbait wallot to carry a few dozen spinnerbaits and keep a seperate bag for a handful of spinnerbaits I use most often. All of my plastics, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, spare reel spools and line and other misc stuff are stored in large rectangular rubbermaid contaniers I bought at Walmart. They are just tall enough for larger plastic bags to sit about 80 percent vertical. Because they are only a few inches tall I can carry about 6 of them, 4 under my canoe seat. I never have to worry about my plastics or other stuff sitting in water. In warmer weather you need keep these boxes out of the sun (a towel works fine) as the sun will cook the contents of these containers.

Also, I clean out my utility boxes after every trip. Line and debris is removed from baits and everything is returned to its proper place. This takes time but is a big time saver for your next time out. It prevents your stuff from premature rusting as well.

Also, don’t stack too many hard baits together so you have mult. treble hooks tangled.

I also like to re-supply lost tackle right away after a trip. For ex if I went through 2-3 bags of roboworms I will replace them right away when I get home. If not then sometimes I forget. I may not realize it until the next time I reach for them on the water.

Lastly, I like to keep plastics organized by brand or type. Things get messy on the water. Again, I like to re-organize when I get home so everything is where it should be next time out.

However you organize your tackle make sure you know where everything is.

[whitwolf]

Here's my storage:

[bassh8er]

Here's mine:

Topwaters:

Hard Swimbaits

Spinnerbaits

Shallow cranks

Medium cranks

Lucky Crafts

Deep cranks

Rattle baits / Jerk baits

[bassh8er]

Jigs

Frogs

Buzzbaits / Chatterbaits

How I store my plastics

An example of what's inside each bin

[Wildbillb]

bassh8er,

I like your style!!!!

[Rangerphil]

Bassh8er I love the way you store your plastics!

[Nodda4me]

bassh8er, nice I think you spelt creatures wrong?

[Nodda4me]

Not as much as bassh8er or Goose52's 800-1200 dollar wall but hey, don't need much if what I have catches fish!

My New Crankbaits

My Tacklebox (where mostly everything else is)

[Nodda4me]

My Old Tacklebox

Where I Store Line

Where I Store Rods (4 of my main rods are on the boat)

[Bass Dude]

OCD runs wild on this forum !!!! Good job on the organization...I would go crazy putting the rubberbands on all my crankbaits like bassh8er!!!

[bassh8er]

bassh8er, nice I think you spelt creatures wrong?

Not quite, but thanks. Most of the "Creature" baits that I use are GY Kreatures.

[bassh8er]

OCD runs wild on this forum !!!! Good job on the organization...I would go crazy putting the rubberbands on all my crankbaits like bassh8er!!!

Thanks, and my wife would definitely agree with the OCD part; I just got tired of not being able to find the baits that I was looking for which resulted in me buying multiples of a lot of the exact same bait, which resulted in the need for much more storage

I got the rubberband idea from an In-Fisherman episode and I haven't dealt with a tangle since.

[WookieeJedi]

They make tiny rubber bands that will work for your lures. Look in the ladies' hair stuff at wallyworld. Having little girls has advantages.

[Wildbillb]

What about using bread twisty ties to keep the treble hooks from getting tangled?