plastic storage. you honest opinion

[buzzfrog]

Ok, I have always carried my stuff i use all the time in that free small tackle satchel that Bass master gives you. While it is good to store that many, it seems troublesome to find packs on the water. It sometimes gets to point were I look through em all, then have start pulling out packs to make sure the one im looking for  is there. Which i know  they are. How many of you use plastic plano box . thinking of getting a few of those air tight ones. Do baits dry out?  Just looking for imput on what to do.

[iabass8]

every single bait I use in the boat is in a plano box. I'm a big fan of the red 3 latch waterproof 3740 planos for jigs/cranks/terminal tackle. I just discovered the "deep" 3700 version /w 15 compartments which was a god sent for jigs and cranks. I really like the shallow 3700 plano for certain baits and the regular 3700 for most others. I know exactly what I have and how much I have. I don't have to dig through one zip lock back to get to another zip lock bag and then hope the bait I want is in there. Open up the, for example, craw box, and there they all are. I have SK rodents and Rage bugs that are from the summer still in some planos and they still have the coffee scent and slimy texture as if they were new. I use a lot of the megastrike out of habit so I'm not concerned if they lose their smell anyway. I haven't found any bait dry out. 

[Darren.]

Like iabass8, I, too, store my plastics in boxes.

Though not waterpoof as he uses.

Have gone back and forth with storing them in
their original packaging, placed in gallon zip-lock
bags, but find the box route the easiest -- So Far.

[fullcoupe]

I have plastics that I commonly use in a 3700 as well. I only use a couple variations/colors so it is handy to have, and I don't have to fumble around through bags or binders to find something.

I do have a lot of "one-off" stuff that I'll only throw in certain scenarios or waters, and I keep all of that in a cloth speed bag. I also made these little cardboard dividers to keep specific baits together. It rarely goes with me on the boat - I'll usually take out what I need beforehand and put them in the hard box.

 

[buzzfrog]

so if i keep on deck of boat say a few hours while I fish, with they still stay color or start to change/melt.  sorry if dumb question, I have really never used nothing but bags

 

[tomustang]

I tried the Plano for the soft plastics, it took up more room than the gallon freezer ziplocks. I can organize better with the baggies

[fullcoupe]

7 minutes ago, buzzfrog said:

so if i keep on deck of boat say a few hours while I fish, with they still stay color or start to change/melt.  sorry if dumb question, I have really never used nothing but bags

 

I think if you leave them out in the sun for a long period of time, regardless of what they're in, they'll have a tendency to melt/discolor. If you are worried about that, you could line the inside of the lid with a piece of paper or cardstock - but that sort of defeats the purpose of being able to see through it.

[buzzfrog]

im gonna make a box of the top 5 plastics I use and see how it works.  thanks for all your imput and keep it coming. i love opinions 

 

[papajoe222]

If you're the type that likes to keep plastics in their original packaging, give Flambeau's 1/2 Satchel a look.  It had dividers so you can separate by type, or color and it holds a lot of baits. 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/flambeau-reg-4510-tuff-tainer-reg-super-half-satchel/1316445.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dflambeau%252B1%252F2%252Bsatchel%26x%3D10%26y%3D6%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%252BProducts&Ntt=flambeau+1%2F2+satchel

[corn-on-the-rob]

I loooved the "sealed" plano boxes while they lasted, but they do not use a strong enough plastic on the latches, and with enough cycles, they WILL break. Hopefully they redesign it because it really is awesome.

[Frogfather]

I have to be flexible with my storage because I will Hike to multiple lakes in addition to my home lake where the boat is. All of my bait storage is able to be condensed quickly and easily into my backpack for my travels on and off the boat.  

The deep 3700 are great! I put frogs and cranks in there and it cut down on extra boxes I have to carry. 

All of my plastics are in their original packages in ziplock baggies. I think it's the easiest and most convenient storage method for me. I am able to see the bait I want and I have endless ways of organizing senkos, trailers, color, mend-it/junk, size, and so on. Plus it holds up well to water.

All terminal tackle is in a regular 3700. 

 

[BaitMonkey1984]

4 hours ago, Darren. said:

Like iabass8, I, too, store my plastics in boxes.

Though not waterpoof as he uses.

Have gone back and forth with storing them in
their original packaging, placed in gallon zip-lock
bags, but find the box route the easiest -- So Far.

Like many people, including Darren I have pretty much tried everything out there. 3 years ago I was gifted a tackle backpack that included a few plano 3700s. I never thought I would use it, and I didn't for over a year. I then ran out of room in my tackle boxes (probably was only up to 4 at that point) so I threw a few packages of senkos in the plants. Gradually I had amassed 20+ plants each with a clearly defined and marked baits- green senko, craws, creature baits, terminal tackle. I used to go nuts looking for tackle and now I can find everything in 30 seconds. This is why the pros use this method- it saves time. Time saved looking for baits is more time left for fishing. Also, the plano boxes tend to keep the baits straight, which the gallon bags filled to capacity did not. Boiling water to straighten out tails on flukes all afternoon isn't fun. Two pieces of advice- do not mix elazetch baits in with other baits in the planos- they will react and melt. Secondly, don't be surprised if the plastic softener in the baits slightly warps the plano box dividers. It happens. 

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

I warehouse them in the original bags, then have plastic boxes made up for different rigging or bait types that go to the water with me.  I may use zip-locks to keep colors separated. Most PVC-based soft plastics can leak or bleed chemicals (pthalates perhaps) that can flow through thin plastic baggies so I don't store long term in them. Not all baits have done this. 

I've not seen PVC bait dry up, but I have had ElazTech baits stiffen a bit after a number of years. Oddly, the ones stored in original bags in "the warehouse" have stayed supple while those in the "working bags" stiffened. Heat? Chemical reaction? I don't know.

I've also taken to removing jig heads or weighted hooks from stored baits as the plastics can corrode lead over time. And oxidized lead leaves lead powder behind.

[ww2farmer]

I used to keep my plastics in their original bags and got sick of digging around looking for a bag of what I wanted. I went to keeping them, out of the bags, in plano boxes a few years ago, and am happy. No more bags to dig through, no more empty bags laying all over the boat, and no more opening a pack of new baits to find everything all bent up or mangled. Keeping them neatly in the boxes lets them lay flat and straight, and if I do happen to open a pack and find a few bent up ones, I can lay them flat in the box, and leave the box on the back deck of the boat out of the way on a hot sunny day.  It softens them up and they "straighten out". Having a visual look at what's in each box also tells me what I am running low on, and I can restock them from extra packs that I have back at the house. If the bite is really hot on one bait, I usually have a random empty bag  that I can grab a handfull of the hot baits out of the box, and keep in my pocket so I don't have to keep getting into the boxes every time I need a new bait.

[ThatFishin'Guy]

I have two, two tiered tackle boxes (Plano 3700 Guide Series I believe). One for hard baits and the other for jigs and plastics. I keep my most used plastics that aren't heavily scented in the box and ones that are I keep in their original bag and put them in a pouch on my tackle bag. I haven't had problems with baits drying out either

[Cgolf]

I too use the Plano 4700 guide series double decker boxes and have found that I can get 3 of them in a Plano 3700 bag that I have a couple of. I set the boxes flat  in the bag to help keep the baits straight. I agree with some other posts that leaving baits in the original bags do cause some to be tweaked and need the boiling water treatment. I do sometimes used the original bag for some, especially the newer plastics I have bought, I am running out of room to store more boxes lol. 

The biggest thing for me with the boxes I can pack a wide variety of colors, styled, and sizes in one box, not a large number of each, but the variety is nice. Attached an image of my grub and tube box I never leave home without. 

[buzzfrog]

thanks guys