Plano Elite Crankbait boxes and continued organization

[Jeff H]

Just bought a pair of these Plano Elite series crankbait boxes in attempt to unclutter my shallows and mids.  Wow! Very nice vs standard 3700 boxes and worth every penny for me.  Now I'm going to get one for the bigger deep divers and be done with it.  Problem is they hold so many baits so my original goal of reducing number of lures I'm carrying isn't working out, but definitely more organized.

 

So here's where ya'll can help me out...looking for ideas for jerkbaits, topwaters and other treble hook lures as well.  If you have any unique storage practices I'm listening!  I've got quite a few jerkbaits so it'll end up being 2 boxes 1 up to 1/2 oz and the other over 1/2 oz.

 

[Fishes in trees]

The best crank bait storage boxes ever were marketed by Bass Pro Shop, but they were discontinued several years ago. (2007 or 2008?)  They were double sided boxes with V shaped troughs in them and they would hold a lot of baits and the baits were easily accessible.   I have a dozen of those boxes and they are all 8 or more years old.  4 of those boxes make the traveling team and serve as on board crank bait storage.  The rest hold a lot of back up cranks and are stored inside totes in my fishing shed.   I have no clue as to why BPS discontinued that style of box.   

 

Currently your best option is to bite the bullet and buy as many 3700 size med or large crank storage boxes as you may need.  That's what I had to do when the BPS option was discontinued.  As long as you're buying boxes, buy enough that you can separate them by brand, action, however.

 

Me, I have 1 for the large size pointers, 2 for reg size pointers, 1 for small pointers, 1 for stases, 2 for Rogues, 1 for Bomber Long A's and another 3 or 4 for one of baits that I've accumulated over the years.

Oh yeah, 3 or 4 for various brands/sizes of Rapala stick baits.  It is pretty easy to get several hundred dollars tied up in crank bait on board and long term storage.  Not that I bought all those boxes at once.   Just here and there you get one or two and it adds up over time.   Regular 3700 size boxes will work but be mindful that the more the different baits rub up against each other, over time the quality of the finishes will be diminishes.    Sometimes that is good, i.e. a scuffed up crank will turn into a unique fish catcher.   Most of the times it isn't and all it does is scuff up the paint on all your cranks.

[tander]

I just use the 3700 boxes, I have shallow, medium, deep, extra deep, topwater,frogs, jerkbait, lipless, all in different boxes.

[Scarborough817]

i use the medium crank box for my deep divers and medium divers as well as jerkbaits

[Jeff H]

Thank you for the replies guys!  I've just got so much (hesitant to use the term "too much") stuff that I need to figure out a better system than trying to pack it all into the boat.  I rotate rods/reels when needed so I'm going to do the same with tackle.  Last year on my final day out i unloaded everything I didn't need for the day and the boat picked up a few mph because of it.

 

Yep....buying more boxes for sure, all the old ones are getting replaced with newer, better, improved designs.

 

[blckshirt98]

The Plano crankbait containers are amazing.  One tip is try using hook bonnets so you don't have to worry about hooks scratching the finish on other baits.  I use the Owner hook bonnets and I can usually fit 1-2 extra baits per slot.

[KDW96]

Dont know if youd be interested Jeff,

 

But i have 4 or 5 of the 3600 size. If they will work, you can have them sir. You can get 2 per slot, works nice.

[Jeff H]

Rusty,

 

Thank you kindly for the offer but I'd already ordered a bunch more of the 3700's.  For now I'm good!