Milk crate for kayak

[Mezrebel outdoors]

I sure this topic has been discussed hundreds of times before, but problem is storage on my kayak. First of all I love fishing from a kayak it’s so fun. I have taken the time and sorted through the lures that I want to take on the kayak. I have a bag of plastics and 3 small Plano boxes for hard baits, and some assorted tools. All of this is neatly packed into a kayak crate(milk crate). The one problem I have is attaching the crate to the kayak. My kayak is a simple lifetime Kokanee 106 from Walmart. It’s a tandem style kayak and does not have any tank wells. Any one have any suggestions on how to affix the crate nicely onto the kayak? I am completely stumped and everything I have tried the crate just doesn’t want to sit nice and flat on the kayak.

[Darren.]

Looking at that yak online there are not a lot of options to secure

a crate; however, if you are fishing alone and have no "tandem"

rider with you, you might be able to secure it with some bungie

to the two points behind the front seat (I can't tell what they are

from the images I'm looking at), and the two latch points of the 

rear seat.

[Mezrebel outdoors]

Thanks Darren that is something to keep in mind. I been doing some thinking myself and in my head came up with an idea of building something out of Pvc, cuz the pvc is light. I don’t mind drilling a couple holes if I have to. But I’m just looking for any suggestions before I commit to it. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[Hower08]

My kayak has a long ass bungee cord Iver the rear well area that criss crosses I just run two parts of it through the crate to hold it. Never had an issue

[kjfishman]

Instead of a milk crate I use a soft  tackle bag that I reinforced the sides with some thin fiber board riveted in place.

[JLBBass]

[Mezrebel outdoors]

I should have done this before but here is a picture from google of my exact kayak. The circle is where I would sit without a tandem. I’m thinking of building some sort of rack to hold the crate. But that’s just an idea right now. I’m still curious as to what others have done with their kayaks and all of you who have been commenting so far have given me a lot of food for thought so I appreciate them as well. Thank you!

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

Not sure but it appears to me that you might be able to screw a couple of padeyes into the gunnels directly aft of the forward seat.  You can buy a pack of ‘em for $5 - $10 at DSG or any local kayak dealer. Then use bungee cords to secure the crate to the padeyes.  Not a bad place to secure a paddle leash as well.  Just a thought.  Good luck!

 

Edit: I’d suggest putting a little silicon on the screws before installing them.

[J Francho]

Get a pad eye kits, rivet gun, and some bungee, and put it where a passenger would fit.

[Alex from GA]

Like others have said a soft tackle bag will go almost anywhere and they come is different sizes and configurations.

[Subaqua Adinterim]

On 3/29/2019 at 9:22 AM, Alex from GA said:

Like others have said a soft tackle bag will go almost anywhere and they come is different sizes and configurations.

^^^This

 

You do not need a milk crate.  I started out using one, and found it added more weight, as it was full of a lot of stuff that I never used, and made things less aerodynamic (caught more wind); so mine now sits on a shelf in the garage.  

 

I determined which lures worked the best and pared down, so I take a few plano type boxes for the hard baits and a couple zip loc bags for the bags of soft baits, hooks and sinkers.  I keep the stuff that I might need to use (or experiment with) behind me in a small soft sided tackle bag which I put inside a plastic bag that keeps it dry.  I also keep my lunch and extra snacks and drinks here in a small soft sided insulated lunch box sized container. 

 

The stuff that I know I'm going to use: bags of select soft plastics, hooks and weights and a spool of line for leader are stored in a one gallon zip loc bag; and the select few hard baits, jigs and misc, other items/terminal tackle in one plano type box. This is up front with me.  

 

Your net(if you take one)can be clipped on the rope attached to the handle and stored right behind your seat.  If you take additional rods (I usually take one or two) you can mount some tracks and put rod holders on the side, or it looks like with your open design (which I also have in my hybrid canoe) just lay them flat behind you or have one of the extras laying flat in the front.

 

Just one more thing to add for now.  A cool idea I got from someone here on this site - is to get a bath caddy.  This is something that you can get a Walmart for a few bucks and it really helps organize and keep the things that you really need right in front of you.  I put needle nose pliers, hook sharpener, lure scent, snacks, water bottle, as well as lures that I have changed out in the small open compartments of this thing.  This is something that I highly recommend.

 

Keep in mind that your space is limited - you're paddling around in something that has not much more room than a Mercury space capsule - so pare down and take less.

 

With less stuff, you'll be fishing more and not wasting time messing with your stuff.  You'll also be catching more fish and having more fun.  Good luck