How Do You Organize Your Tackle

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Trying to figure out how I want to separate my cranks, jigs, spinnerbaits, etc. What kind of system do you guys use?

[Jig Man]

I keep mine is size specific and bait specific boxes.

 

 

[lynyrdsky1]

Im more of a disorganized organized person haha. I keep all my plastics in the original packs and keep the packs in a small bag I have labeled with "bag-o-plastics". I keep all my hard baits in different plano boxes put those boxes in an old back back. Works well for me as a non boater when you need to keep everything tight, nice, and easy to get to when you are in someone elses boat.

[dulouz]

I keep mine is size specific and bait specific boxes.

That is essentially what I use, except on a smaller scale. I have one 3700 for cranks, 1 for twisters, 1 for worms/creature/tubes/frogs, 1 for spinner/buzz baits, 1 for terminal. I have several smaller boxes for topwaters, crappie jigs, jerkbaits, and bass jigs, and other misc. lures. This all goes into a Cabela's tackle bag.

[A-Rob]

3700 for my cranks

Big freezer zip lock bags for all my bags of craws/creatures/flukes/worms/senkos/frogs etc

[Goose52]

I standardized on 3600 boxes - the smaller size makes them more manageable in the canoe or when carrying a few on the bank. Plastics are left in their original bags. For carrying the 3600s, I have an open-topped tote (Cabelas) that holds 6, and 2 tackle bags - one holds 3 3600s, the other holds 2. In the canoe, I usually just have the 6-box tote. Other times, I can mix and match the tote and 2 bags to carry from 2 to 11 3600s.

I have 3600 boxes for:

cranks (3 boxes) - organized by depth

lipless cranks

topwater

jigs & spoons

spinnerbaits/buzzbaits

minnow baits (2 boxes) - rapalas, rebels, jerkbaits, etc.

terminal tackle

a couple of misc boxes

Then, I have some 3500-size boxes that hold smaller swimbaits, in-line spinners, and some other stuff.

I've got an empty 3600 handy for when I want to just mix-and match baits and configure a box for the particular plan I have for that day.

There's lots of ways to organize tackle. How you do it kinda depends on how much stuff you have and how much of it you want to take with you when you go fishing, and whether you are fishing from the bank, a boat, or both.

[SirSnookalot]

My disorganization is perfectly organized. My freshwater fishing is all shore and only fish moving baits. I only have about 20 or so different lures and found that's all I need so everything is just laying on table. When I go out to fish I put a couple of lures in a old rapala box and stick them in my pocket.

I keep no saltwater gear at home ( except rods, reels and line for replacement), it's all in my car. I use a fanny pack as my day bag with lure boxes, I actually have quite a bit of stuff in there and keep a lot of back lures in the car.

[tnbassfisher]

My system is a little different since I fish from a kayak. But I use a milk crate in the back tankwell to hold all of my tackle. I have 4 3600 and one of the 3700 Terminal Tackle organizers. The four 3600's are dividing into jigs, shallow-medium cranks, medium-deep cranks, and another with swimbaits/frogs/just kinda a box where stuff goes if I need another spot. Then I have a small box that only has one divider that I use to store spinnerbaits. My plastics go into a medium-sized tackle binder and sometimes I carry a small tubberware container kept in the hull of the kayak.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Pretty much like Jigman.

[Fishes in trees]

Cool. One good thing about winter coming on is we get all these threads about tackle organization. All tackle organization is temporary. It lasts for a while, then you start using it and things get moved from box to box and after a while you have tackle chaos again.

Spare tackle organization is another thing. I keep nearly all of my stuff in an unheated out building, so mouse proofing is a concern. All soft plastics are kept in some sort of hard plastic box. Hard baits are sorted by type and kept in plastic boxes. Recently I've been sorting different boxes in to clear plastic totes, mostly as an anti-dust measure.

Sometime in December or January, I'll get all the gear out of my boat and put it in totes for over the winter storage. That's when I'll check all the tools, safety equipment and so forth, stuff that should stay in the boat all the time. I am frequently amazed at how sockets and nut drivers, that are only in the boat because they fit a certain specific nut, get misplaced. The bait monkey has a cousin who specializes in tools and hardware.

Anyway, I think these tackle organizing threads are cool, mostly because I never get completely done and it is never completely right.

[tnbassfisher]

It also lets us cure a little bit of cabin fever and see all the stuff everyone else has that we wish we had.

[JIGFISHERMAN.]

ideally I would organize tackle by lake. Even if lots of the stuff carried over to other lakes, each lake had it's own. Then I could have all my 3700's in a carrier and pull the entire thing and change, based on the lake I'm fishing.

Might even do something like that in the boat....Make it easy to pull a group of 3700's at once.

Also, I'm interested in how everyone organizes there crankbaits.

[roadwarrior]

It starts for me with a small storage room, turned fishing retreat, in the garage. Rods and reels are

displayed upright on wall racks. On low shelving I store "reserves" in Plano boxes, organized by depth.

Just above the shelving are peg boards for bags of soft plastics on one wall, a display hutch for hard

baits, extra line and terminal tackle.

Two hard tackleboxes contain line, terminal tackle, oil and tools that I carry in the truck on big trips

My main bag is a XPS 3600 for everything I might want on a trip. Then finally, a small G. Loomis worm bag

that I have converted to hold everything I will fish on a given day. Generally, this is all I take on a boat.

Sometimes I take all my rods on a big trip, but I have a carry-on for the 6-8 I plan to use. Right now I only

carry two on the Tennessee River. On lakes this winter I might carry 4, but the range of lures or techniques

is more limited in the winter.

So, starting from a fairly large base, the amount of stuff I actually take on the water is small. I also carry

a man-bag which is stored out of the way. Rain gear, scale, sun glasses, lure retriever, sun tan lotion, etc.

When I move to the back of the boat, things are neat and clean.

[00 mod]

It starts for me with a small storage room, turned fishing retreat, in the garage. Rods and reels are

displayed upright on wall racks. On low shelving I store "reserves" in Plano boxes, organized by depth.

Just above the shelving are peg boards for bags of soft plastics on one wall, a display hutch for hard

baits, extra line and terminal tackle.

Two hard tackleboxes contain line, terminal tackle, oil and tools that I carry in the truck on big trips

My main bag is a XPS 3600 for everything I might want on a trip. Then finally, a small G. Loomis worm bag

that I have converted to hold everything I will fish on a given day. Generally, this is all I take on a boat.

Sometimes I take all my rods on a big trip, but I have a carry-on for the 6-8 I plan to use. Right now I only

carry two on the Tennessee River. On lakes this winter I might carry 4, but the range of lures or techniques

is more limited in the winter.

So, starting from a fairly large base, the amount of stuff I actually take on the water is small. I also carry

a man-bag which is stored out of the way. Rain gear, scale, sun glasses, lure retriever, sun tan lotion, etc.

When I move to the back of the boat, things are neat and clean.

I've seen the room....quite impressive!

Sometimes he takes all of his rods on small trips too.....ok maybe not all of them but about 13 to be exact!

But it is very organized and didnt even get in our way in my 16 foot boat with my 8 combos! LOL

Jeff

[Red]

I use two bags. One holds four standard plano boxes. Jigs in one, spinnerbaits/topwaters in one, shallow cranks/jerkbaits in another, and mid to deep diving cranks in the last one. The second bag is about the same size however there are no boxes. I store all my soft plastics in original packaging here, kinda neatly placed in the bag like a filing cabinet. This makes it very easy to find what I am looking for. I organize them by brand. Tools, terminal tackle, etc etc are stored in the smaller side pockets between the two bags. Any extra baits are kept in miscellaneous plano boxes and/or Walmart bags in my closet.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

I ended up getting a Plano Softsider Fishouflage model 3375. It came with four 3750 boxes, and seven pockets, plus I bought a 3500 series box to store my terminal tackle in (stored it in the front little zippered part). My plastics got stored in the main front zipper and in one of the side pockets. I really liked how jigfisherman labeled his boxes so I stole err... borrowed his idea . Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. The bag is big enough for all of my stuff -- it even has a neat-o zippered part inside of the bag for my scent. Plus, it has that sweet camo look - who could resist!?

[Alpster]

I keep over a dozen 3700 boxes loaded with all my baits & rigs and also have several 3600 boxes with just jigs.

I transfer to one or more of my "take along" bags what I will use for the big trip or day.

Ronnie

[FL_Sharpshooter]

I keep over a dozen 3700 boxes loaded with all my baits & rigs and also have several 3600 boxes with just jigs.

I transfer to one or more of my "take along" bags what I will use for the big trip or day.

Ronnie

Wow, nice collection you have there!

[Goose52]

.......Also, I'm interested in how everyone organizes their crankbaits.

I organize by depth. At present, I have 3 boxes: shallow cranks (~0-8 ft), mid cranks (~8 to 13 ft), deep cranks (~14-30ft). Some cranks overlap those depth breaks and I just put them in the box where I think I would most use them (shallow/mid/deep). I'm trying not to buy any more cranks so hopefully I won't have to expand to a 4th box.

If you are a big-time cranker, you might consider a Special Mate box by Trinity Industries. They have a couple of crank boxes that hold a whopping 120 cranks each! "Micro" on this board posted some pics of the Special Mate boxes - they are very cool if you have a lot of cranks.

[joebills78]

WOW!! Some of you guys are actually organized! I thought my system of throwing the Gander bag full of stuff into a storage area on the boat and then opening each bag as I needed stuff was working . I guess I need to get organized. It appears that that is the way to go .

[whitwolf]

I take what i need for a particular trip and or seasonaly.

[gobig]

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/anal-retentive-fishing/1349689/

[FL_Sharpshooter]

I take what i need for a particular trip and or seasonaly.

..and where is your store located?

[catchnm]

I do mine according to the same principle as Alpster. I haven't reched the point of having as much or the total orginization the way he has yet. I do try to keep eevrything seperated by type, deep cranks, shallow cranks, squarebills, jigs, senkos, craws, jerkbaits, etc., and then pull and carry as I might think I need for the day. I do wish a had me one them big 20' floating tackleboxes though. I could carry all my gear in one of them.

[Sam]

I decided to do something different when fishing tournaments.

1. I have one tackle box with the cranks, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, jigs, pigs, topwaters, etc. so I don't have to look in various tackle boxes for a favorite lure.

2. I put various plastics divided up by color and type (Senkos, trick worms, finesse worms, Rage Tails, Shaky Heads, Drop Shot, etc., in gallon freezer bags.

By doing this saves me time and aggravation trying to find that one bait that I know will work (ha ha).

It also makes me prepare for the tournaments by thinking about what I am going to throw on what techniques.

Of course, I have other baits as backups in the boat just in case.

When I fish ponds, I take an old tackle box with a few baits since I will be carrying them with me, unless it is at the double secret pond and then I load the back of the SUV with the house!!!!!