How are you storing your tackle?

[WVKayakFisher]

Every winter I sit down and try to reorganize my tackle in a way that makes sense and I've yet to come across a method I LIKE. I've got shelves out the yin yang that hold everything from minnow buckets to kayak accessories and everything in between, but I can't come up with a good tackle storage system. Basically, 99% of my fishing is in the kayak, I do NOT like to take a lot of tackle in the kayak, and I like to be able to grab and go quickly. By "not a lot of tackle" I mean I want it to fit inside a crate.

I do, generally, have stuff sorted at a macro level like this:

Saltwater
Freshwater
Kayak Accessories

Then I've got storage boxes. The storage boxes are, generally, "stuff that gets used regularly" and "stuff that doesn't get used regularly." Inside those are plano boxes and ziploc bags by "general" type---deep crank/large crank/spoon/topwater/frogs/catfish/jigheads/weights/flukes/craws/senkos/tubes/neds/grubs/creatures/panfish. I've got hooks in prescription bottles and that seems to work very well for me.

I still run into issues. I forget about stuff that's tucked into a box. I constantly put my rod holders/scuppers/whatever into a random box and have to dig for them. Then there's dry bags and phone boxes and such too. Last year I bought a small shoulder bag that works for about 90% of my kayak trips, it holds a ton of plastics and a small plano box or two of whatever. Still, storage is a nightmare because I feel like if I can't SEE the stuff I don't wanna dig to it. Last year I bought a TON of new cranks and I used almost zero of them because I can't figure out how to sort/store them. Then the logical questions. Ima Roumba is a topwater frog wakebait. Does it go in topwater? Does it go in frogs? Should I forget that stuff and just keep a box of "most used"? But then when will I cycle in other stuff...

I thought about just getting back to basics and eliminating all the stuff I'm not good with or don't know how to use well---the cranks and such, and then I caught three PB's last year on gear I'd had for a while but never tried, so now I'm infected.

Show me your setups!

[Mark]

WVKayakFisher,

This is a good topic. Thank you for starting it. I know your dilemma precisely. I go through the same thing.

When I started kayak fishing I purchased a number of Plano Waterproof Storage Boxes. Mostly, I purchased the 3600 series...they are about 10 by 7 inches. I also bought smaller ones, 3500 series perhaps, that are 9 by 5 inches.

As my collection of lures grew, so did my number of boxes. I sorted my lures by type in these boxes and stored them in my garage in old kitchen cabinets fastened to my garage's walls:

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Here's a look at the contents of a box of jigs and one of soft plastics as they are presently stored:

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I also have boxes with crankbaits and poppers. And I have them with flies sorted by type.

I used to take each box I may potentially use on the water with me in my Revo. I have a BlackPak and I can carry up to 6 boxes but I rarely brought more than 3 with me.

I soon learned that carrying that many boxes was overkill. I rarely change lures on the water because I carry 2 to 4 rods, each with a different lure, and I certainly didn't need to carry hundreds of lures with me on a 3 or 4 hour outing.

Now I combine what I want into one Plano box:

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Above I have jigs, bucktails, soft plastics, spinners, crankbaits and poppers in one box. I can go after stripers for hours with just that one box. If I want to target perch or pickerel, I can carry another box, usually the smaller Plano box, with downsized lures.

I like to fly fish and I have a two boat boxes for my flies. I have them organized by Fresh and Tidal waters and yes, there is overlap. That's inevitable. In my Revo, which I reserve for bigger water, I usually carry a box that looks like this in my BlackPak when I fly fish:

IMG_0624.jpg IMG_0625.jpg

That's more flies than I could ever use on a single outing. But they take up little space, and of course they are very light to carry.

Here's a peek inside my BlackPak loaded for a typical outing:

IMG_0627 (2).jpg

Note the larger Utility Box on the right. I carry my license, tools, rope, leader spool, etc. in that.

In my Ultimate 12, which I reserve for small water, I travel very light. I have a small government issue tool bag (available on-line and at surplus stores) that I use for a boat bag. I tuck it under my left leg on trips.

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I can place 3 or 4 of the small Plano boxes in the tool bag, plus a double sided fly box:

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I can customize the contents of the boxes depending on whether I am fishing for stripers or perch in tidal creeks or pickerel and bass in ponds.

I keep other kayak accessories, like my rod holders, shoes, etc. in a milk crate on my garage floor near my kayaks.

If I was starting over, I would have purchased fewer Plano Waterproof boxes in favor of standard Plano (or other brand) tackle boxes. The non-waterproof boxes are cheaper and my inventory of waterproof boxes are mainly for garage storage now, not on-the-water use. But it's good to have extras to customize for specific trips.

I look forward to seeing what others do.

[WVKayakFisher]

Mark, thanks for the reply. You do, basically, EXACTLY what I do except that I don't keep soft plastics in plano boxes, preferring the bags they come in. I also can't deal with having tons of stuff on the water, even though I've got a relatively big kayak. I've got no blackpak but I do have a normal crate, and it looks basically exactly how yours looks, lol. I've got way more boxes than that at home though, and not everything sorted into boxes---but I like the idea of the smaller boxes (I too prefer the waterproof 3500's to the larger, although I've found that most of those sizes fit under my seat just fine but I also don't tend to change gear too much.

[silasvirus82]

I keep two sets of Plano waterproof boxes ready to go, one set for freshwater, one set for bay/saltwater. Within each set are four waterproof boxes, two 3700s, one 3600, and one 3500. The two larger (3700) boxes are designated for soft plastics and lures/spoons. The medium sized 3600s are for jigs and spinners, and the smallest 3500s are for live bait. Each set is stocked with regional items, and all my other tackle is stored in larger tackleboxes that always stay home. If I'm going somewhere with different target species than we have here locally, I swap out items accordingly from my stay-at-home collection. On my boat, the two smaller boxes fit in the square hatch under my legs with room to spare, and the two larger boxes either go in a crate or under my seat if my livewell is in the rear cargo area. I would eliminate my crate entirely and just store them under my seat always, but I use 4 standup rod holders on either the crate or livewell. Also, I could probably eliminate one box from each set if I wanted to, but those 4 fit nicely no matter what else I decide to bring along, so no need to downsize.

[bunnielab]

I will post my shame;

It gets cleaned up about every other month, then slides back to filthy in an endless cycle. I pack tackle "kits" into 3600 boxes, sometimes based on a specific presentation/lure or for a specific combo. This lets me just grab a few boxes and head out the door. I usually only carry a single 3600 when on foot and one per combo when in my yak.

[CHOC]

Honestly, 2 Plano boxes for me. I’m a minimalist when it comes to fishing. There’s so much complexity in life, I prefer to keep it as simple as possible with this particular obsession. I do pour my own jigs and I hang them on a shelf in the shed so there is some overflow there, and there are a few bags of plastics floating around on my shelf near where I store my kayaks. Other than that, I have a box for jig heads and plastics and a box for plugs/spoons/etc. My jig box has jigs that range from 1/2 oz to 1 1/2 oz as I fish primarily for striped bass. My other Plano has plugs for the most part. 1/3 of them dive deep, 1/3 are medium deep and 1/3 are shallow divers. Lastly, I have a few mini-umbrella rigs that I made and a few Chesapeake Rigs made by Alan Battista hanging up on the near the kayaks. One of my poles is usually dragging one of those at all times during Spring and Fall.

[baitball]

In my constant struggle to downsize tackle storage, I have found it best (i.e. what works for me) to have tackle boxes laid out according to the medium in which I plan to apply my craft: “Kayak Fishing”, “Boat Fishing”, “Surf Fishing”, “Freshwater/Shad/Perch Fishing”.

For example, the small handful of Plano waterproof boxes I have labeled “Kayak Fishing” contain an assortment of jig heads, metal spoons, or hard plastic lures. The soft plastic trailers I would use with these jig heads are kept permanently on the kayak (out of direct sunlight) in their original plastic bags. I usually carry no more than one ‘yellow’ Plano box for my jig heads and two small ‘red’ Plano boxes for my metal spoons and hard plastic lures during a kayak trip.

I will add that my rod quiver has a similar caste system. I have: “kayak rods”, “boat rods”, “surf rods”, and “freshwater rods”. I keep them rigged and ready to be used on a moment’s notice.

Like Mark mentioned, there is bound to be overlap when using this method. Specifically, since I fish for striper from both the kayak and from a boat, I tend to have similar stuff in each of the boxes. My rationale is this: I prefer to have overlap than be searching frantically the night before a trip for a particular lure, or license, or jig head, or soft plastic trailer etc… (I’ve been there, done that, don’t like it).

Where I struggle now is how to thin the herd of all the “extra” stuff I’ve acquired over the years. I have storage tubs lining my garage walls full of this extra stuff, but everytime I feel like I’m emotionally ready to part with it, I find myself going back to a tub and recycling an old item. Frustrating and satisfying all at the same time.

BL: Find the handful of lures that work for you in your chosen medium, and stick with those. If you ignore the hype and the constant marketing barrage, you will be able to significantly reduce your tackle inventory.

[Mark]

There has been excellent input here. We each seek our own ways to minimize what we carry on the water drawing from a large inventory we keep at home. The next step in my kayak evolution is to reduce the rods I carry without feeling unprepared. Since I carry few tackle boxes, I really do not need my BlackPak or the milk crate I use in my Ultimate to hold lures and flies. But I do need them to carry my rods. I can put 5 rods on my BlackPak and 4 on my crate. However, on my trips I may not touch one or two of them. Right now it's a psychological thing. I know they're there and that's comforting. But I could easily retie...after all, I have the necessary lures and flies with me.

[bunnielab]

I am trying to hold the line at no more than four rods with me in the yak. Most of my fishing is for freshwater bass and I feel like I can (with enough research and preplanning) fish any presentation needed with four rods. Most all of my rods are "all around" so I have a lot of flexibility in what presentations I can have tied on at one time. When I bank fish I carry a single rod, but I can still be pretty flexible in what lures I have on hand without carrying 15lbs of tackle with me.

This is an example of one of my kits, I assembled this one over the fall to use with a M/F casting combo. It's mainly shallow cranks, small jigs, and some topwaters and a spinnerbait. The bottom compartment is a jumble of used plastics I threw in on a whim.

I have a dozen or so of these boxes that I am forever packing and repacking as the seasons and my obsessions change. It's beyond fussy, but now that I don't have a huge rolling toolbox at work to fuss over, it serves to sooth that particular itch. It does make keeping organized a little hard as I have terminal tackle scattered around all over, but I keep a small assortment of weights and hooks in my tackle sling/PFD, so I have never been really caught short.

[WVKayakFisher]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in! If you don't mind a long post, I'll tell you a funny story:

I've been using Walmart Pay this year because they match local prices and I don't have a single quality grocery store in my area, and then all the "savings" get added to a walmart gift card that i use mostly for tackle. Anyway, I have the app on my phone for this reason. This past weekend I went to the new local superstore "Sportsman's Warehouse" to buy a stack of the 3600 waterproof boxes. I got there and they were almost $10 apiece. I pulled out the walmart app and they were available for pickup today at the walmart across the road for $4.90. So...to walmart I went.

Only I get to the walmart and they're $8 apiece. So I show the guy the app screen and he tells me he has to call a manager. She comes back and isn't very nice---and believe me, I'm being NICE, that she can't match the price in the app unless "I can order it online." I'm like..."This is online, this is your app, saying these are available today at this store for $4.90" She finally gets me to understand that I have to be able to order it on walmart.com and have it SHIPPED TO ME AT THAT PRICE in order to match the price in the store, that the price doesn't reflect the actual price on the shelf. So I point out that instead, I can just buy it with the app, select pickup, and let her employees pick them, label them, sort them, and package them for me...for $4.90. She agrees that yes, this is my other option. (My mind boggles.) I'm like "ok, I'll just do that then. Thanks." So then she says "Well I can match this since it's like $2, I'm not even sure why that's worth your time, but I can match this." I was like "I planned to buy several". So anyway she says I can buy however many I like and she'll match the $4.90 but I shouldn't ever expect to be able to do it on something more expensive. Whatever lady. So...I got a big stack of boxes for $4.90. Anyway--this led me on a search and APPARENTLY, just FYI, Walmart's app/website will give you significantly lower prices for local free pickup than the store offers. I wound up buying a bunch of sporting goods this way. I actually bought my son a BB gun for christmas and a tube of bb's, I paid like $21 total for both, in-store price like $34. NO IDEA why they're doing that, but keep it in mind. LOTS of sporting goods are cheaper in the app. Anyway...


So I took home my new boxes and got out all my crates, boxes, bags, etc. Unloaded everything. I managed to downsize dramatically by more efficient sorting and packaging, way more than I expected to. I wound up with something of a mish-mash of the ideas here, most boxes are lure specific (deep cranks, for example) some are super specific (swimbait hooks with weighted heads), and some are multis (catfish). All my non-weighted, non-specialty hooks are in their own empty, labeled prescription bottles now, terminal tackle split between some boxes and some bottles depending on what it is. I repurposed a 5-shelf plastic storage shelf into my tackle holder, and have all the boxes/bottles arranged so they're visible. My plan now is to create "custom" dry boxes for specific trips and restock them as necessary, some will persist and some will be dismantled. (For example, I don't need a year-round 'steelhead' box, but I do need a year-round 'smallie' box). All in all it takes up way less space than I thought it would. I threw away anything rusty, any old bits of terminal tackle with line still attached, etc. It's kinda awesome.

There's one downside though...
spring cannot POSSIBLY get here soon enough.

[Mark]

If you fish as well as you negotiate, I look forward to your 2018 Snaggedline reports!

[mchottie]

I'll chime in because I think this is the best topic on the chat-board over the winter months.

I started out as the "bring everything" angler (and to that point, I over-pack for most things, camping, hiking, etc.)

I've also purchased several 3600/3700/small waterproof boxes, just haven't had the time to sit down and organize everything. The Christmas / NYE holiday span should give me some quality time to organize. Like you, I had planned on dedicating a 'backpack' packed with planos specific to freshwater, and a larger backpack dedicated planos to saltwater (these may enlarge to duffel style) so that I can crab my "go-bag" having the yak already loaded the evening prior, to be on the water before dawn for that super early morning bite.

Hopefully I'll have more detailed & photographic replies coming soon.

[WVKayakFisher]

What still vexes me are plastics. I know a lot of folks jam them in planos...and I don't like this. They pick up smells, dry out, stick to each other, etc, maybe it's less of an issue in the waterproof planos? I bought a big hinged plano snap case...but it was kinda pricy @$15 and doesn't hold everything AND it's too big to take in the boat. For now I've condensed identical packs into the same bags, but I've still got too many. They're living in their individual bags, sorted by type, then together in gallon size slide-lock ziplocks. At least I can pull what I want this way but I'm still taking a bag of bags with me when I roll. Do not love.

Fwiw my plastics categories currently are: flukes/senkos and neds/frogs/creatures and grubs/various swimbait.

[bunnielab]

Other then Z-man plastics, I have never noticed a degradation in quality from keeping plastics in Plano boxes. I do store mine flat except for when they are in my pack or crate, but even fragile plastics like Keitech paddle tails seem to do fine in Plano boxes, so long as I don't mash them in there. I prefer the 3600 sizes as they fit well in crates and in a wider range of backpacks then the 3700 size ones. I still keep most of my plastics in the original packaging, but I feel that the protection from crushing the planos offers is well worth it for plastics that will travel around with me.

[Mark]

What still vexes me are plastics. I know a lot of folks jam them in planos...and I don't like this. They pick up smells, dry out, stick to each other, etc, maybe it's less of an issue in the waterproof planos?...Fwiw my plastics categories currently are: flukes/senkos and neds/frogs/creatures and grubs/various swimbait.

I haven't noticed my soft plastics degrading in my waterproof Plano boxes. But then, I don't use as many kinds of plastics that you specified. I use paddletails, Mr. Twister grubs and just a couple of other soft plastic forms that are slightly longer and thinner than paddletails. Most are white or yellow but I also carry darker colors. The biggest issue I have with them is that they'll bleed colors onto each other if they are not compartmentalized in the Plano boxes. That's actually not a bad problem. Some days a traditional color doesn't matter and the fish happen to like the unique color that I accidentally made with careless storage.

As you implied, I believe the packages they come in preserve their moisture content and their longevity so I keep my soft plastics in those bags until I take them on the water in my Plano boxes. I replenish them in the box as I need them during the season. But once they leave the storage bag, they rarely go back and they seem to retain their pliability well enough for the time they reside in the box.

I don't take many plastics with me on the water and I don't use many plastics on an outing unless bluefish are present -- see here:

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I'm sure that's a familiar sight to many of us. Did you ever wonder how they know where the hook is? They always seem to bite the plastic just behind the hook.

When blues are not around, It's not unusual to catch a lot of fish on a single soft plastic. That in itself can become a game within a game on the water. How many fish can I catch on one soft plastic?

So again, I think it gets down to a realistic assessment of what you'll need on the water. For most of my outings I could probably get by with 2 or 3 paddletails. I take maybe 10 times that many because I can fit them easily into a single box. I do not carry multiple storage bags of soft plastics with me.