How are you storing your tackle?

[J.A. Veil]

I believe in keeping things simple and uncluttered in the kayak. I acknowledge that I do not change lures often. I frequently keep throwing or trolling the same soft plastics until they are worn out.

On every trip I use a Plano waterproof 3741 tray (14" x 9" x 2-7/8"). Inside that box I have a smaller Plano tray used to hold jigheads from 1/16-oz to 3/4-oz. There is enough extra space for my fishing license (in a plastic bag), some bandaids, a Leatherman tool, a few small spinnerbaits, and a dozen or so loose 3" or 4" paddletails. For most trips that is all I need for 2-4 hours of fishing.

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If I am using Gulp baits (which I buy in tubs rather than in bags) I place the desired number of Gulps in a small Plano Liqua-Bait locker bottle.

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I may also grab a handful of other soft plastic tails and either lay them in the cup holder of the kayak, place them in a pocket of my PFD, or drop them in a small plastic tub. These few tackle containers can easily sit under or behind my seat. I carry a Fish Grips and a pair of pliers -- that is the extent of what I need.

Mark mentioned bleeding of colors when loose lures are stored together. I use predominantly 12 Fathom brand soft plastics. I get them in bulk. A few of their colors (dark red in particular) tend to bleed, but most colors do not. I can leave them in my PFD pocket or a cup for several weeks at a time and not find much bleeding.

Many Snaggedline members are big fans of Z-Man plastics. I like them too, but not as well as my 12 Fathom plastics. The only time I use Z-Man tails is when bluefish are prevalent. Whereas I can comfortably toss a bunch of 12 Fathom or other brand tails loose in the tackle tray, I cannot mix Z-man plastics with other plastics. Years ago I made that mistake and found a ball of sticky plastics when all the tails melted and fused. If I decide to carry Z-Man tails on a trip, I place a sealed pouch inside the Plano tray.

That setup covers nearly all of my local saltwater trips. When fishing in lakes and ponds, I often carry a small tray with a few jigheads and 2"-3" twister tails. I rarely fish crankbaits or poppers from my kayak.

The only time in recent memory that I ran out of lures was last May when Harlan and I fished for large bluefish at Ocean City. I had several dozen paddletails and swim shads with me. We each caught over 20 blues from 22" to 28". They destroyed every soft plastic tail I had with me. By then we were so tired we did not mind stopping.

Being able to leave the launch with a small amount of gear takes some practice and mental preparation. Many anglers feel more comfortable having lots of tackle with them.

[ronaultmtd]

I usually rig four rods with the lures I plan to use for the day and carry a dozen or so Sea Shad Bass Assassin soft plastic replacement tails...one rod has an XR10 (or up to an XR14, depending on the season) XRap, one rod has a pearl/chart jighead Bass Assassin swim bait, one rod has a chartreuse glow jighead bass assassin swimbait on it, and during white perch season I have a mini crankbait on my lightest outfit...otherwise it has a top water popper on it...I try not to replace lures on the water...I replace outfits...put one up and grab another...all the knots are carefully tied back on dry land...this system works for me...

[bunnielab]

It is always amazing to me the difference between inshore and freshwater bass guys when it comes to how much tackle they feel like they "need" to have with them. And then there are the tenkara guys, some of which fish a single style of fly no matter what the condition.

[baitball]

I believe in keeping things simple and uncluttered in the kayak. I acknowledge that I do not change lures often. I frequently keep throwing or trolling the same soft plastics until they are worn out.

Many Snaggedline members are big fans of Z-Man plastics.

John,

I'm one of those guys that's a huge fan of Z-Man baits. I predominantly like them because, like you, I'm an angler that wants to minimize the amount of tackle I bring with me and I would rather be fishing than replacing lures on the water.

Here are my own personal PROS and CONS when it comes to Z-Mans. I'm sure there are other qualities to add to this list, but I share these observations for the benefit of others on the fence about Z-Mans.

PROS:
1. They are incredibly resilient. I have used a single Z-Man paddle tail cast after cast during wild bluefish blitzes. Because of the special ElaZtech material used by Z-Man, I was afforded double-digit catch numbers on the same paddle tail. With other plastic tails I would have spent precious time looking for and replacing half-eaten tails. Because of the Z-Man resiliency, I don't have to carry hard-plastic lures with me just in case I run into toothy fish. In the end I'm saving space and reducing the clutter.

2. My preferred Z-Man striper bait is the DiezelMinnowZ. It comes as a 4-inch paddletail with a hook slot embedded inside the dorsal fin of the bait. The hook slot provides the angler a dummy-proof way to ensure the hook is mounted directly on-centerline of the bait thereby maximizing the swimming motion and eliminating any unnatural presentation a slightly off-centered hook can create.

3. The DiezelMinnowZ comes in a large choice of colors - and variations of colors - to accommodate every angler's taste.

4. One 5-pack of DiezelMinnowZ tails could last you half the season, saving you money and time in the long run.

5. Once on the jig head, or on the bait-holder-style worm hook, the Z-Man tail stays on. Cast after cast, day after day, month after month the same tail does not slide off the jig head (and no, I don't use Super Glue)

CONS:
1. Price. A 5-pack of DieselMinnowZ tails costs about $5.

2. The ElaZtech plastic is hard to get on the jig head or on "bait-holder-style" worm hooks.
*If you have tried Z-Mans and are frustrated by this characteristic, there are a couple of videos on YouTube that help immensely. In retrospect, once the ElaZtech material is wrapped around the jig head's bait keeper barbs or the bait-holder wire, it is not coming off.

3. For some reason the ElaZtech material does not like mixed company. Z-Mans should be kept in their original packaging lest you run the risk of finding a molten, plastic blob when you are ready to use them.

Hope this helps.

[Mark]

[QUOTE=bunnielab;150986]It is always amazing to me the difference between inshore and freshwater bass guys when it comes to how much tackle they feel like they "need" to have with them. And then there are the tenkara guys, some of which fish a single style of fly no matter what the condition.[/QUOTE

I think we can get away with fewer lures more often than we realize.

I've never felt that with freshwater bass it's a "match the hatch" situation. And to a certain degree, I feel the same way with tidal fishing. Although there are days when stripers clearly prefer a certain size and a specific color of a lure. But often (I think anyway) those fish are so predatory that they react to movement, vibration and maybe even smell, although I do not use scented baits.

So, for me, lure selection comes down to what I have confidence in using. I've learned to fish a few lures and flies reasonably well and that has worked for me.

The major question I face is top water or no. That's answered by the time of year and time of day or in tidal water, seeing an obvious blitz underway. Otherwise, it's hard for me to tie on anything other than a jig and soft plastic, a jig spinner, a wooly bugger or a Clouser Minnow.

[bunnielab]

Man, I have a hell of a time trying to keep the Zman finesse plastics on a jighead. Even using superglue "only" works for a dozen or so bass. I only really use Zman's plastics for Midwest Finesse style fishing and the tiny jigheads are really tough to get seated.

[ronaultmtd]

Same here with the Zman..don’t buy them anymore...strictly Bass Assassins...no problems at all...and fish love them..

[baitball]

Man, I have a hell of a time trying to keep the Zman finesse plastics on a jighead. Even using superglue "only" works for a dozen or so bass. I only really use Zman's plastics for Midwest Finesse style fishing and the tiny jigheads are really tough to get seated.

Same here with the Zman..don’t buy them anymore...strictly Bass Assassins...no problems at all...and fish love them..

Try the tips on these videos. They help out quite a bit.
https://youtu.be/8KVHRTEI_co
https://youtu.be/_jcd9qu7-1E

[bunnielab]

Interesting, I have done something similar to the first video, but with the hoop point heated for a second with a lighter. It does work well with screwlocks. I mostly use the TRDs or Zlinkers on tiny 1/16oz jigheads for the Ned Rig. I believe both of those plastics have a different formula then the minnow lure, they have a ton of salt in them and become quite spongy when the salt washes out, which is when they start sliding down the keeper. The Owner Skip-gap shakyhead jigs hold Zman plastics very well, but they are incredibly expensive.

My current tackle storage dilemma is single hooked hard baits. I have started removing trebles from my small hard baits, but the single hooks are posing a storage/transport issue. The trebles can be covered with little plastic caps, but I have not found a product like that for single hooks. In trying to minimize the tackle I haul around, I like to just grab a crank or two and toss it loose into the front compartment of my tackle sling, but the single hooks get snagged all the time. I have tired using small chunks of cork to cover the points, but they don't stay on small hooks very well. I know others here switch trebles to single, do any of you have a good way to store them outside of a plano or other box?

[J.A. Veil]

My current tackle storage dilemma is single hooked hard baits. I have started removing trebles from my small hard baits, but the single hooks are posing a storage/transport issue. The trebles can be covered with little plastic caps, but I have not found a product like that for single hooks. In trying to minimize the tackle I haul around, I like to just grab a crank or two and toss it loose into the front compartment of my tackle sling, but the single hooks get snagged all the time. I have tired using small chunks of cork to cover the points, but they don't stay on small hooks very well. I know others here switch trebles to single, do any of you have a good way to store them outside of a plano or other box?

My brother likes to submit tips to fishing magazines and has had several of them published. One that is relevant to your dilemma involves taking the plastic bottles used for prescription medications and sliding small hard plastic lures inside. This is unlikely to work on larger crankbaits and poppers, but if you are using smaller lures, it may work. You could make your own lure sleeves with something like the club tubes inserted in golf bags or some other sort

[baitball]

My current tackle storage dilemma is single hooked hard baits. I have started removing trebles from my small hard baits, but the single hooks are posing a storage/transport issue. The trebles can be covered with little plastic caps, but I have not found a product like that for single hooks. In trying to minimize the tackle I haul around, I like to just grab a crank or two and toss it loose into the front compartment of my tackle sling, but the single hooks get snagged all the time. I have tired using small chunks of cork to cover the points, but they don't stay on small hooks very well. I know others here switch trebles to single, do any of you have a good way to store them outside of a plano or other box?

Drew,

This is what John was referring to. After a quick Google search, this popped up.

This place is in Ohio and seems to carry both 3.5" and 7" sizes of (trolling lure) storage tubes, but it should work for what you are looking for.

https://amishoutfitters.com/catalog/...index&cPath=19

[nhunter344]

My current tackle storage dilemma is single hooked hard baits. I have started removing trebles from my small hard baits, but the single hooks are posing a storage/transport issue. The trebles can be covered with little plastic caps, but I have not found a product like that for single hooks. In trying to minimize the tackle I haul around, I like to just grab a crank or two and toss it loose into the front compartment of my tackle sling, but the single hooks get snagged all the time. I have tired using small chunks of cork to cover the points, but they don't stay on small hooks very well. I know others here switch trebles to single, do any of you have a good way to store them outside of a plano or other box?

I've used short pieces of silicone aquarium air tubing (silicone is softer than the normal stuff). A 1/2" or 1" piece covers the point fairly well. I try to get it to bend around the curved part of the hook to get it to stay better. They tend to get lost frequently but its cheap enough that I don't care. It comes by the foot so you can cut each piece to size.

[bunnielab]

Thanks for the ideas guys! The tube/pill bottle and small tubing are both great ideas. I keep alot of my UL hardbaits in a little duplex tupperware container and the hooks are forever getting into a huge mess and I think the tubing will solve that issue nicely. I am starting to dip my toe into suspending jerkbaits and they are too expensive to let bang around with other lures, so the tubes should be great for them.

I am a pretty avid hiker and often bring a rod along. I try to go very minimalist and often carry a few plastics w/ terminal tackle. In looking for ways to carry and protect them in my pack I have bought a few small plastic pencil containers that work well for carrying a few plastics, hooks, etc. They have an awful latch, but a hair tie doubled over keeps them tight.


I got them from amazon;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The price jumps around, I have seen them as low as $5.99 for three of them. Other then the latch, they are well built and the hinge seems like it will last a long time.

[Mark]

The individual tubes and containers in Manny's and Drew's posts are really nice. They organize lures without tangles and make finding the precise lure you want a snap. The only caution I would add about them is to vent them, especially if in turn you put them in larger waterproof boxes. Or, make sure you never return a wet lure to long-term storage -- even if you fish fresh water. Otherwise it will rust. It may also promote rust among other lures in the box.

I lifted an idea from someone on this site. I'm sorry that I cannot remember who it was. But it was a good idea. They advised carrying foam on your kayak to store wet lures.

I repurposed one of my fly vest patches as seen in this photo:

Foam.jpg

It hangs on the inside of my Ultimate or I hang it on my BlackPak on my Revo. All lures or flies I use during an outing go on the patch to dry. When I rinse my boats with the hose after outings, the lures get rinsed too. Then I allow them to dry before returning them to my Plano waterproof boxes.

[bunnielab]

Moisture is an issue. I use the z-rust chips and they do seem to help with rust. For getting the moisture out, I read somewhere that chemical hand warmers, even when spent, will suck a ton of moisture out of the air. Some very informal testing seems to bear this out, or atleast when placed in a plano box with but not touching wet lures, the spent warmer will gain a little weight and harden over time. I do not have the science background to really look much further into it, but I suppose it is possible that the chemical inside it could very well be hygroscopic.