Organising your Tackle Box |
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I started competitive angling about 8 years ago. I can still remember my first toolbox-like Snowbee tackle box. When you opened the lid, three trays folded out for lures and enough storage at the bottom for tools. At that stage I thought it was the ultimate in tackle storage! Later I realised that it was simply not good enough. When the fishing got tough or I had to re-tie a lure it often took me at least 5 minutes to do so. I was forever searching for the lure I wanted and when I found it the hooks were normally tangled with three other lures I didn't want! I realised that I should get a separate holder for different lures, crank baits and "soft baits" had to be kept separately. Notice that I refer to "soft baits", at that time it was a collective word for the lures I had in one jiffy bag stashed in the "tool box". Back then I did not distinguish between Flukes, Senko's, trickworms and grubs; they were simply "soft baits". Thinking back I also did not distinguish between in-line spinners and spinner baits; they were simply "spinners"! As I progressed through the phases, I realised that there was a definite advantage to storing lures separately. It made identification and reaching them so much easier. The mood on the boat was also more relaxed as I did not have to waste valuable fishing time searching and de-tangling lures. The next step was the nice folders bound together in a soft nylon bag with a zipper. That was it. I thought I had the ultimate storage system and was really proud of my self. However, I was still not completely satisfied with the neatness of my tackle storage hatch. I had tackle bags stashed on one another next to a pile of flat boxes holding my crank baits. At this stage my whole collection of crank baits (top water, shallow and deep divers) were kept in three trays. Much later did I realise that I would need a tray for each type of crankbait and it started to make sense to use the same trays for plastic lures as well. By this time I had a handsome collection of different types of soft plastic lures. That was when I changed to my current storage system. I invested in a set of good quality plastic trays. I used a labelling machine to mark each tray clearly with the type of lure it held.
These days finding lures is much easier, I find that when I have to tie on a new lure it is the knot that takes the most time! With marked trays I simply search for the correct tray, take out and flip open. At a glance I can see all the lures of a specific type and choosing the correct one is easy. I also find that seeing all the lures at the same time makes me think of different colour schemes that could work even better than the one I'm currently using. Crank baits are now sorted in different categories and I normally don't keep more than two or three in the same space. This brings me to hook bonnets. These little thingies also makes an angler's life much easier. Gone are the days of tangled lures! Talking about tangles, in the beginning it was a nightmare to get my rods out of the rod locker. Put three rods in a rod locker and two of them will definitely become tangled. This was not my only headache. I realised that my rods took a beating in the rod locker and there was a considerable amount of chafing going on. I broke more than one rod on the strike due to weak spots caused by chafing. Something had to be done, that's when I decided to get myself rod bags. My first set was the cylindrical ones you get from most tackle shops. The problem was that they did notprotect my reels. Thus, I had to remove the reels after each outing and re-fit them before the next one. Now I'm a lazy angler and before too long I made a plan. I had myself a set of bigger bags made that could hold the complete rod and reel combo. This saved a lot of time but still left me with one problem. Identifying the different combo's wasn't easy, I often had to take out three or four rods before I got the one I wanted. Recently a friend's mom invested in an embroidery machine. Amongst some of its uses was the embroidery of rod bags! Today I'm the proud owner of a complete set of rod bags embroided with my name and the combo that is inside.   I have realised the advantages of getting organised on your boat. It saves you valuable time, avoids temper fits and generally makes your day on the water so much more enjoyable. To add to that, your expensive equipment is well protected and should last you much longer. You will have to experiment with different storage systems to find out which ones suits you best. Once you have done that you will realise that it is worth while GETTING ORGANISED! Ruffneck Discuss this article: Getting Organized |
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