It comes to no secret to anyone that being organized with your tackle translate to time saved on the water and that is key regardless if you just fun fish or running around the lakes in pursuit of a cheque. I learned long ago that knowing where everything is at is important in all
spheres of life. Nothing can get someone frustrated as quickly as trying to find something you thought you knew where it was. Did you lose it? Did you run out of it? Don’t know and can’t really know at that moment. Organization helps to solve that most of the time if you commit to it.
In fishing, it solves many issues when retying, makes changes and adjustments on the go. Saves time too when you’re pre-rigging prior to a trip out. As much as I’ve talked about saving time, it’s also a really good way to know if you need to replace, re-order or stock up on something in your tackle. Line, weights, hard lure, soft baits etc. eventually they will all require attention and knowing what, where and how is important.
I think where most anglers, including myself put the most time into organizing it’s with our terminal tackle. All these hooks, weights and heads will all see either use, getting stuck somewhere or lost to a fish. Being able to fix this quickly makes the difference in your success on you day out. I like to get my boxes easy to spot with tags letting me know what’s in which and then putting labels where it’s important so I know how to get something when I need it. Sure, after a while you can make the difference between the different hook sizes and now many brands will put the size of the weight on it. If you don’t have to look hard and just see a nice clean and clear label telling this is that well it makes it all the better.
Can you organize the rest of your tackle in a way it saves you time? Absolutely. Is there ONE magical way to do it? Can’t be farther from the truth… Well not really, there is one magical way to do it, the way that fits YOU. I can’t tell you the number of times I redid the same box of lure of my terminal tackle over time. It’s all about trying to get the best out of it and making those little changes that can get you to save a little bit of time here and there. Go by depth of running on cranks, by patterns, by brands… if it works for you stick to it. If you think it can be better, switch it but do it in a way you have time to test it out. It’s also not the right timing if you do it prior to a tournament.
When it comes to some types of lures, I like to get them organized by type and then by pattern. Other times I will mix the running depth and keep the pattern together. It all depends on what I feel works best for me.
For when it comes to storage it all, there’s something that for a good while didn’t bother me but now, I make sure that I get good boxes for my gear. Not only to make it easier to carry but most importantly it’s to make sure that my tackle stays as dry as possible. Tackle get’s expensive we all know that but it doesn’t get as expensive than having to replace it all or most because rust did it’s thing. Sealed boxes, with moisture control, with rust inhibitor material and sturdy. This is what I look into for my boxes now. Sure, the good ol’ trays work just fine and even with those expensive and higher quality boxes you might still have to open them up and let them breathe and get the humidity out after a good day out in the rain.
At the end of the day, regardless of what you store your tackle in, how you organize them, be sure that it works for you, helps you save time and that is you feel that water or humidity may have entered, let it air out and dry before storing it.
Stay safe, tight lines and I wish you a great time fishing!
Pascal
Bearded Bass Projekt
Link to the label printer: https://www.staples.ca/products/1671378-en-brother-p-touch-ptd210bk-easy-to-use-label-maker