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Have you ever spent an hour looking through your tackle collection for one specific thing and never finding it? Or how about while searching for one lure, you discover another you bought for a trip but forgot about? Lately, this routine has happened more than I care to admit, so I decided it was time to take my tackle organization up a notch!
My tackle collection has grown considerably since I’ve taken up kayak and ice fishing as a serious hobby and as a result, I’ve spent a little too much time digging through random cardboard boxes and bags for things I thought I had organized. What set this whole organization train in motion was the recent finding of a lure that I bought years ago. While digging through a box of baits I found a Rapala X-Rap that I had bought to test on stocked trout. I remember buying the lure and being excited to try it out but I must have put it in a box “so I know where it is”. Well, it was forgotten there for a long time and finding it again made me realize that, even though I’m an organized person, even I didn’t know how much tackle I really had.
One of the best ways to get a good idea of what you have is to lay it all out in one place. Now, I don’t have a lot of tackle, but my collection is still growing. What I wanted was to keep all of my tackle in one place and for that I would need a big tackle bag – as big as I could find! Enter the Bass Pro Shops Advanced Angler Super Magnum tackle bag – I know what you’re thinking and yes, this tackle box is as big as the name.
Inside the Super Mag lives 12 – 3700 sized Plano containers. On the sides of the tackle bag, there is also room for 3 -3600 Plano containers as well as 2 more 3500 sized Plano’s. Which is as much storage as I could possibly need (right now).
It took a few days, but I managed to fit all my loose tackle into the Super Mag and I even have a few empty containers available for future expansion. My biggest worry with buying such a big tackle bag was weight. I was pleasantly surprised to find that after filling it, the bag only weighed 32 lbs!
Now, those of you that know me know that I’m a kayak angler and you may be wondering if I’m planning on using the Super Mag on my kayak. Well no, it’s just way too big. I plan on using the Super Mag as a central place to keep all my tackle in the garage on when on the road. The main storage in my kayak is my NRS Ambush Kayak Crate that I’ve had for a few years. In the 13″x13″ Ambush crate I can keep up to 7 – 3600 Plano boxes that are organized by species as well as my DLSR camera bag and commonly used tools.
Plano Edge 3600 Terminal
Also within the NRS Ambush Crate I purchased two new 3600 sized containers that will help keep me organized while on the water. The first one is the Plano Edge 3600 Terminal Tackle Box. I’m really excited to have all my essential terminal tackle all in one place! I used to use small blue pill bottles to hold various swivels and snaps but they would often get lost inside my bag. The Edge Terminal is big enough to hold all the terminal tackle I need while also making sure its well organized and rust free.
Gruv Fishing Big Jig Box
The second box I purchased this season is the Gruv Fishing Big Jig Box. I recently received a bunch of jig heads from Big Sky Flies and Jigs in Medicine Hat and that order alone quadrupled my jig collection. Since they are more expensive than the bargain bin jigs at The Fishin Hole I decided I would try to prevent paint chips by investing in a quality jig case.
The Gruv boxes feature silicon inserts that grip on the hook shank and don’t let go. They hold on so well that you can turn the box upside down and give it a serious shake without anything coming loose. At $40 CAD, its not a cheap jig box, but when you are putting $200 or more worth of jigs in it, its a small price to pay to keep your jigs looking great for years to come.
Wrap Up
Spring is the perfect time to take inventory and do some cleaning of your fishing gear. Now that all my tackle is ready, its time to hit the water!
