How to Store Fishing Gear: Smart Storage Tips
Shaye Baker with Field & Stream
Fishing tackle is becoming more diverse and expensive by the day. With so many different nuts and bolts needed for new techniques, and the price going up all the time, it’s more imperative now than ever to use specific strategies to protect and organize your investment.
When you find time to get on the water, you don’t want to find your gear in a jumbled-up mess, with rods tangled together and hooks and lures rusted to the bottom of your grandpa’s tackle box. Antiques and heirlooms are great, but there are some really sophisticated advancements (and some really simple ones, too) in tackle and gear storage that can help you make the most of your time on the water. Here are a few.
Bait Storage Tips
Storing baits can be one of the biggest headaches in fishing. If you’re not careful, you’ll end a trip, toss your gear in the shed, and find a complete catastrophe has happened in your tackle box by the next time you open it again. For starters, you should consider investing in a tackle bag or pack that can accommodate all of the gear you would need for a day on the water. Having one place to keep most of the lures and baits that you use regularly will help you stay organized.
Consider upgrading to waterproof boxes for storing baits with metal components that could rust, like spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and frogs. As long as you allow your baits to completely dry before putting them back into these boxes, you can count on the waterproof seal to keep all rust-threatening moisture out. For added security, there are rust-preventing products from companies like Zerust that can be tossed into each of your waterproof boxes. Or, you can add an ordinary silica gel pack to your box for a cheaper option.
Having waterproof boxes helps in protecting the baits from rust, but these boxes alone don’t do much for keeping the baits organized. If these trays have large cavities, you can use Owner Treble Hook Safety Caps to keep the baits from tangling with one another and damaging the paint jobs. These caps also prevent accidents when digging around for your favorite lure. Just be careful and use pliers when taking the hook caps off.
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Fishing Rod Storage Tips
When it comes to rod storage, a quality rod rack will go a long way in keeping your rods and reels organized and safe between trips. There are some racks designed to stand on the floor, like the Rush Creek Creations Round Fishing Rack, while others can be mounted on the wall or even the ceiling, depending on what works best in your space.
When transporting rods to and from the boat, vehicle, bank, or kayak, it’s a good idea to put a rod sleeve on each rod. Companies like Rod Glove and others make mesh and neoprene covers that slip over the rods to protect the eyes and line from getting damaged, and they also eliminate any chance of the rods tangling with one another.
Here’s another quick tip to breathe new life into your older rods with cork handles: you can take fine-grit sandpaper and lightly sand the handles to remove any dinginess and bring back the bright, light cork color the handle had when the rod was brand new.
Budget-Friendly Fishing Gear Storage Hacks
If you’re balling on a budget, there are also several household items that can be repurposed to keep your gear organized and safe. For starters, pill bottles make excellent containers for terminal tackle like hooks, weights, and jigheads. You can either use several of these in your tackle bag to keep items separated from one another, or you can place what you need for a few rigs in one bottle and slip it in your pocket for a quick trip to the water. A medicine tray with multiple cavities also serves well as a makeshift terminal tackle tray; just be aware that these aren’t waterproof.
Need to store a pile of your favorite soft plastics? Go raid the fridge or your kid’s backpack. Deli meat containers and pencil holder boxes can both be used to hold the contents of several bags of soft plastics. These containers also double as good gear storage for random items you want to keep organized, like corks, plug knockers, and tools.
Final Thoughts
Whether you have a lot of expensive fishing gear or just a handful of baits, you definitely want to protect your investment. Keeping your tackle organized will also allow you to better enjoy your time on the water. There are lots of great products on the market now to help with this, from rod holders and rod sleeves to waterproof tackle boxes and treble hook caps.
Finding a good tackle bag that fits you and how you fish will be step one for the majority of anglers. Then fine-tuning that setup with specialty tackle trays and even recycled pill bottles and other household items will inevitably create a system that you can use to keep your gear organized and in working order, ensuring you spend more time fishing and less time fussing.