Does anyone have any homemade clear or smoke plastic pedestal lure storage tube set-ups they could share instructions for? I'm looking to build my own, but I'm not sure where to buy the plastic tubing and how best to affix them to one another to hold up to the weather, weight of lures and getting accidentally bumped now and again by shoes or boots. Glue, screws, what?

How did you build yours? What materials are needed? Polycarbonate? If so, what thickness?

PS: I realize and appreciate there are versions of this for sale, but I'm trying to pinch pennies here to spend those pennies "there".

Sam; I may be at smokeys next Saturday the 26th. I can bring one of mine.

I just buy the downspout square tubing like suggested, and drill an 1/8 inch hole near the top and bottom, and rivet them with 1/8 rivets. Or, you can use pull ties to lock together also.

Here is a pic of a couple I did. See the rivets?  After you drill the hole the size of the rivets, then I just slid over the open vise and peened over the rivet, by tapping the rivet with a ball peen hammer. 

I don't like the pull ties on top, as sometimes hooks get hung up. Sam, make sure you cut downspout a bit longer size as I know you like Dawgs!!!  

JD 

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It's been some time since I first began this thread with full intentions of building my own pedestal tackle storage unit for my boat. I had been in contact with some recommended plastic companies and had drawn up the start to some ideas before I received an exclusive invitation to field test a prototype from Bob at Just Encase. Bob and I corresponded back and forth over the phone and by way of email with supporting images of the design ideas that Bob would come up with. Eventually a package would arrive at my door and within minutes the box was opened and I was tearing off the boat cover to put the new pedestal unit in place.

So a review is in order...

What separates this unit from anything else I've seen on the market is it's dynamic interchangeability, in that you get to choose what height your tubes are and you can change them out whenever you want. If you downsize in the spring, swap out the taller tubes for the shorter ones. In the summer, if you're like me when you go to the lake you bring small stuff and big stuff, and I suppose anywhere in between. The way it is now, the unit I have has three different sizes capable of holding pounder Bulldawgs and Super Model dub 10's without lapping on the floor base, DDD Cranks and 10-inch walk-the-dog topwaters baits fit perfectly in the mid size and anything from small cranks, TW tailbaits and your basic dub-10 blade baits fit great in the smaller of the three.

If you drop a bait down to the bottom and can't fish it out with another hook, like a small bucktail or something, you can slide the tube upwards and easily retrieve the fallen lure out with your hand. The base of the unit has feet to lift the unit over the base of your pedestal if you have a boat that has the aluminum plate around the pedestal base (like a lund or a Alumacraft). Even though I have a Ranger with a simple hole in the floor to insert the pedestal seat, I still prefer having the lure unit off the carpet so it can dry when it rains as opposed to staying moist all of the time. The bottom base of the Just Encase unit has holes drilled where the tubes cover to drain when it rains, as well.  

I love that I can easily see every lure in each tube and they don't bake in the sun - trust me, I spent 14-hour days for 8-days straight on Lake of the Woods baking and my lure paints never bled and the rubber never got soft. There are tool storage holes drilled in and they worked great. I stored a long needle nose, a large Knipex hook cutter, a hook sharpening file and a split-ring pliers with ease; they never shook, vibrated or fell out, even when I was crashing some serious waves at 40+ mph. The unit never budged, not even a little. The feet gripped the carpet well and the weight of the unit with the lures in kept it solidly positioned even in the most adverse of conditions.

I would highly recommend this unit to anyone if Just Encase puts these into production. Such an awesome unit and I'm so pleased I was afforded the opportunity to put this prototype to the test! I'll be posting some video footage from my recent trip to LOTW here on MuskieFIRST very soon. There is plenty of footage of this unit absorbing abuse from weather to waves and every day use. If anyone has any questions regarding specs on the unit, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to do my best and try and answer.

Below are some action pics with the unit shown with different lures in it so you can see what it fits. And yeah, I know, wrong species  

This may not be exactly what you're looking for, but it may offer some additional ideas...My set up below the bow pedestal.

This was custom made for me by a friend...I like my lures and equipment tucked away nicely and organized....I NEVER have lures lying around the boat or hanging out in the open....Over the years, I've seen too many mis-haps...Not happenin' in my boat, not that way.

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Brad, LOL...

It's about time I finally have a pedestal lure storage unit. I've been bringing 5-gallon pales into the boat for far too long and found out one too many times how bad of an idea it is when they tip over... what a mess. I hate to bring a bunch of boxes into the boat with me, I like my room, plus guests in the boat usually bring all the stuff they have and take up the room themselves. Now I pick several things out and hit the road. When I'm in the boat, I have the options I brought and that forces me to remember that sometimes lures don't catch fish because they don't get thrown long enough; I force myself to stick with my baits longer. Sometimes on trips I like to have a bunch of options, but on evening trips after work all I need is a crankbait, a topwater bait, several blade options, and some rubber. Clean boat, less to get tangled on or snagged to and easy to navigate when your fighting a fish and the netman is trying to catch up to you.