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Posts: 513
Location: Ludington, MI | I have reached the point of too much tackle and I'm looking for ideas on keeping track of it all. I started with a Flambeau Cube, then 2, then a Lakewood Monster and now some more Plano trays. I guess a Just Encase would make it all easier to see and track.
Right now I have a spring cube and a summer/fall cube. The Monster is mostly trollers and bigger rubber and then some trays for the less-used rubber and blades.
Is anyone to the point of databases or notebooks or things like that?
I know I could sell some off, but that would be admitting that I didn't need some of it, lol! | |
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Posts: 299
| During the season I have an old Lakewood I use for rubber baits. Then planos of various types for all my other baits. I pretty much fish here in MN or in Ontario so I don’t need to change out much but will adjust the boat collection seasonally and before big trips. My upgrading boat journey over time has me up to a 620 now so I really don’t have to compromise on what I bring with. Different for everyone.
For winter I hang them all up in my “fishing room”. A random 7x7 room our house has. I have rows of quarter round trim pieces that are flat on top that work great for hanging baits. I tinker all winter and can see the whole collection so it’s easy to know what I want to modify or try to sell a few every year and only buy a couple. I’m past the big purchasing times as the walls are full. Getting them where you can see them all really helps knowing what you want to get rid of. Though after a while it’s hard to sell off good stuff that isn’t used enough.
Thought about doing a spreadsheet but kind of a lot of work. I have way too many for someone who doesn’t change baits often but it’s my hobby. Not sure it helps but that’s my system. | |
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Posts: 8840
| I've tried everything. There is no good tackle storage system. What's worked for me "sort of" is to buy a bunch of plano 3700's and organize everything alphabetically by brand. Label every box. Unweighted Suicks, Weighted Suicks, Double 10 Spanky Baits, Top Raiders, Depth Raiders, Jointed Depth Raiders/etc. That way when you're packing for a trip, no matter where or what time of year you can think about where you're fishing and when, what lures you'll need, and go right over to where they are and pick them out. I keep a tackle bag full of empty plano boxes for the road. rubber, crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater, gliders, double 10's, etc.
The thinking goes like this:
"Okay, late September, central WI, cool nights, water is still mid 60's, pre-turnover, stained water... I need topwater, bright colors, don't need to downsize yet..."
or "Mid august Eagle Lake, Main Lake basin, fairly clear water, fishing rocks.. Need grandmas, depth raiders, double 10's and 8's, natural colors..."
or "Northern WI, late fall, post turnover, clear water, need to fish deeper and slower, bats that suspend, or run deep, slow presentation..."
It's really easy to pick a lake and a season, and figure out what you'd want to fish with there if you were going tomorrow. It's NOT easy to find and pack all that when a buddy calls and you find out that you ARE going there tomorrow.
Digging through lakewoods et.al to find random lures? Blech. I forget what I have, I forget where it is, I get tired of searching for #*#* and forget what I was searching for anyway.
I think the best way is to have all your lures hanging in a garage or something, so you can see every last one of them and just pick them and go, but that's not really an option for most of us.
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Posts: 1399
| I do like the idea of having everything hanging, so I can see them, and I do have a space I could do it, but I've just never gotten around to doing it. I keep everything in multiple green Flambeau boxes. They are sorted by lure types. Big blades in one, cranks in another, etc. I just take one of those blue and gray Planos in the boat. Like EA mentioned, I just go "shopping" in my big boxes, for what I'm going to take in the boat, in the one Plano. | |
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| I like that vertical orientation. Looks like a good idea. I am too old to change but if I was getting started or was pressed for time, that would really appeal to me. | |
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Posts: 8840
| I had the 3700’s in a file cabinet for a while. That’s super slick - it’s like it was designed for them. Plus it locks! Unfortunately, stuff like bills, bank statements, and tax returns won that space once I got married. | |
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Posts: 1589
Location: Brighton CO. | When I had my own place before moving back with my elderly parents I had peg boards in my garage and my lures hanging like in a store took what I needed in flat boxes. Twenty years later I have way too much stuff, leaky Livingstons and poorly made Raiders I'm done buying baits. A lot of the guys I've fished with have passed on and when we make plans in the late winter for the next fall hoping for good health for my fishing partner. (nothing like planning trip around medical treatments) | |
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Posts: 20258
Location: oswego, il | You could bar code your baits and scan them to inventory. I put up the angle iron you can get from menards with the holes in it. I keep my baits there and organzized.. I take what I need in 3700 plano boxes | |
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Posts: 159
| I got the Just Encase. Don't regret it even a little. I can carry every lure I own along with terminal tackle, weights, hooks from 3/0 all the way to 6/0, my gear for releasing the fish, even some small cranks for days where I might want to just troll multispecies. | |
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| ToddM - 10/1/2025 10:38 AM
You could bar code your baits and scan them to inventory. I put up the angle iron you can get from menards with the holes in it. I keep my baits there and organzized.. I take what I need in 3700 plano boxes
Bar code them and scan into inventory??? Whew, somebody has too many baits | |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I have my baits hung on 2x2's on the garage wall, and for portable storage I don't think anything beats the Special Mate boxes. m
https://www.specialmatetackleboxes.com/ | |
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Posts: 402
| I use 3 approaches. First I have used spreadsheets to categorize all my lures. Its some work up front but once you have them all identified and sorted its easy to maintain going forward. Secondly I use Plano 3700 that are labeled and easy to identify for example DNRs, Cranks, Bucktails by size, topwaters, rubber, etc. Thirdly I use my Lakewood to travel with those lures that I will need for that trip. Spring opener lures, midsummer and hot weather and then fall pre and post turnover. By the way I am retired and have the free time! | |
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Posts: 1040
| I go easy for my lures. I have plano plastic boxes that are labeled, spring, summer, fall. I can keep about 11 in the boat storage locker. I just swap out as needed.
I also have one box labeled "all year". Those are my favorites all in one place.
Works good for me, swapping out boxes for different times of the year. | |
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Posts: 513
Location: Ludington, MI | Thanks everyone. I do have a list of all my lures on MS OneNote and just wondered if I should take the extra step of breaking that list up into locations. I'm not retired, but my job has a seasonal component, so transferring that list to a spreadsheet may work. Or I might be putting up some quarter-round this winter, lol. | |
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