By Tackle Warehouse | Updated September 2023
Whether your passion is panfish, striper, or strictly bass, organization is fundamental to being effective on the water. Finding the exact item you need at a moment’s notice saves you valuable time and lets you focus on fishing, rather than rummaging around your boat compartments or backpack. However, a well-organized tackle box doesn’t just happen by accident – it all starts at home base. In this article, we will go over some of the best at home storage items to keep you systematically in-tune with your gear before you leave the driveway.
It doesn’t matter if you own a fully-rigged bass boat, or enjoy walking the bank of your local pond, you are never going to be able to bring all your baits with you – especially when it comes to bulky hard baits. However, you can maximize the number of hard baits on hand by keeping them grouped together in stowaways, and breaking them out into more specific classifications as your collection grows. Not only does this make them easy to store, but it makes them easy to swap in and out of your boat or backpack depending on the bite. See the video below for more hardbait storage ideas!
At home, you also have a bit more room to store your hard baits, which opens the door to specialized storage boxes that you might not take fishing, but are great for holding lures in-between trips. This is especially effective for non-boaters and bank walkers, as it allows you to pick-and-choose a couple of your favorite hard baits, without committing to an entire box.
Any angler worth their salt knows how easy it is to go overboard when it comes to buying soft plastics. With so many great color choices, styles, and sizes, soft plastics can accumulate quickly and cause organization to get out of hand in a hurry. Luckily the storage options for soft plastics are numerous and varied, so no matter how many baits you buy, odds are there is a way to store them efficiently.
The bulk approach is often a good way to keep commonly used baits, or baits of the same color/style all in one place. As some anglers started using Ziploc bags to store baits companies quickly met demand with high-quality, resealable bags that can be stuffed to the gills with lizards, craws, or worms. If you have apprehension towards plastics bags, there are plenty of hard plastic containers that are great for bulk soft plastics storage as well.
When you want to take your soft plastic organization a step further, there is a wide array of bait binders, worm files, and bags that make it easy to keep baits bundled up and separated. These bags and binders are also great for storing jigs, spinnerbaits, and terminal items when they are left in the package.
If you are like most anglers, fishing line storage is a never-ending battle filled with half empty spools and stray line – it’s just the nature of the beast. The more you fish and the more reels you accumulate, the more fishing line you will ultimately use and have to store. Thankfully, with a couple of convenient accessories you can make quick work of awkward spools and tame stray line with ease.
A good place to start with line organization is the spool itself. Once you get done spooling, leftover line tends to hop off the spool. And while some lines come with a sticker or a slot that keeps the tag end of the spool buttoned down, a sure-fire way to tame those loose ends is with a spool wrap.
When dealing with multiple spools, there are a couple of specialized stowaways and accessories that remedy this exact predicament. Whether you have a handful of filler spools, or a bunch of bulk spools, there’s a storage solution that will get the job done. If all else fails, a large stowaway with an open layout is a fantastic way to keep all your spools of line in one spot.
Besides your boat and electronics, your rods and reels are the biggest investments that you can make as an angler, so it is a no-brainer to try and extend the life of your equipment for as long as possible. One straightforward way to protect your rods and reels from dings and incidental damage is with a rod sleeve and reel cover.
When not in use, keeping your rods and reels organized is the next step in taming rod-induced clutter. Whether you have a whole room for displaying your combos or just a corner in your office, there is a storage solution that will suit your needs. If you have a little more space to dedicate to your rod storage, fixed rod holders, like the ones listed below are a great option. Built to mount on to a wall or ceiling, fixed rod storage options provide a consistent and structurally sound option for storing rods.
If storage space is at premium, there are tons of free-standing rod racks that make it easy to tuck your arsenal into a corner. There are also a few innovative rod storage designs that can be used on your ceiling or the back of your garage door. If your space is really limited, you can also tidy up a bundle of rods with rod wraps. This will turn your stack of rods into a compact bundle that is easy to transport and less apt to bang against each other.
Often overlooked, but one of the core traits of any successful angler, organization can be the difference between going home empty handed and posing with a trophy catch. To help keep your gear as tidy as possible, try implementing some of these at-home storage items, and keep an eye out in the learning center for more organization specific content.
Best Bass Fishing Storage AccessoriesHow-To Store HardbaitsHow-To Store Umbrella RigsBest Bass Fishing Boating Accessories