Spring has sprung and that means it’s now time to get your Tackle Bag in order. If you’re like me, at the end of fishing season I retire my tackle box to the back of the closet not thinking to see what lures have been broken or misplaced in the wrong compartment. Then, of course over the winter months I buy or are given new lures to try and review in the coming season. I tend to throw them in a cardboard box to deal with in the Spring. Well… it’s now Spring and time to get it all in order!
To make lures easy to grab, I group my lures by category in utility boxes made by Plano. Plano makes some great customizable boxes that I can adjust to fit almost any size lure. Also, in most of our situations we want to be efficient with what kind of lures to bring to the lake or river. In other words, I don’t want to over pack too many lures. I travel to Canada quite a bit (pre-Covid) and there are weight issues when traveling to fly-in lodges so I want to be efficient as possible.
For that reason I will only organize and pack 4 utility boxes to put in my tackle bag.
Box #1 – Spinners and Spoons
Box #2 – Soft Plastics
My Spinners and Spoons box
Box #3 – Jerk and Crank baits
Box #4 – Top Water Lures along with jigs
This is not set in concrete as I may have some spillover lures such as spoons that will make it to a different box, but you get the general idea.
Now my tackle bag has some extra pockets so in the side pockets I pack extra Twister Tails as well as spare wire leader for Northern Pike. I also make sure I have some first aid essentials like bandages, sun block & Advil.
As I organize my lures, I will throw out the lures that were all but destroyed during the prior season. Spinners that have their bucktails chewed off or the center wire is bent beyond repair. Spoons with a broken treble, etc. I will also take my new lures unpackaged them and pinch the barb off the hook as many of the lodges have a strict barbless hook policy. Too many times I’ve seen fellow fishermen lose a lure and then struggle to get a new lure out of the package and pinch the barbs…..valuable time is lost when the fish are biting.
So make sure your tackle is in good shape and organized. It will make a world of difference when hunting for that trophy fish!!
