Hey yall so I brought a plano box from Walmart for like 10 bucks. Suppose to be water proof. The little plastic tabs never fit right and my hooks will slide up underneath of them and get all mixed up. Anyone know of a good storage box for hooks?
Ditch the Plano and go with Flambeau.
ALL my Plano boxes are like that. Flambeau dividers usually fit snug.
I leave the hooks in the original package. They are stored in a Plano Hydro-Flo box. Quick dry via air flow is better than trapping moisture in a water proof box. Used hooks go into an old package that gets inspected before reusing those hooks. I like that safety pin idea, Jaderose!
On 4/4/2016 at 11:05 PM, Jaderose said:
Good grief - sometimes the simplicity blows my mind! {off to find safety pins!!!}
I have a Trokar case with the foam insert. Was having a rust issue, then I drilled a bunch of holes on the top and no more rust
I carry a lot of different hooks, for different purposes. Tx rig hooks - weighted swim bait hooks - wacky rig hooks - Gammy Wicked wacky hooks and others that I can't recall right now. Hooks get sorted by purpose, and I probably have several packages of each size. At Walmart, in the school supplies aisle, they have the zippered pencil pouches for around a buck each. Buy many of them, put each assortment of hooks into their own pouch. If the pouches get too fat, you haven't sorted them into enough categories. Be specific when you label each pouch. I find that bright colored duct tape works best for labels. If you have a stray/loose hook, just put in the appropriate bag and sort it out later.
I normally carry 50 to 60 different brands/styles/sizes of hooks and this system is what has worked the best for me so far.
I had one of those Falcon designated hook boxes and I gave it away because it was too limiting. Then my buddy traded it back to me for some other piece of gear. I use that box for tx rig only stuff and it works ok for that.
On 4/4/2016 at 11:05 PM, Jaderose said:
Solid!
Paperclip also works.
On 4/4/2016 at 11:40 PM, SemperBass said:Good grief - sometimes the simplicity blows my mind! {off to find safety pins!!!}
This is NOT my original idea. I think someone else posted a picture like this on here and I had the same thought. Well...duh! probably one of the best tips I've ever got on here
On 4/4/2016 at 11:40 PM, SemperBass said:Good grief - sometimes the simplicity blows my mind! {off to find safety pins!!!}
Yep, the safety pin trick will change your life!
One thing, just make sure when you open up the pin to get a hook off make sure the point is facing up cause those hooks love to slide off fast.
On 4/5/2016 at 4:40 AM, U-boat Aficionado said:Yep, the safety pin trick will change your life!
One thing, just make sure when you open up the pin to get a hook off make sure the point is facing up cause those hooks love to slide off fast.
Haha, that'd be my luck too. Try something new - mess it up!
If you want the best of the best, guys swear by those Bass Mafia Bait Coffins. I've tried and don't like the safety pin thing; just didn't like it. I keep them in a plano box personally.
The safety pin is the deal
This might be a little ghetto but I use a small Plano 6 compartment dual sided box for hooks. I take the zerust blue dividers from a flambeau box and cut it into strips and place in each compartment to help with preventing rust. Seems to work fine so far.
I used to use those waterproof plano boxes, BUT even though it keeps water out, it also keeps water in. So if there's a little drop of water and you close that lid, you can guarantee that the hooks in that compartment are gonna rust. I switched to Flambeau with the blue zerust dividers, and there's no signs of rust so far.
I switched to the coffins and bagged everything. I added extra flambeau zerust strips in and silica gel packs incase moisture does get in
I keep mine in the original packaging to avoid rust. I guess it works for me since I don't use a large variety of hooks.
I am using plano boxes with the safety pins as well but I also add 1-3 of the small desiccant silica pouches to help with any moisture/rust issues. Save them from new clothing or ask a pharmacy to save some for you.
I looked at the flambeau boxes with the zerust but they seemed a lot more flimsy and not as strong to me.
Forgot to add a link to a post from almost two weeks where someone else was having the exact issue you described with the hooks sliding under the dividers. There is some great info on how folks have solved that.
I played with the safety pin idea and it seems OK for a 3/0 or smaller when putting a loaded pin back in a 3701 Plano box with the 4/0 or larger they don't fit very well. I carry mostly the 3701 so it was a no go on a lot of my bass fishing hooks. The safety pins work excellent on the small hooks though.
Bass Mafia Tackle box...virtually indestructible
I just reorganized my Plano hook box using safety pins and it's never been more organized. The safety pins also work great for sinkers, swivels, split rings, and virtually everything else.
Also, to reduce damage rust, I've started keeping packs of silica gel in my boxes. So far, so good.
On 4/5/2016 at 6:28 AM, LunkerFisher said:
I had one of those boxes but it now lives at the bottom of Raystown Lake in PA.
Allen
I use 35mm film canisters. Keeps the hooks dry too. This is in a deep 3700. They wont fit in a standard 3700.
On 4/4/2016 at 10:15 PM, Jar11591 said:Ditch the Plano and go with Flambeau.
ALL my Plano boxes are like that. Flambeau dividers usually fit snug.
This............plus the Flambeau boxes come with the "Z-rust" dividers. I switched to these boxes for anything with hooks a few years ago from Plano, and rusty hook issues were a thing of the past. I still use Plano boxes, but only for soft plastics, and only because Plano makes a couple 3700 sized boxes where the compartments/dividers line up perfectly with what I am trying to store in them.
OK thanks for the advice everyone!
I use the Plano 3701 for all my hooks. I buy Flambeau Zera Rust tabs (same thing their blue divider are made from) and spread them throughout the box. I'm also going to add some silica packets this year as well just for assurance.
On 4/7/2016 at 2:18 AM, WIGuide said:I use the Plano 3701 for all my hooks. I buy Flambeau Zera Rust tabs (same thing their blue divider are made from) and spread them throughout the box. I'm also going to add some silica packets this year as well just for assurance.
quick tip silica packs can be re-used if they collect moisture just put them in the oven for a couple hours at 200*
On 4/7/2016 at 2:28 AM, Scarborough817 said:quick tip silica packs can be re-used if they collect moisture just put them in the oven for a couple hours at 200*
I've heard you can stick them in the microwave for a few minutes too.
On 4/7/2016 at 3:33 AM, WIGuide said:I've heard you can stick them in the microwave for a few minutes too.
most likely i just don't know for how long exactly
Edit: the almighty google has revealed that it should take 3-5 minutes in the microwave on medium or medium-high