Hi everyone!
I’ve been pondering this question a while. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find an adequate answer online so I thought I’d ask a general opinion.
As I’m sure many of you can relate, I have a accumulated quite a bit of tackle over the past few years (largely thanks to the new subscription boxes from various companies). Naturally this has led to a large pile of hard baits piled in their respective packages. Ironically, my tackle bags are pretty barren (probably 20% total space used) because I only store baits that I have used.
I’ve been reluctant to remove any baits I have yet to use (mainly because I either forget about them or haven’t had the chance to yet). This is largely thanks to my grandfather, who has always preached about keeping baits in their package in case you don’t ever use them. (He collects antique fishing tackle now)
So my question is, what are your opinions on storing tackle (specifically hard baits) still in their factory packaging? Do you keep them stores separately or do you remove them and place them in your tackle bags?
I take mine out of the package as soon as I get them home, they go straight into the tackle trays that are labeled for that style bait!
I never leave them in the original packaging. I take them out and put them in the appropriate Plano utility boxes where all my baits are kept until I load up a tackle box with only the baits I’m going to use for the day.
X3
I’ve never subscribed to one of those places that sends me tackle I’ll never use. If I buy it, I’ll tie it on, sooner or later. You can’t use it while it’s still in the package.
On 2/22/2020 at 2:58 AM, KevDru said:Hi everyone!
I’ve been pondering this question a while. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find an adequate answer online so I thought I’d ask a general opinion.
As I’m sure many of you can relate, I have a accumulated quite a bit of tackle over the past few years (largely thanks to the new subscription boxes from various companies). Naturally this has led to a large pile of hard baits piled in their respective packages. Ironically, my tackle bags are pretty barren (probably 20% total space used) because I only store baits that I have used.
I’ve been reluctant to remove any baits I have yet to use (mainly because I either forget about them or haven’t had the chance to yet). This is largely thanks to my grandfather, who has always preached about keeping baits in their package in case you don’t ever use them. (He collects antique fishing tackle now)
So my question is, what are your opinions on storing tackle (specifically hard baits) still in their factory packaging? Do you keep them stores separately or do you remove them and place them in your tackle bags?
Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~
I tried doing it in the store a few times but apparently that's frowned upon.
So now I wait until I get in the truck ~
A-Jay
I usually just take them out of the package, and put them in my tackleboxes when they're new. The only reason I might not do this would be if I have a duplicate of one bait. Then, I'll save one back for later
X4...or X5...whatever. Soon as it arrives, or I'm home if I've shopped local, it comes out of it's package and into the appropriate box.
Surely, you will want to take them out of the packages right away at least to inspect them for defects!
Out of the original boxes and into the Plano box that I have for that particular style.
Another thing I do for both crankbaits and jerkbaits is a take a marker and write the depth range on the bill. It saves a bit of time when on the water and makes it easier to quickly pick the lure I'm looking for while fishing.
I'm with A-Jay on this at least wait until your out of the store... I put everything into storage boxes mostly Plano specifically..only thing I keep in original packaging are soft plastics
Why keep them in packaging? It's not like any mass made lures are going to be worth anything later if you do keep them in the packaging? I take mine out as soon as I get them home and on the boat. If I don't take them out then I have the packaging laying around in the boat when would open them when I'm out fishing. I don't like trash in the boat.
I take them right out to swap hooks and Than into the tackle tray. If I buy 2 Or more of the same color that I haven't tried before I only open one, swap hooks, place in Plano box. If I buy more of one that I’ve used before and it’s a known hot lure, swap hooks on both and put both in the Plano box
lately I have been testing all my cranks in the bath tub
I have a TON of tackle still in it's packaging. Much of what I want to try is hung on peg board, ready to be torn open and put in a tray. A great majority is in four large plastic tubs, waiting to hit the peg board. I would organize and prioritize what you're going to try and use in the near future, and get it into a box you will take fishing with you. Otherwise, you forget what you have.
Steps:
1. Research BR + Interwebs - happiness
2. Brood about hard water / next time on water - sorrow
3. Purchase - lots of excitement
4. Wait - too much excitement
5. Delivery - extreme euphoria
6. "Latest Tackle Purchase Thread" Photo Op - peaking
7. Unpack baits - coming down
8. Organize and Store - ahh has cigarette
9. ????? - withdraw/depression
10. Monitor "Latest Tackle Purchase Thread"... get stupid ideas and go back to Step 1.
On 2/22/2020 at 3:20 AM, MIbassyaker said:Surely, you will want to take them out of the packages right away at least to inspect them for defects!
Case in point - got the 5-pack of BPS squarebills. Open it up to find that the front hooks were mis-shaped. Instead of them forming a triangle looking at them from below, they formed a 'T' shape. Of course I replaced them with Owner ST-36s.
I have 20-30 hard baits still in the package handing on a peg board in the garage.
A lot of times I will buy a half dozen lures of the same kind.
I actually do this with most of my baits.
Sometimes the baits stay in the package for years.
I bought a bunch of these to fish the weed mats at Guntersville.
I think I used 2 baits and have had 5 packages hanging for 10 years.
Sometimes a good idea really isnt
Heddon made some kind Zara "something" that was floating soft plastic and weedless like that 25 years ago. Didn't work then.
I take mine out and store them in planos, except if I have the same bait already in the plano, it goes into a box (for now, working on peg board). I have a small boat bag full of unopened plugs.
My lures go into my boxes, I don't have extra tackle sitting around in my garage or anything like that. Highly recommend getting hook bonnets for your treble hook lures, makes fishing much easier not having to untangle 6 different crankbaits wrapped together. I keep 75% of my tackle in this one tackle bag. The other selection of my baits are soft plastics which are stored vertically in small totes in my boat and easy to go through to find what I want to use. I like everything organized and easy to access so I know where it is. I just restock at the end of the season when they have fall/christmas sales.
Bait Monkey taught me years ago to open as soon as legally possible, (even the bait monkey wont encourage me to open before I pay for it) try as soon as possible, loose as soon as possible, and replace as soon as possible. Waiting would be like a kid waiting to open Christmas packages until noon on Christmas day. Have to admit I have held buzz baits out the window of the car on the way home, and placed crank baits in the bath tub. My wife thinks I have a problem, she may be right.
Well you cant play with them if they are still packaged, now can you.
On 2/22/2020 at 3:16 AM, A-Jay said:Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~
I tried doing it in the store a few times but apparently that's frowned upon.
So now I wait until I get in the truck ~
A-Jay
Somewhere between the cast register & the truck!
Out of approx 5,000 hard baits I have probably a thousand still in the packs 80% has never been wet lol. The color called Smoky Joe in the Bomber Long A has been real good to me over the years and I buy that color whenever I come across it so there is like half a dozen of those unopened and any other lures that have been lucky for me is hoarded. My fishing buddy now in his 70's taught me from his lifetime of fishing is that if you like a particular lure to buy as many you can afford!
I get one of these every month too.
On 2/22/2020 at 7:15 AM, Tizi said:I get one of these every month too.
A bait man bag! What comes in the usual monthly bag and how much?
I buy a lot of my tackle in bulk/multiplies and I leave it in the original packaging until it’s time to load it into a plano to replace one of it’s lost siblings.
I'm thinking about buying a whole bunch of my favorite baits now so I don't have to pay for them years down the road for a lot more money. I'm talking about enough to last years.
For instance there are a few cranks or poppers I know I will use forever. So why not buy 20 of each (money permitting of course)? Especially if they're on sale. Saves gas (or shipping costs) too.
If I do this I will keep them in the packaging. Most baits I buy can be opened and put back in the box if I want to inspect them. I rarely keep baits in the packaging as of now, even if I have a duplicate. I figure I'll lose one anyways, plus I don't own a lot of tackle yet.
My buddy’s grandpa used to have all
kinds of Shad raps still in the original package in the bottom of his tackle box. As you might imagine, they were in better shape than all the ones in the trays
Usually after I catch a few to make sure I like it and don't want to return it
On 2/22/2020 at 8:14 AM, Smells like fish said:A bait man bag! What comes in the usual monthly bag and how much?
They have different levels, go check it out on their site. I get the mid-level one. It came with a pack of divine worms, 4/0 Hooks, 3/8 divine hybrid jig, movement 80x, d1 hybrid swim crank, swank 77x, crush 50x.
There are some baits I have back stock of because they're my bread and butter. So, I usually have unopened packages of certain color SK KVD 1.5s and Rapala DT-10s. Besides that, if I buy one I plan on trying it out on the next trip if it's something entirely new or a replacement of a lost plug.
On 2/22/2020 at 3:46 AM, Mbirdsley said:I take them right out to swap hooks and Than into the tackle tray. If I buy 2 Or more of the same color that I haven't tried before I only open one, swap hooks, place in Plano box. If I buy more of one that I’ve used before and it’s a known hot lure, swap hooks on both and put both in the Plano box
lately I have been testing all my cranks in the bath tub
Your tub must be bigger & deeper than my tub. I just can flip a squarebill on my 5' creek rods in my bathroom.????
I usually take them out as soon as I get to the vehicle . Just cant help it .
There are a couple of hard baits that I buy in mass quantity. I order these directly from the manufacturer and only ~5 at a time, where as the rest sit in the box they were shipped in until its time to restock. As far as all others baits are concerned, they get opened, fondled and usually tied onto a rod, hung on the "on deck" rack under my boat lid or placed neatly into their respective tackle tray.
So far all my hardbaits are neatly stored in Plano 3600s, if I get excessive they'll be thrown into a huge TW box I store my soft plastics in for now, I eventually plan on getting a pegboard for my room to store my baits (I live in an apartment so there's no garage lol)
On 2/22/2020 at 12:40 PM, JoePhish said:There are some baits I have back stock of because they're my bread and butter. So, I usually have unopened packages of certain color SK KVD 1.5s and Rapala DT-10s. Besides that, if I buy one I plan on trying it out on the next trip if it's something entirely new or a replacement of a lost plug.
I can relate to this, raided my wallmart clearance recently and got a bunch of Cotton cordell lipless cranks for 2 bucks. They're in a box right now with my soft plastics. My crankbait/jerkbait box is just too full rn for them lol
On 2/22/2020 at 5:07 AM, swhit140 said:My lures go into my boxes, I don't have extra tackle sitting around in my garage or anything like that. Highly recommend getting hook bonnets for your treble hook lures, makes fishing much easier not having to untangle 6 different crankbaits wrapped together. I keep 75% of my tackle in this one tackle bag. The other selection of my baits are soft plastics which are stored vertically in small totes in my boat and easy to go through to find what I want to use. I like everything organized and easy to access so I know where it is. I just restock at the end of the season when they have fall/christmas sales.
I store my cranks the same way. Purchasing a Brother Label maker was one of the best things I've ever none. I label the boxes all the way around and they are easy to find and pick out. My Plastics I stow up in Rubbermaid type containers. Label them as well. I store my plastics by brand and style for the most part.
On 2/22/2020 at 9:12 AM, schplurg said:I'm thinking about buying a whole bunch of my favorite baits now so I don't have to pay for them years down the road for a lot more money. I'm talking about enough to last years.
For instance there are a few cranks or poppers I know I will use forever. So why not buy 20 of each (money permitting of course)? Especially if they're on sale. Saves gas (or shipping costs) too.
If I do this I will keep them in the packaging. Most baits I buy can be opened and put back in the box if I want to inspect them. I rarely keep baits in the packaging as of now, even if I have a duplicate. I figure I'll lose one anyways, plus I don't own a lot of tackle yet.
The real kicker is you'll have a great pattern, killer pattern of something. The manufacturer will stop producing it or was a special run color. Would kill for a few old Bandits patterns that are long time not available anymore, same for a few Bombers as well. Bomber and Bandit could not hold a candle to what they use to be. Shame.
On 2/22/2020 at 5:07 AM, swhit140 said:My lures go into my boxes, I don't have extra tackle sitting around in my garage or anything like that. Highly recommend getting hook bonnets for your treble hook lures, makes fishing much easier not having to untangle 6 different crankbaits wrapped together. I keep 75% of my tackle in this one tackle bag. The other selection of my baits are soft plastics which are stored vertically in small totes in my boat and easy to go through to find what I want to use. I like everything organized and easy to access so I know where it is. I just restock at the end of the season when they have fall/christmas sales.
Being an OCD plagued person myself, I appreciate the hook guards, I just can't get in the habit of using them. I organize my boxes similarly; I sort my cranks by depth, and then by color. I have a shallow 'shad' and shalliw 'chartreuse', with my chartreuse boxes containing all brightly colored baits, not just chartreuse. Shad boxes have natural craw patterns as well, with the bright craw patterns going in the chartreuse box. I also use the 3701 slim boxes....my non-boater bag went from holding 5-6 3700's to 9 3701's.