An Ultimate Guide To Selecting and Filling Up The Best Tackle Box

Guide to Buying and Filling Up Your Best Tacklebox

How often do you:

1. Miss hooking a good fish because of dull hooks?
2. Waist time untangling a mess of lures and lines at the bottom of your tackle box while trying to get at that one particular lure?
3. Buy a bunch of plugs that are too large to fit the compartments in your tackle box?

If you have some of these troubles, you also have lots of company. Most anglers go fishing without a complete and efficient kit of tools and accessories. Now, an impressive and well-stocked tackle box doesn’t make a good fisher­man.

    But why make it harder for yourself? In fact, who wants to handicap himself at all when work­ing today’s heavily fished waters where some of the most sophisticated fish in the world live or if catching a fish means the difference between you eating or going hungry.

 

How-To Guide For Getting The Best Tackle Box

You’ll need the right tackle and other equipment if you are going to want to have a successful fishing trip.  But,  having the best gear is useless if you lose it or it becomes damaged.  So, the first consideration in assembling your fishing tackle should be a suit­able tackle box.

Don’t just go into a store and ask the salesman to show you a tackle box at a set price, as most fishermen do when they need one. Before you start shopping, you should know precisely what box is best suited to your needs.  Your first consideration in assembling a kit of angling tools should be a suit­able tackle box. Don’t just go into a store and ask the salesman to show you a tackle box at a special price, as most fishermen do when they need one. Before you start shopping, you should know what box is best suited to your needs.

     First, look for a box with enough compartments of suitable size. It’s a good idea to measure your largest lures, checking both length and height, in­cluding the hooks. Many anglers get fooled by measuring only their lures length, then when they get home to discover that their new box won’t close because the treble hooks on the largest lures stand too high in the compart­ments. If you use such bulky lures, you’ll need a box with deep compart­ments. Figure out how many lures of different sizes you’ll want to carry with you. Then add about ten percent to that number.

     Some anglers take this matter of lure compartments so seriously that they lay their lures out the way they want them to lie, and then they make a diagram on a piece of paper to use when shopping for a new box. Such men usually end up with a box that has ad­justable compartment walls that snap into grooves provided for this purpose. Then they can arrange the compart­ments to suit their needs, provided the trays are deep enough. A few tackle boxes are so constructed that you can make long compartments by placing the partitions lengthwise in the bins and securing them in position with the aid of a small soldering iron.
The second consideration when wanting to purchase your best tackle box should be the size of the accessory well at the bottom of the box, which holds reels, extra line, various accessories. It’s a good idea to assemble on a table all of the accessories you use and meas­ure the space they take up, including width, length, and height. That will be the size of your accessory well.
Look for a box that is as nearly wa­tertight as you can find. Most manufacturers advertise their tackle boxes as being waterproof. But I’ve tested quite a few brands and haven’t yet found an entirely waterproof one. All will leak if wholly submerged in water. A well-made box will stay dry inside during pouring rain or from water sprays from a boat. Some will float if dropped overboard, unless densely filled; others will sink, even when empty, as water comes in at the seams. Get the most watertight box you can find.
Look for a box that will resist rust and corrosion; this is especially important if you fish on or near saltwater. Locks, handles, hinges, bolts, and screws should be solid brass, bronze, nickel-plated steel, or durable, heavy-duty, plastic. A cheap box is no bargain when you find it rusting after being used a few times in the rain or pitted with small holes after use in saltwater.
A quiet box is a boon to good fishing. So, avoid a tackle box that has a handle that rattles, lures move around in their com­partments, or a tackle box that makes a loud squeak every time you open and close the box. Such noise spooks nervous fish near your boat. Look for handles that are tight enough not to rattle when trolling, and lure compartments lined with cork, rubber, or plastic. You’ll have to fix the bottom of your box yourself, for even the plastic ones are not quite enough. Buy a small, rubber mat cut it to fit the bottom of your box, and attach it with rubber cement. Then you can set your box down in any boat quietly, troll with fewer rattles, and open and shut it with less noise.
Weight is an important consideration also as you want the tackle box to be as light as possible if you are planning to carry your box a long distance to boat or riverbank.

    Filling your tackle box with the correct lures and such is only one part of being prepared.  The other part lies in what you carry in your accessory well at the bottom of your tackle box.   Having the right equipment can, an extreme situation, mean the difference between you catching a fish or ending up with nothing or having an accident.

For example, why risk damaging your teeth to cut leaders instead of buying an inexpensive leader cutter? Why go fishing without taking an extra line, reel oil, simple tools, and spare parts? Why would any angler venture into the country where biting flies and mosquitoes are plentiful without taking insect repel­lent?

Nobody can tell another angler ex­actly what accessories he should carry.

Tackle Box List

But here’s a list of items many veterans have with them :

1. Pair of small wire cutters
2. Long-nose pliers
3. Split shot
4. Assorted sinkers, including wrap-around lead
5.  Sharpening stone
6. Extra hooks, including trebles in all sizes needed
7. Swivels of assorted sizes
8. Small screwdriver set
9. Reel wrench for trolling or saltwater reels
10. Spares to replace delicate or easily lost reel parts
11. Extra spinning-reel spools carrying a line of different strengths
12. Reel oiler
13. Leader cutter
14. Plastic clips or wide rubber bands to keep monofilament line from rolling off of spinning reels when not in use
15. Leader material of varying sizes
16. Small coils of soft wire
17. Plastic tape for holding spinning reels firmly to reel seats and for emergency repairs
18. Ferrule cement
19. Fishing knife
20. Small scale and measuring tape
21. Water thermometer
22. Reliable compass for foggy days on large lakes
23. Plug retriever
24. Reliable insect repellent
25. Waterproof matches or another portable fire starter
26. Flashlight and extra bulb
27. A fishing license in waterproof plastic license cover
28. Sunglasses
29. If applicable, thick rubber bands to be used for keeping your troll­ing gear together.
30. Small Sponge
31. Suntan Lotion
32. Toilet Paper

Final Thoughts

This above guide should be used with common sense as it is not one size fits all.  For example, tackle boxes used for a recreational fishing trip will have more fishing lures and other accessories.  Likewise, a tackle box in an SHTF situation will be leaner and mean.  But,  this article and common sense will help make sure that you can correctly select the best tackle box for your particular needs.