TackleTour

So, my fishing closet looks like a tornado ripped through a Bass Pro Shop.

How do you keep your fishing closet organized? Unfortunately, I don't have a boat so all my stuff gets packed away in my fishing closet. I have a bunch of Plano boxes to keep stuff in, it's just that after Spring, everything is everywhere.

Do i keep it like it is? Weirdly enough, I know where ALL my stuff is, regardless if it's sitting in some random spot at the back of the closet underneath my waders, or whether it's in some nook in the 2nd drawer in my cabinet.

How do you organize all your stuff?

This could be an interesting thread…

-Sticks in master closet
-Reels under bed
-Bling in my dresser
-Terminal tackle, plastics in garage
-Lures, building components in spare bedroom

As you can see, I pride myself on being organized… but I never thought I was crazy until I wrote this list...

I keep my combos on a rod rack in the corner of my room. But everything else is in my closet. I put my hard bait boxes and terminal tackle boxes in one of those big tubs. I put my soft plastics in smaller-medium tubs, and I organize them by type. Try to get the tubs that stack on top of eachother. It helps save space especially if you have a small closet like me. And then I put my extra line in a tub (I know, I use a lot of tubs lol). I also have a shelf in my closet that I put extra/random stuff on.

I have all my combos on a rod rack. Only 10ish so not too many.

All lures are grouped into size, weight and function and put into small Versus Meiho tackle boxes which fit perfectly into my into my Vanquest Javelin backpack. All jig heads in the small Versus Meiho terminal tackle boxes, and soft plastics in tubs which I just grab as I need.

All other gear is in plastic tubs that stack and go in my cupboard in the spare room.

I only have a corner of my very small, packed office. I have a rod rack that holds my combos (9 or so counting my surf fishing/panfishing/fly fishing combos), with a couple leaned in a corner because they're in hard tubes. All my soft plastics are in 3 Flambeau long deep boxes. I have probably 15 or so 3600 size trays (that's the size my tackle backpack uses) with all my other baits in them stacked on top of a cabinet, along with reel boxes and a shoebox full of line spools.

Rods in the rod racks on the basement ceiling, and reels in a hard case. Plano boxes, mostly 3600s, in baskets from a chest freezer. I've got three baskets on one shelf. They function pretty much like filing cabinet drawers. Miscellaneous on another shelf and the floor of the closet. The kayaks live in the garage, hung from the ceiling.

The rods and reels are finally back on their rod stands instead of being scattered all over.

I think the biggest problem for me is the fact that I need to 're-pack' every time I head out, because each time is it's own adventure. Sometimes I'll be on my buddy's boat, which means I can pack heavier, sometimes I'll be hitting the shoreline which means I can't carry as much.

The fact that every single trip I make requires different packing configurations, and sometimes different baits and presentations, packing for a few hours on the water requires rifling through bags, boxes, etc. I think the biggest problem I've had is actually putting stuff away after coming back home. I usually toss the stuff and hope it magically gets put away.

I think I'll spend the next couple days creating an approach. I already have a nice hand made wooden drawer that fits Plano 3300 for factor perfectly. I can place all my hard baits, jigs etc in 3600s and I can fit 10 in this drawer. I also purchased a rubbermaid shelfing unit that I hope to be able to use efficiently. I bough some Hefty Sportsman where I can stash my soft plastics and place on these shelves.

I should do a before and after so I can, at another time when my closet is a mess again, I can reminisce on what it looked like when my closet was organized.

Make a rod rack as #1 priority. Then get some big plastic boxes and start the organization process for lures and plastics. Finally, get a couple of those cabelas padded reel cases with the padded dividers, and you can store about a dozen reels in each case. They can stack right along side the bait boxes.

This is my method, only it's in a basement. I have young kids that LOVE to play with my fishing stuff, so the rod rack got built into the ceiling. Even I cannot touch a rod/reel combo without getting the step ladder out.

Expensive stuff goes up high on racks as well. Kids only have access to soft plastics and their push button rods now.

I have 3 6' tall 4 foot wide 4 shelf wheeled carts.

Got them for 60$ each shipped from fleabay.
That's good or storing egg crates loaded with plano boxes.
and rubbermaid boxes loaded with soft plastics in bags.
More egg crates loaded with pvc down spouts cut to size for all my surf pluggage.
I'm not condoning robbing a dunkin donuts.....but they have by far the best egg crates (they gave me a bunch years ago legally)


I have 2 4 foot tall multiple drawered carts that hold stuff that was used or transported and needs to go back to it's proper home.


I line the top of the carts with luan and lay rods on top

by buying more stuff to cover up the stuff i already have. That way i always know where its at depending on when i bought it.

I got a few of these and they will hold several boxes and a lot of plastic bags. and they stack. less that 20 bucks at wally world and I and glad I invested in them. I may have to get a few more just to finish sorting things out.

Dug

I keep mine organized by telling my wife to stay out of it.

goldrod wrote:by buying more stuff to cover up the stuff i already have. That way i always know where its at depending on when i bought it.

Haha! Sounds familiar....I know I have stuff, can't find it, so go buy more of it!!!

How to keep your fishing tackle organized ?
By organizing it.

Simple- 20 or so combos on the racks in the garage. 3600 boxes, soft-side cases and big hard boxes all fit on a shelf in the front corner. In spite of all that, I still have stuff strewn all over the garage, on top of the china cabinet, microwave and refrigerator(among other places). I found 4 nib TD Sol reels in the closet amongst my wife's shoes recently. I may have a problem.....