Having fishing gear strewn all over the house can make life disorganized and lead to lost or damaged equipment. Implementing simple storage solutions and organization systems makes life less chaotic and helps protect your investment in rods, reels, and accessories. Follow this advice on keeping your essential fishing items orderly.
Invest in a Dedicated Tackle Storage System
Purchasing a specialized tackle organizer is the best way to corral assorted small tackle. Plastic tackle boxes or bag systems have customizable trays, dividers, and pockets to neatly arrange items like lures, hooks, floats, and leaders. Go with stackable tackle boxes to access different fishing scenarios. Label the boxes by species or technique for easy retrieval. Hang tackle bags in the garage or closet for convenience.
Mount Rod Racks for Easy Accessibility
Fishing rods can easily get tangled and damaged without proper storage. Mount horizontal rod racks with individual slots to neatly store assembled rods at the ready. Consider a wall-mounted rack near your gearing-up space. For the garage, ceiling-mounted horizontal racks keep rods safely overhead but convenient to grab on the way to the water. Label each slot with painter’s tape for organizing by type.
Keep Reels Clean and Serviced
Reels require periodic cleaning and maintenance for optimal performance. Designate a small workbench area with mounted tool boards or a portable toolkit to tackle reel upkeep. Keep reels secured in individual slots in a rack after servicing so they don’t gather dust and grime while stored. Check and tighten drags before each trip.
Craft Custom Landing Net Hangers
Keep long-handle fishing nets tidy and damage-free by installing custom hangers on garage walls or rafters. Use sturdy metal hooks screwed into wooden plaques sized to cradle net hoops upright or horizontally. Space multiple plaques to keep multiple nets segregated. The vertical storage position allows nets to drip dry, preventing mildew.
Assign Proper Hard Baits Storage
Hard fishing lures like crankbaits, jerk baits, and topwater lures require careful storage to avoid damaging appendages and tangled lead hooks. Use plastic compartment tackle boxes with secure lids or craft custom racks to house your collection securely. Store horizontally in labeled clear containers for the most realistic movement to mimic natural presentation.
Get Innovative with Plastic Baits Drawers
Pouring a pile of Ziploc bags crammed with soft plastic baits onto the floor to sort through isn’t efficient. Instead, recycle kitchen silverware trays, plastic organizers, or craft containers to neatly categorize bodies, tails, and paddle tails by size, shape, and color groupings. Label the compartments or stagger groupings across multiple stacked drawers. Keep sorted bags handy right inside tackle boxes for easy access.
Maximize Space with Durable Wall Racks
Open garage or basement walls provide ideal real estate for specialized racks that cradle gear securely while being artistic displays. Heavy-duty metal racks allow arranging reels, rod and reel combos, nets, oars, and other bulky items up and out of the way. Use pegboard sheets to design custom arrangements with available hooks and bins tailored to the unique shapes of fishing accessories.
Getting organized protects your fishing investments and lets you enjoy more time on the water versus wasting precious weekend hours searching for misplaced gear at home. Implement these tips so you always know exactly where every item is located when adventure calls.