Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    
    Mike,
    
         The responses to your note will likely vary depending upon the
    type of saltwater fishing that's done.  
    
         I do a lot of party boat fishing.  For this category, there are 4
    key storage needs:  1.) tackle storage; 2.) food storage; 3.) fish storage;
    and, 4.) miscellaneous storage.  Miscellaneous storage contains: rags,
    pliers, fillet knife, plastic bags, burlap bags, dramamine, anise oil,
    etc.  The other key need is the ability to sit on the thing (I've seen
    my share of damaged coolers).  
    
         I only want to make one trip from my truck to the boat.  Since I
    have 2 rods (bait & jig), the needs mentioned above have to be
    satisfied in ONE item.  Coolers don't cut it, because typically they
    don't feature proper tackle storage space.  Tackle boxes don't cut it, 
    because typically they don't feature room for fish & ice.  And neither
    one could withstand the weight of my butt sitting on them.
    
         Voila, BJ's in Northboro sells a heavy-duty plastic storage 
    container with removable lid (the underside of which acts as a tray for
    food), removable compartment area for miscellaneous storage (#4) and food
    storage (#2), larger storage area at the base for fish storage (#3), a 
    slide-out drawer for tackle storage (#1), and is durable enough to seat the 
    most massive angler.  $29.  So my Plano sits at home now as backup
    storage.
    
          N.B.,  The box *is* the size of an American Tourister, but it
    *has* to be to provide the "All-In-1" capability.
    

    Mike,
    
      My boat has a couple of tackle drawers that make things easier.
    In general I seperate my tackle by fishing type. I have cod,
    bass_blues and tuna. The cod jigs go in a tackle draw. The bass and
    blues plugs go in plano magnum box. The tuna stuff is in a large
    rubber made container. Knifes, files, hook removes and the
    like go in the second draw. 
    
    There is never enough room for all and in the time of hot bites
    the wrong things go in the wrong places of course.
    
    Bruce

    
    As stated by re.2 it depends on how your fishing. In our case (boat)
    we use square plastic "Tupperware" style boxes with removeable lids.
    These are the large size, say 24"Lx12"Wx6"D, and mark on the top of
    what each box contains by fish species. All of this equates to easy
    access and storage.
    
                                                    Guy
    

I have a cod box, a blues/bass box, and several misc boxes.  One contains spare
parts, spare hooks, crimps, swivels (each of the fish-specific boxes
contains a smaller number of swivels).  The other contains pliers, knives, 
sharpeners, etc.  Whenever I fish someplace other than on Bruce's boat, I go nuts
'cause I've always left something important on board.

What do you do with small jigs?  They are good for mackerel, which I mostly get
when codfishing, so I leave them in my cod box on the boat.  Now, I go to 
Martha's Vineyard for a week and the bonito are hitting the mackerel jigs.  I've
brought my bass/blues box.  Oh well.

There is NO perfect solution for the multi-species fisherperson.  Cod stuff is
easy...it lives on the boat.

Tim

	I am always re-arranging my tackle. I don't think there is an ideal 
setup. I am also looking for ways to design tackle draws into every nook 
and cranny on my boat.
	I had a shelf that was kind of like a magazine rack. I used it to 
hold charts. Last year I filled it with sections of 2" ABS pipe standing 
on end. (I forget how long the were but obviously longer than the lures I had.)
I'd hang lures by their trebles inside the pipe. It worked okay.
	I also hold Mackerel jigs and other light rigs coiled and stuck
to the inside of my cuddy with velcro tape. (The liner material works well 
with velcro.)
	The stuff I carry on and off is the biggest challenge. I try to have 
several outfits, one for each type of fishing, plus a generic box of common
stuff. Of course this is also imperfect because if your offshore fishing for
big game you also take along the bottom fishing stuff, just in case, and you 
need the top water stuff to get bait...soooo you often carry everything aboard
including the kitchen sink. Sometimes however it does work out.
	For big game I use a canvas bag; actually two. I carry the made up
stuff in one, in zip lock bags, and the makins in the other.
	For bottom fishing I use the old reliable plastic bucket with the 
jigs hanging from the edge and weights in the bottom.
	I use the bucket for big top water lures a la blue fishing. I'm 
also planning to add a tackle box for jigs and smaller lures primarily for 
stripers this year.
	The generic box holds leader material, swivels, knives etc.
                               

	I just bought a new lure box at the FIAR for $20 which now has
	"most" of my Striper, Blues, Mackeral, etc etc lures and still has
	room for more misc stuff but I decided to keep it just for lures.
	It has a clear top and this is where the big lures rest.  This top
	pivots and inside the deep box are removable tray's that smaller
	8" lures rest.  There is a section that you hang lures as well and
	I put the 6" and smaller lures in.

	I keep the misc stuff in my old tackle box.

	But what has helped me a lot is that I use film containers to
	store all those loose piece items.  These are the film containers
	that are black but have a grey top.  I take a black indullable
	marker and draw the item that's inside the container on this top
	and list it's size, length whateva.  These containers sit inside
	the tray's normally used for puting lures etc and the multi tray
	box I have closes fine with them stored in the inside tray's.

	Things that fit in these are: Hooks, Swivels, Barrel weights,
	Bobbers, Wire line or Nylon leaders from 6" to 30", Snap swivels
	most all sizes I use anyway etc etc.

	I find that when I need to quickly re-rig due to lost line/setup
	during hot action and no spare rod avaialble rigged right I can
	find the right stuff faster this way and it's not all tangled up
	with other junk :-)

	-< Tuna Tail >-

I keep everything in the boat.  I am also looking for ideas on how to store all 
this stuff.

I bought a few cheap plastic tackle boxes for $2.00 and label them simular to the
other replys; sinkers, bottom rigs, plugs, tins and swimmers, misc.  I have a 
large plastic (like tupperware) container for my cod jigs and bottom rigs and a
smaller one for bass/blues stuff.  I picked up te large container from a 
fried food restaurant, frozen fish came in it.

I also use film containers to store the small stuff.  I use the clear ones that
way I can see whats in them.

Gordon

I use my big (24') boat for both saltwater and freshwater fishing.

Freshwater tackle is in one giant Plano box (497?). 

Saltwater tackle is of two kinds: casting and trolling, and deepwater
jigging. 

The casting and trolling (bluefish etc) lures (in see-thru plastic boxes)
occupy two drawers in a built-in aboard the boat:

 - Rebels, Rapalas and such
 - Pet spoons 
 - Hopkins
 - feathers etc.
 - pork strips of various kinds

Bottomfishing end tackle occupies a third drawer:

 - flounder spreaders
 - a zillion snelled hooks
 - weakfish rigs
 - codfish rigs
 - tautaug rigs
 - mackerel rigs
 
Three Plano Magnum see-thrus hold Jawbreakers, Atom poppers, Alou eels...
These stow nicely under the mate's pilot chair.

The heavy hardware, i.e. codfish jigs from 6 to 32 ounces, hang in two
plastic crates (like �-width milk crates) that I found on sale somewhere.
I drilled spaced holes along the top edge of the crates. The nose of each
jig goes into the crate first, then one hook point of each jig drops into
a drilled hole. The jigs are kept separated and handy. 

A transition from salt to fresh or vice versa requires that I transfer the
milk crates. Everything else is static.

The (one, too big and too heavy) freshwater tackle box moves between the
24' boat and the 14�' boat.

Art

    
    At least you'd be down to 1 thing to carry and could see exactly
    where whatever your lookin for IS.     :^)
    
    Fred