Organizing gear can help a kayak fisherman be more successful on the water. I can remember my first kayak fishing trip. I thought I was organized but found myself digging through my gear far too frequently trying to locate the baits and terminal tackle that I really needed. I spent a lot of my time locating gear instead of fishing. It was a lesson that I took to heart and since, I’ve come up with a number of ways to organize my gear more efficiently. In this short article, I’ll be sharing one of my “tips” for organizing your soft plastics.
Knowing what you have, where it is, and being able to access it quickly can make you a more efficient kayak angler and help you put more bass in the kayak. Organizing soft plastic baits can be particularly difficult. This is primarily due to the sheer number and types of baits most of us need or want on the water.
Organizing your gear can make you time on the wate more enjoyable and productive
I try to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to organizing my soft plastic baits such as tubes, soft jerkbaits, worms, and other similar baits. First, I keep mine in the original bags. The new scented baits, in particular, seem to “keep” much better that way.
I use labeled 1 gallon zip lock freezer bags to organize the baits in their original packs. I think any way you want to organize them that makes sense to you is fine. Tubes in one and soft jerkbaits in another is one option. You can even organize by color or brands. It just depends on what makes sense to you. I’ll typically have 2-3 types of baits in a bag. For example, one of my zip locks contains senko style baits and soft jerkbaits in various sizes and colors. When I’m ready to fish, all I need to do is throw three or four of my zip lock bags with the appropriate baits in my kayak crate and I”m ready to go.
One additional twist that I do to make things a little easier on the water is reserve one bag for my favorite baits and/or baits that I think will work that particular day on the water. I also add packs of hooks and other terminal tackle that I’ll need to rig those particular baits. It makes things more efficient when on the water. many times I’ll keep that bag up front with me in the cockpit of my kayak. This means 90 percent of the time I’ll only need to access one bag.
Advantages to using zip locks are:
- They are quiet and won’t make noise like hard boxes do when you move them around in your kayak.
- They are cheep and last a long time. I like cheap!!
- They are “flexible” meaning that you can cram a lot of baits in one bag and it still stows fairly easy.
- If the zip lock bag is only half full, it only uses half the space. This is in contrast to a utility box which takes up the same amount of room regardless of being full..half full..or empty.
- They are transparent so it’s easy to find the bait you want.
I know this tip has helped me spend more time fishing and a lot less time searching for the baits I want to throw. I’m confident it will also help you make the best use of your time on the water as well.
Hey Juan how’s it been going? Hey if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to add a tip as well. What I found out this year is another way to organize your soft plastics. I took and bought medium sized carabiners. Since the original bags come with a hole in the top, you just put all of your baits together. (1 clip for senkos, 1 for brushhogs, etc.) I have found this to be very effective as well!
Jimmy, thanks for the tip man!! that’s a good one that I am definitely going to give that a try!
I just read your blog post. I didn’t realize you were pursuing a degree in physical therapy. That’s excellent! It’s a great profession. Good luck and stay in touch!
Great tips! I have too many soft plastics and not enough space. This kinda goes along with what your saying so I have 1 more tip to add:
- make sure you keep your plastics as straight as possible when storing them. I’ve ruined the action on some swimbaits because they get a slight bend in them. This casues them to twist in the water. You can sometimes boil them for a few minutes and pull them back into shape, but that’s too much work :p
Thanks for the blog update, I’ve been dying for some content here hehe
Thanks for adding some info. That’s a good tip too. You are correct about the baits bending and deforming. It can ruin the action. Thats one of the reasons I lke the zip locks and using the original bags. The bags can lay flat in the zip lock. If you put plastics in divider boxes and you store them on end in your kayak crate, the bait will bend and deform over time. thanks for the added tip!
Sorry I haven’t been posting more. I’ve been doing some writing for a magazine and planning some kayak fishing seminars for the spring. I’ll let you fella’s know when the mag article is out and I’ll post up the seminar sched too.
heck yeah Juan. I’ll definitely try and make it to one!! How’s that video comin?!
I have a meeting on Monday regarding a couple of the seminars to nail down dates. Video/slide show of the season is almost complete.