Last time, when we were talking about winter storage, I said that moisture is the enemy. It’s also the enemy when you’re out fishing. Water’s good when it’s in the lake where the fish live, but it’s bad pretty much everywhere else. That’s why I do everything I can to keep it away from my tackle and my equipment.
Here are a couple of the things I do to keep stuff dry in my boat:
Double-Box Everything
I put everything into small plastic boxes — sorted by what it does and why I use it — and then I put all of the little boxes into one big box. That way all my stuff has two layers of protection.
You’ll notice that the small boxes all snap shut real tight. The big box is even better, though. It has a kind of raised roll on the bottom and a top that fits over it. That makes for a really great seal so you can fish all day in the rain and you won’t get any water into the things you need to catch big bass.
I double-box almost everything, including line, plastics and my hard baits. Water will bleach some things, leave spots on almost everything and rust metal. It’s just not good.
Keep Everything Up
This is really important. Even if your compartments are watertight they’ll get wet when you open them in the rain, or when you put something back in one when that thing’s wet. I help solve that problem by keeping them up a little ways with a simple riser board. That way they don’t sit in water.
You can use darn near anything but I like insulating or packing material. Don’t use anything that’ll hold water or you’ll make things worse. And make sure the top of whatever you use is flat so your boxes sit right on it. Lay it in the bottom of the compartment but don’t cover the whole bottom. Leave enough space under it for the water to move around without getting too far up the sides and into your lures and stuff.
Getting the boxes to do what I’m talking about is easy. Plano and some other companies make good boxes — some of them waterproof. You can also get good stuff at Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Keep your fishing tackle dry. You’ll be able to fish more efficiently and save money at the same time.
