Nothing Hi-Tech or special here, just stuff we use and have found to work best for us. I'm a tightwad, so I love fishing for pennies:-)
- During the winter, you'll see us wearing black nitrile gloves. We've tried numerous other ways to keep our hands and fingers warm, but this works the best and retains our dexterity for handling fish and baits. I liken those to a diver wearing a wet suit in cold weather... they fit tight, keep the water off your skin, and you stay warm. We've worn those when our braided line was freezing in the eyes on the rods, but our hands were fine. They're cheep, too. Box of 100 pairs from AutoZone is about $15.
You'll notice in the pic above, I'm holding one of those little scales from Walmart. These are dirt cheap, and work pretty good. Debbie and I both have one in each tackle box, and love them.
We've tried several different tackle box arrangements. We've settled on this style box from Plano. It has a good size storage compartment in the top for the things you reach for most often (pliers, scales, glasses, ect.). The front folds down and had 4 plastic snap-top boxes for various bait styles. Many boxes seem to have the large open space on the bottom, with trays above. The problem, at least for me, was the things I was always reaching for in a hurry were in the bottom of the box. I like the big open storage area on top for quick access.
Below is an example of one of the tackle boxes we had previously...we're were always scrambling through the bottom to get the scales, pliers, etc. We kept the box below and call it our "overflow box", where were put all of the extra baits, line, etc that we don't need in our daily use boxes. We restock our Plano boxes above from this.
Everyone needs a cheap set of polarized sunglasses. They'll often let you see straight through the glare on the water's surface, and see the fish and structure below. Another dirt-cheap item from Walmart!
You need a set of those cheapie long reach pliers like this, when you get one that has the hook waayyy down there, or for fish like Chain Pickerel and such with teeth :-) These are less than $5 at Walmart.
Head Lamps...you gotta have these for night fishing. Debbie found these, 2 pairs for like $6 at Lowes. They work great, are comfortable, and have a colored light that you can switch on that doesn't seem to attract insects as much during hot weather.
Flashlight. No tackle box is complete without one. These days, you can get a super bright LED version from the gas station for a couple of bucks! Debbie had to have _pink_ in her tackle box :-)
Cutters, needle nose pliers, bug bite sticks, bug spray, sunscreen, etc. That's what we use the top of our boxes for, and can grab any of that on a moment's notice!
Pole bells...gotta have those when jig fishing with minnows up on Kerr Lake. We'll often have 8+ poles out, and it helps keep watch on them, especially in the dark!
I like charting the water temp,just to learn more about things as we fish all year. This is a little cheapie pool thermometer, I clip it on a rod or line and toss it in.
Reading glasses! Nuff said...
Spare trolling motor mount pin and trolling motor shear pins...never leave home without them!
Misc stuff... spare boat hull drain plug, knife, etc. Not too much, but some essentials can get you out of a jam on the water.
